So the physio thinks it's a GOOD thing that my knee got me through that ride up to Hawkins Hill. She reminded me it's only been a week and a half since I damaged it. She has banned me from spin classes for the interim, but ...
I can ride this Saturday, provided I'm sensible and don't ride up Moonshine Rd if I know I'm hurting. She said that I should keep moving as much as possible, since my knee hurts more after I stop. She said I am allowed to replace the spinning with actual riding.
How much do I love my physio?
Having said that, I will still forgo Saturday's ride if I don't feel in myself that I'm improving. I will keep icing, keep taking Voltaran, continue to wear my one pair of office-friendly loafers, keep updating this blog.
It's not over till it's over, and it's not over until I'm over Hatepe and the finishline is in sight.
Showing posts with label Pip's Injuries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pip's Injuries. Show all posts
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Yesterday
Yesterday I did a lunchtime Balance class, a satisfyingly hardcore upper body workout after work, and then over 100 minutes of spin class.
Today - my knee hurts.
Sigh.
I'm going to the physio tomorrow with a strategy. I'm going to seek her approval to a recovery regime. One week of no biking, no running, no squats, lunges or leg press. Still allowed - upper body weights, Balance and aqua jogging/swimming.
Make no mistake. This regime is going to kill me psychologically. Realistically, it may not even fix the knee. I believe it will take two weeks of rest to genuinely fix the problem. I'm hoping one week will bide me enough time to get me through Taupo.
I will be missing the ride this weekend out to the Haywards and Moonshine Rd. That on its own is enough to send me into a deep depression. The time away from Cleo will feel like purgatory. However the alternative is to continue pushing this knee, with the possibility of blowing it up completely and not being able to race at all.
Thankfully the weather forecast for the next few days is appalling, and with it being a long weekend, and a weekend that Hamish and I have traditionally spent lying around eating, perhaps I will cope. Although I am developing an abiding fear of the scales. I will just have to deal with the weight issues later. Recovery should come first.
Bah.
Today - my knee hurts.
Sigh.
I'm going to the physio tomorrow with a strategy. I'm going to seek her approval to a recovery regime. One week of no biking, no running, no squats, lunges or leg press. Still allowed - upper body weights, Balance and aqua jogging/swimming.
Make no mistake. This regime is going to kill me psychologically. Realistically, it may not even fix the knee. I believe it will take two weeks of rest to genuinely fix the problem. I'm hoping one week will bide me enough time to get me through Taupo.
I will be missing the ride this weekend out to the Haywards and Moonshine Rd. That on its own is enough to send me into a deep depression. The time away from Cleo will feel like purgatory. However the alternative is to continue pushing this knee, with the possibility of blowing it up completely and not being able to race at all.
Thankfully the weather forecast for the next few days is appalling, and with it being a long weekend, and a weekend that Hamish and I have traditionally spent lying around eating, perhaps I will cope. Although I am developing an abiding fear of the scales. I will just have to deal with the weight issues later. Recovery should come first.
Bah.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Well, this is interesting ...
Was it only yesterday that I felt like I was hitting the wall and complaining about being exhausted?
My knee was still sore this morning. I had only a vague sense of it possibly still being inflamed until I was walking to work from Hill Street, at which point it started to hurt. Reluctantly I had to acknowledge that I wasn't going to be doing anything bike or run related today. It's gotten a bit better as the day has gone on, but I don't think it will be recovered enough to do anything tomorrow. In fact, I think I should wait until Saturday at the earliest before riding again.
After some careful analysis I suspect the pain has arisen from a combination of the two big rides on the weekend, my historically tight shins, calves and ankles, a seat that might possibly be a squidgen too low, and possibly cleats that aren't quite positioned correctly and need more float. I really hope it's not the seat. I've really been enjoying my ride setup and I'm reluctant to raise it again.
In any case, I'm going to see whether the physio agrees with my self-diagnosis tomorrow and beg her for some ultrasound. Interestingly I noticed tonight that there's also a small bruise around where the pain is located. I can't remember smacking my knee on anything, but I tend not to notice that sort of thing so I'm not discounting that possibility either.
What has really astounded me though is how much of a difference taking today off has lifted my energy levels. It's not like I'm tapering for an Ironman and wow, someone might need to lock me up if I ever do. I am buzzing insanely. I keep casting longing, loving looks at Cleo every time I pass her in the hallway. I am fidgety and full of short little bursts of enthusiasm followed by rapid diversions in train of thought. I want to ride. I want to ride badly.
My name is Pip, and yes, I am an addict.
My knee was still sore this morning. I had only a vague sense of it possibly still being inflamed until I was walking to work from Hill Street, at which point it started to hurt. Reluctantly I had to acknowledge that I wasn't going to be doing anything bike or run related today. It's gotten a bit better as the day has gone on, but I don't think it will be recovered enough to do anything tomorrow. In fact, I think I should wait until Saturday at the earliest before riding again.
After some careful analysis I suspect the pain has arisen from a combination of the two big rides on the weekend, my historically tight shins, calves and ankles, a seat that might possibly be a squidgen too low, and possibly cleats that aren't quite positioned correctly and need more float. I really hope it's not the seat. I've really been enjoying my ride setup and I'm reluctant to raise it again.
In any case, I'm going to see whether the physio agrees with my self-diagnosis tomorrow and beg her for some ultrasound. Interestingly I noticed tonight that there's also a small bruise around where the pain is located. I can't remember smacking my knee on anything, but I tend not to notice that sort of thing so I'm not discounting that possibility either.
