I would happily recommend Dorothy Hamburg's services to any athlete who is coming back from an injury, and to anyone who is perhaps suffering silently from an injury they thought was not much trouble initially but just won't resolve on its own.
Dorothy helped me recover from a knee injury sustained after falling from a galloping horse. My triathlon season came to an abrupt halt, and I patiently followed the instructions from my doctors to rest. When it came time to introduce running, months later, I was plagued by pain that surprised the docs.
I saw Dorothy after not being able to run for almost three months, and she deftly conducted her evaluation and came up with a strengthening plan that really WORKED. Her whole-body approach to movement imbalances picked up what was overlooked by the others. I am grateful to her, and happily (and carefully) running pain-free once again.
Laurel Okorofsky
Rosendale, NY
Colleen Cohen, professor of anthropology and women's studies at Vassar College, and her husband decided to join a 500-mile bicycle tour from Buffalo to Albany. She had never cycled for any distance, but after training with Hamburg for several months, she completed the entire 500-mile route.
"The trip turned out to be relatively easy, because I was in good physical condition," said Cohen. "I was thoroughly prepared."
Rosemarie Hunt, 52, of Newburgh hired Hamburg in August following a disappointing finish at West Point's triathlon. After only a few weeks, she competed at Danskin and bested her best-ever triathlon time by 20 minutes, taking third out of 29 in her age group.
"I did a whole year (training) by myself. That wasn't too fruitful," said Hunt. Her self-training resulted in uneven performances and injuries. She did well at Danskin for more than one reason, with the swim warm and the running and biking courses largely flat.
"But most of the kudos go to Dorothy. I did exactly what she told me to do... I'm sold on it," Hunt said of Hamburg's training.
Jean Bordewich, Red Hook Town Councilwoman, began strength and weight training with Hamburg last year. She had never done any running, but in September 2004, she asked Hamburg to help her train for a 5K Turkey Trot race in Florida at Thanksgiving. "I never even considered entering a race until I started working with Dorothy," said Bordewich. "But she has inspired me to believe I can be more physically active than I imagined. "I gradually developed more confidence," she said.
And so Bordewich decided that while visiting her parents in Clearwater, Fla., over Thanksgiving, she'd run the popular 5K turkey trot her husband and 15-year-old daughter traditionally run.
And in the end she may not have beaten her husband or daughter but she defeated whatever self-doubt lingered, finishing the race in just over 34 minutes, almost four minutes faster than she had dared hope.
"I feel very much now that I can set other physical challenges for myself," Bordewich said.
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TriSportsTraining.com: Hudson Valley Triathlon Coaching & Training for Women.