Land Run 100 Images: 2018 and 2019

This is both my favorite event every year, and historically my worst. I don't know why it is that life seems to blow up in mid-March every year. But looking back through images from 2018 and 2019 is a good reminder that life happens. That the selective social media posting of smiling faces taking glamorous vacations, that isn't real life 99% of the time for 99% of the population.

Real life is messy and gritty, occasionally ugly crying, and awkwardly standing over your bike forcing a smile in front of a chaise.

And fortunately real life now also means having people at the end to lift you back up, whether you like it or not. 

Spotzle Stories: Translating the gravel world from English to French to English

Late last year, a very polite French gentleman messaged me on the social medias inquiring as to whether he could possibly reprint some of the race stories I've written for gravelcyclist.com for his international online cycling magazine Spotzle - in French. I'd encourage you to use the translate button to read the variety of interesting stories from around the world on his website, the stories of rides, trips, and races from all over are fascinating. Recently I went back and read through my own, curious as to how the translations worked out. It was too good not to pull some snippets and post here. Enjoy. 

Dirty Kanza, 2018: https://spotzle.cc/listing/dirty-kanza-2018-lannee-du-vent-et-du-bonk/

"even if I drive at 12 km / H, I have exceeded a lot of people, some lay in the ditch, close to abandonment or a nap, or both." 

"My bike was tuned to the onions and prepared in advance with carefully chosen equipment," 

"I spotted a jar of pickles and some fruits with personalized messages for the race." 

"I pulled a guy on a "Fat Bike" who insisted that I roll harder than him. It does not matter. Then, I accumulated an XY chromosome train behind me for about 8 Km before shaming them so that they roll a little too in the wind. Seriously, will you let a woman of 50 Kg shelter you all day?" 

"Thanks to my friends for the support and thank you for stopping me from eating a plastic wrapper." 

"And anyway, I had drunk enough coffee enough not to suffer an IMMINENT DESTRUCTION."

Elrod's Cirque, 2018: https://spotzle.cc/listing/elrods-cirque-gravel-race-2018/

"Towards the km 148, I found the initial course. My bike made 50 % noise as if death itself had taken over it and 50 % as if my transmission was maintained by paper clips.Another apocalyptic story from Adrienne Taren."

Spotted Horse, 2018: https://spotzle.cc/listing/st-charles-spotted-horse-gravel-ultra/

"I had yellow Gore overshoes, and after the last few hours struggling in the mud, I was about to officially declare them dead at checkpoint 2. In any case, they were not even covering my feet, which was caught in a sort of sarcophagus of earth." 

"I thought "victory is near"! Because now, the ball bearings have given up!" 

"There was this strange moment, probably because we had been on our bike for many hours, where I asked Cory if he would be upset to be run over by a deer in the middle of the night." 

"I think I asked if I could lie on the road, right there, and drive the rest of the way to the cellar. I think the answer was no."

Brains & Exercise Research Update: Influence of Cognitive Load on Fatiguing Exercise

Original study can be found here.

Building off Samuel Marcora's work on , this new study published in the February 2019 issue of Psychophysiology looks at the effect of cognitively fatiguing memory tasks (1-back and 2-back) on performance during an isometric quadriceps exercise.

Health Upgrade Series #1: Why I've Started a Broccoli Sprout Farm in my Kitchen

*Prologue: AKA the reason for this new series in Nerdery*

This winter I found myself going down a nutrition rabbit hole. Maybe it's confronting my own mortality after running codes multiple times per week, or realizing how much residency has made me feel like sh*t. Despite the fact that I probably do a better job of taking care of myself than most of my colleagues, I'd fallen a long way from the nutrition and sleep and stress-reduction habits I had pre-residency. Someone should benefit from my borderline-existential crisis, so here's the first in a series of new practices and habits I've adopted.

Why Broccoli Sprouts?

The short answer is: sulforaphane. This is a isothiocyanate (fancy molecule) found in cruciferous vegetables - but the highest concentration by far is in broccoli sprouts. I thought maybe this little molecule was over-hyped, but a Google Scholar search will keep you occupied for a looong time (trust me). The largest amount of evidence exists for chemoprevention (aka anti-cancer - see this review) - most likely through a combination of its effects as an anti-inflammatory, pro-apoptotic (programmed cell death that naturally occurs), and histone modulation agent. You'll also find studies about the potential role of sulforaphane in combating obesity, H. pylori, diabetes, after a heart attack, and increasing endurance exercise capacity.