What has really astounded me though is how much of a difference taking today off has lifted my energy levels. It's not like I'm tapering for an Ironman and wow, someone might need to lock me up if I ever do. I am buzzing insanely. I keep casting longing, loving looks at Cleo every time I pass her in the hallway. I am fidgety and full of short little bursts of enthusiasm followed by rapid diversions in train of thought. I want to ride. I want to ride badly.
My name is Pip, and yes, I am an addict.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Sigh ...
If I weren't such a determined runner I swear I would have given up by now. The latest? A self-diagnosed synovial impingement. The OSH woman doing a ergonomic assessment of our new EA's desk set-up had a quick look and agreed with my suspicions this afternoon.
I have a crease of pain running horizontally across the area where my foot connects to my tibia (across the front of the very base of my shin). It hurts when I push my foot upwards, and it hurts when I flex it downwards. It hurts if I compress everything by running on it. I have a reduced range of motion that makes it difficult to walk in flat shoes. Essentially, I am again bung. And of course, the last two days have been PERFECT for running.
I should have been able to fend this off. I know that I have a tendency to stiffness across that area. In the past I've been able to keep it sufficiently mobile by doing ankle rotations and crouching down and rocking on my feet while holding on to a pole. I think all the hills I have been running lately have simply been too much. I knew I was slightly stiff on Sunday, but not sufficiently to set off any alarm bells.
On Monday I was undeniably sore. Pretending it was still just a bit of stiffness I completed my scheduled forty inutes on the flat, and ended up running closer to fifty. Ironically, I was feeling really fit, but I knew I was in pain and my reduced range of motion was making it difficult to run with any real technique. I wanted to go faster and I should have been capable of going faster, but my foot wouldn't let me.
I had a terrible day at work on Tuesday. I couldn't do Balance because someone scheduled a meeting over the top of my out-of-office time. I got really grumpy, and wanted badly to run to let go of some of my aggression. Of course, it was a beautiful evening. Frustrated I went home, ate way too much Chana Masala from Khana Khazana and drank a huge glass of red wine. This morning I felt lumpen as well as sore!
A good weights session this morning at least made me feel slightly more active, and after work I decided to give RPM a try. Turns out, my ankle can handle the spin. The instructor did well at maintaining momentum in a mostly empty class, and I managed to burn off a little of that curry. Mike was worried that I would hurt my ankle, but he commented that I was stubborn, like him. That's me - stubborn enough to run on an ankle that was already hurting, and stubborn enough to keep exercising, even if it meant sitting in a dark crank room on the most beautiful spring evening yet. Darn. It's just occurred to me that I really should have gone for a spin on the long neglected Lola instead.
I'm dreading telling Duck in the morning that I'm injured again. I was really looking forward to running my second set of treadmill intervals today. Hopefully I will be right in time for my sixty minutes on Saturday, but if need be I'll hold off until the inflammation has died down. I know I'm going to be able to do the Rimutaka Incline as long as I don't worsen any injuries. It's not my fitness levels that are the problem!
On the positive side, this is the last niggle that has finally turned into something more than a nuisance. If I deal with this (and I'm getting smarter at dealing with each issue that arises) then hopefully I'll emerge even stronger. I can only hope. I can't face the thought of just quitting.
I have a crease of pain running horizontally across the area where my foot connects to my tibia (across the front of the very base of my shin). It hurts when I push my foot upwards, and it hurts when I flex it downwards. It hurts if I compress everything by running on it. I have a reduced range of motion that makes it difficult to walk in flat shoes. Essentially, I am again bung. And of course, the last two days have been PERFECT for running.
I should have been able to fend this off. I know that I have a tendency to stiffness across that area. In the past I've been able to keep it sufficiently mobile by doing ankle rotations and crouching down and rocking on my feet while holding on to a pole. I think all the hills I have been running lately have simply been too much. I knew I was slightly stiff on Sunday, but not sufficiently to set off any alarm bells.
On Monday I was undeniably sore. Pretending it was still just a bit of stiffness I completed my scheduled forty inutes on the flat, and ended up running closer to fifty. Ironically, I was feeling really fit, but I knew I was in pain and my reduced range of motion was making it difficult to run with any real technique. I wanted to go faster and I should have been capable of going faster, but my foot wouldn't let me.
I had a terrible day at work on Tuesday. I couldn't do Balance because someone scheduled a meeting over the top of my out-of-office time. I got really grumpy, and wanted badly to run to let go of some of my aggression. Of course, it was a beautiful evening. Frustrated I went home, ate way too much Chana Masala from Khana Khazana and drank a huge glass of red wine. This morning I felt lumpen as well as sore!
A good weights session this morning at least made me feel slightly more active, and after work I decided to give RPM a try. Turns out, my ankle can handle the spin. The instructor did well at maintaining momentum in a mostly empty class, and I managed to burn off a little of that curry. Mike was worried that I would hurt my ankle, but he commented that I was stubborn, like him. That's me - stubborn enough to run on an ankle that was already hurting, and stubborn enough to keep exercising, even if it meant sitting in a dark crank room on the most beautiful spring evening yet. Darn. It's just occurred to me that I really should have gone for a spin on the long neglected Lola instead.
I'm dreading telling Duck in the morning that I'm injured again. I was really looking forward to running my second set of treadmill intervals today. Hopefully I will be right in time for my sixty minutes on Saturday, but if need be I'll hold off until the inflammation has died down. I know I'm going to be able to do the Rimutaka Incline as long as I don't worsen any injuries. It's not my fitness levels that are the problem!
On the positive side, this is the last niggle that has finally turned into something more than a nuisance. If I deal with this (and I'm getting smarter at dealing with each issue that arises) then hopefully I'll emerge even stronger. I can only hope. I can't face the thought of just quitting.
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