More on the Dara Torres Resistance Stretching DVD

Innovative Body Solutions now has an additional preview video up of their Dara Torres Resistance Stretching DVD. I ordered this a couple of weeks ago and they should be shipping it soon (they keep dropping the shipping date back: when I ordered they said it would ship August 22 and now it has been dropped back again and ships September 5). Then I will review it and compare it to Bob Cooley's "The Genius of Flexibility" DVD. They have an additional blurb that describes the DVD : "The Innovative Body Solutions Resistance Stretching DVD introduces a training technique that is beneficial for any age or ability with no equipment required. The DVD features a 25 minute full-body workout, a total body instructional section, and problem-solving tips for tight muscle groups."




I already posted this short video from the DVD that talks about balancing muscle groups. It shows two good stretches fro the quads and hamstrings.



This DVD is put out by Steve Sierra and Anne Tierney who happen to be Dara Torres' stretchers. According to their website, Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin also works with resistance stretchers.

Yesterday I went mountain biking. I tried a new trail off 101A and near Ridge Road on the other side of 101A from the Yuddicky Farms trails and by Lovewell's Pond. I read about a trail called the "spaghetti bowl" set up by mountain bikers. I have run by the entrance the the trails for years but have never explored this area and always wondered what was in there. Now I know! Here is a map of the place.



I biked the two miles from my house. The trail starts out nicely with an overgrown paved road and then some straighter trails and then (well look at the map) I don't know what happened. It goes all around the place. At first it was fun, then it was challenging, and then... I had no idea what it was doing. The route is tight singletrack and it is full of twists and turns and ups and downs and rocks and trees and then these man-made obstacles (bridges, seesaws, and all sorts of wooden stuff that looked fun and a bit dangerous (to beginners). I played around in there for over an hour and then tried to get out. I kept ending up on the same trails. Finally I just cut through the woods to try to intersect a trail that might lead me out. I survived. Maybe I should have read the online reviews better for this trail as it says it is not for beginners. I spent a lot of time stopping and getting off my bike and getting back on. I need to ride with some mountain bikers to learn how they do things. Do they quickly ride through these trails and jump these obstacles? I would have killed myself. Or do they do slow rides jumping up and over things? These are answers I will have to discover. I finally made it out of there with no broken bones but some broken skin on my lower legs and a bit of blood. Did I have fun? Yes!

Feeling Like a Kid Again!

I have spent the last three days playing around on my mountain bike and doing the things I did when I was a kid. It has been refreshing and a pile of fun. Yesterday I went a few houses down the road and entered the woods behind our house. The past few years people on four wheelers have been creating trails and noise back there. It is very technical, at least for me, with short steep uphills and downhills and constant corners. It is not cleared out from downed branches and trees. I spent about 15 minutes back there before heading out back to the trails off Gilson Road. I guess these trails have a name and they are called the Southwest Park Trail-Yuddicky Farms. I biked through there both yesterday and again today.

Today I brought my camera to take some pictures to show my family. They will need to know where to come when I crash and need to be recovered! There is a lot of variety of trails for such a small area. I have yet to cross 111A where I hear there are more trails set up for mountain bikers.

This is where I enter (at the kiosk) off Gilson Road.


There are a variety of trails to ride on and the trails and scenery change quite frequently.


There is a very sandy section.


There are wooded sections,


grassy sections,


a little stream crossing,


and dirt trails.


Here is my bike.


This path was grassy at first,


but turned muddy quickly. It is funny that I have run down Gilson Road hundreds of times, running parallel to this section (the road is about 10 yards away) but I didn't really know exactly what a treasure was back here!


This is the start of the Rail Trail from Nashua to Ayer, Ma. off of Gilson Road and another place to park and access the trails to the left.


This is another entrance I found at the back of the Yudicky Farms playing fields off of 101A. You follow a paved path for a while before hitting the trails.



I have wanted a mountain bike for over 20 years, even though I had never ridden one. It is even more fun then I thought it would be. Put me on a road bike and I just like to go fast, put me on a mountain bike and I get to explore places.

I still haven't run since Thursday night. My right heel still feels funny and the bottoms of both feet still feel tight, but I am enjoying myself trying something new. It is nice not having to figure out why I can't run correctly for a change. My legs are feeling refreshed, but after about 5 hours in the saddle over the past 3 days, my butt is a little more than sore!