F YOU done any kind of long swim, run, or ride, you’re probably familiar with lumbar pain, the persistent aching in your lower back that drains your leg power. Rudy Garcia-Tolson knows it intimately. Now 35, Garcia-Tolson says his lower back is the part of his body that fatigues first, and he recalls how back pain forced him to take a number of breaks during the Arizona Ironman in 2009. He had completed the 2.4-mile swim and was grinding through the 112-mile ride. When cycling, he relies on his glutes and core to generate power because his quads are minimal, but that means arching his spine, and that fatigues his back.
