The beginning of school has been a roller-coaster ride to say the least! New location on campus, still not used to it. Everywhere I go including the restroom takes forever to get there. I am often late and Principal Rubio, I promise I am working on that issue!
My kids are fantastic, I have the cream of the crop at my school! Fun, fun-loving, and smart! Krueger Middle School and KSAT Krueger School of Applied Technologies (Fancy title for, "Why? Yes, it is Rocket Science"). Our KSAT SLI team often comes from my Spanish Classes and of course I believe it is all because of me! Ha! Not! But our kiddos regularly outperform High School, Junior Colleges and even some techie Universities. Last year, our kiddos got the height award or mile award for going the furthest up! Very exciting!
My Soccer Club Leadership Team is in full swing, and club hasn't started officially yet! But, we are getting around thirty middle-schoolers out there ready to rock! Thank Krueger MS PTA for the Goals and equipment! The kids are loving it and so are we the coaches, Mr. Reyna STAN Counselor and yours truly Mr. Sharpley, the Spanish Guy! I mention the soccer club because my original knee injury started on the soccer field. Despite stretching regularly with the kiddos, I overdid it on the field. I am being so cautious on the field now that I feel like a slug, but I'm out there helping the kids!
Another thing that has affected us is the loss of our Fourteen Year Old, Brinca Dorada Caramelo, Brinks for short. As in, Brinks Security! Ha! She was a running dog and very playful even up to the weekend before we lost her. We normally go out in the country and bury our pets. The tradition continued, so for two weekends there: the weekend Harvey hit and last weekend was finally the weekend we actually put her in the ground. The rains were large and in charge. No we did not get anything close to H-Town, but I was afraid the dog was going to get washed away so I went in to the bedrock. So she is safe and secure on the rainbow bridge! Again, I mention this because digging is awfully hard on the knees so three weeks ago, ouch and then last weekend ouch again. Even though I didn't ride but once in there when I rode to school/work. My knees were screaming because of the digging and all the walking I do at soccer. Oh, yeah, I forgot, I had to show the leadership team how to do the stretches I like for soccer so of course I paid for that! I think it was Friday that week before my knees felt like normal. Normal is relative, now!
If you read this far thank you, share with your friends: Andando-de-Bicicleta.blogspot.com and for Richard SavingMyKnees.blogspot.com Again, thank you Richard. I would not be on the road to recovery if it were not for you, your blog and your book!
OCN: 24.X in two hours and change, spent more time spinning in the lighter gears because it had been three weeks since my last cycling confession. Two hours or so later my knees feel warm and cozy and no adverse effects! Came across a bycicle criterium race that actually took racers in front of the Alamo on the cobble stones. Cobble stone in Porutguese, my first language is a gas: paralelepipido. One of the longest words in Portuguese! Ha!
LBS: 276.2 Woo-hoo! I hinted at this lower number last week-end when we were installing four window unit air-conditioners (my task for the last two weeks). AC company quoted us 15 grand to upgrade our failed unit. I teach, I never see that kind of money! Ha!
Nutrition: Still in the positive! Losing a little at a time trying to solidify my jejum, still doing intermittent fasting at school! "Hooked on phonics worked for me!" obscure reference to a tv advertisement, which means, it's working!
Saturday, October 07, 2017
Tuesday, September 05, 2017
Hurricane Harvey Interruptus
So, I was slated to do a two-hour ride the weekend that Hurricane Harvey Hit and was not able to complete that plan until this past weekend! Boy was it a joy to finally get out there and do something longer than one hour and even longer than two hours. Again, I will be continuing with the two hour for quite a while. A friend asked when we would ride again and I shared with him that it would probably be at and around Thanksgiving!
Because I did not do the long ride in consecutive weeks, I can feel strength in my knees because of what I'm doing, but then I am also having to baby them a bit! On Saturday after my first two-hour ride, and I've done three now. I could feel that I almost stretched the envelope a little too much! So, in order to fight the fact that I am doing a lot I am keeping my knee warm. Amazing, the healing properties of warmth to the knees. Richard from savingmyknees.blogspot.com would totally agree! Thank you Richard!
Speaking of Richard, I am also finding some pushback from folks who believe in a different method of recovering from knee-injury (which really is a non-method if all it's going to do is re-injure your knee). I was recently applying my newfound knowledge and method of rehabilitating soft-tissue of the knee to an ankle injury and this person did not even want to hear about it. I have jumped on the band-wagon of knee rehabilitation stating that soft-tissue can be healed and I want others to know. Unfortunately, not everyone has ears to hear!
My initial plan to ride the trainer everyday has gone by the wayside! Since the last time I wrote, my classroom was relocated. I am no longer in the core of the building, but I am in a portable about as far away from any other place on the campus as possible. I timed how long it takes to walk from my steps outside my portable to the other side of the campus and it takes a full six-minutes at a leisurely walk. Even though I am able to fast-walk now, I choose not to so as to not aggravate anything in my knees. The professional development week was hard enough because I still had to physically move many items from my old classroom to my new location. The actual first week of school was wrought with trying to get accustomed to how much walking I had to do that I figured I didn't need to poke the bear. There were days last week where my circulation was impacted and the fatigue was immense and caused me to wipe out as soon as my wife and I arrived home.
This second week of school will actually be a sign of what is possible so after a couple of rest days, I'll see if a spin on the trainer is in order to keep my knees fresh. I completed three consecutive days of training and I can feel it in strength as well as tenderness. That tells me I am pushing the envelope appropriately, but also not too much!
Over the weekend, I was able to increase my RPM (revolutions per minute) or modify my RPMs with the middle gear of the triple that I have on two of my bikes. I will continue doing some of this with gears that overlap and push the envelope a little from there.
OCN; 60 Miles over the weekend
LBS: 281.6 (5 lbs less than last week!)
Nutrition: In the negative still!
Because I did not do the long ride in consecutive weeks, I can feel strength in my knees because of what I'm doing, but then I am also having to baby them a bit! On Saturday after my first two-hour ride, and I've done three now. I could feel that I almost stretched the envelope a little too much! So, in order to fight the fact that I am doing a lot I am keeping my knee warm. Amazing, the healing properties of warmth to the knees. Richard from savingmyknees.blogspot.com would totally agree! Thank you Richard!
Speaking of Richard, I am also finding some pushback from folks who believe in a different method of recovering from knee-injury (which really is a non-method if all it's going to do is re-injure your knee). I was recently applying my newfound knowledge and method of rehabilitating soft-tissue of the knee to an ankle injury and this person did not even want to hear about it. I have jumped on the band-wagon of knee rehabilitation stating that soft-tissue can be healed and I want others to know. Unfortunately, not everyone has ears to hear!
My initial plan to ride the trainer everyday has gone by the wayside! Since the last time I wrote, my classroom was relocated. I am no longer in the core of the building, but I am in a portable about as far away from any other place on the campus as possible. I timed how long it takes to walk from my steps outside my portable to the other side of the campus and it takes a full six-minutes at a leisurely walk. Even though I am able to fast-walk now, I choose not to so as to not aggravate anything in my knees. The professional development week was hard enough because I still had to physically move many items from my old classroom to my new location. The actual first week of school was wrought with trying to get accustomed to how much walking I had to do that I figured I didn't need to poke the bear. There were days last week where my circulation was impacted and the fatigue was immense and caused me to wipe out as soon as my wife and I arrived home.
This second week of school will actually be a sign of what is possible so after a couple of rest days, I'll see if a spin on the trainer is in order to keep my knees fresh. I completed three consecutive days of training and I can feel it in strength as well as tenderness. That tells me I am pushing the envelope appropriately, but also not too much!
Over the weekend, I was able to increase my RPM (revolutions per minute) or modify my RPMs with the middle gear of the triple that I have on two of my bikes. I will continue doing some of this with gears that overlap and push the envelope a little from there.
OCN; 60 Miles over the weekend
LBS: 281.6 (5 lbs less than last week!)
Nutrition: In the negative still!
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Coming Back From Debilitating Knee Injury!
Training Variables:
Coming back from debilitating knee injury! Inspired by Richard Bedard who wrote Saving My Knees and who also blogs weekly or more on the subject.
When looking for information on how to save my own knees. I blew out both my knees three months ago. I came across his blog and immediately could see he knew what was going on and built a program based on what I knew about cycling, running, and walking. I am not a PT physical therapist or a doctor. I am a certified teacher and as such have had training on teaching physical education, but I believe the majority of the information found here can be gleamed off of online exercise sites. Its specificity for knee-pain sufferers was inspired by Saving My Knees.
http://savingmyknees.blogspot.com
Only you know what you can do. Tenet: Less is more. Caution is better than grit!
This year with much analytical concentration and caution: fall '17
Paradigm Shift:
Not just patience, but you're dealing with soft-tissue time. (Richard's Pitch Experiment). Weeks -n- months although you'll know the next day you did something wrong.
Remember, do not ramp up too fast or like old times. No accelerations, never out of the saddle, no hills, no kidding!
Good Knee Care Habits: After a bout of exercise 1 to 1.5 hour rest before next thing. (Cycle).
Below 60 degrees embrocation or knee warmers.
10 minute rest half way on long walks in order to not start hurting.(2k steps @ a mile) 4k steps per day maintenance
Beginning 70 steps several times a day walking the dog, going back to the car.
101 steps around X every 10 minutes (Richard started at the pool, I have started walking the dog.
10% increase every two weeks. As a runner this was the rule of thumb. In marathon running it moved to one week, but then on the fourth week you go back to where you were at the beginning of the month. Remember: less is more.
Minutes before 15 : now 5, 7, 13 - Primes
80 rpm @ first for 15 min. 1200 revs
Build time in the saddle up to thirty minutes 2400 revs. Once you can do two sets of thirty then you're adding thirty to what you can already do. 15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/ 25/26/27/28/29+30+30+30+30+30
~£¥$|¢^√π°=÷×{}¶∆\∆¶}{×÷=°π√^¢•|£
4th year with cautious optimism:
Saturday ride - long, strenuous, hilly up to three hours 40 miles Fast and 20 miles easy
Sunday-60 minutes flat or trainer easy pedaling
Tue. -N- Thurs. 45 minutes on trainer or flats 10 easy warm up and 35 minutes faster, but still not intense
Mon. Wed. Fri. Walk 2 miles each day
@#€_&-+()/@#€_&-+()/@#
Eventually - eventually:
After a year of cautious progress:
Less is more keep three steady and change one to improve
Duration - how long - 2hrs conversational pace
Frequency - #of rides per 10 daze
Volume - combo of dur. N freq.
Intensity . Ride 4 60-90 mins warm-up n cool-down . 6x6mins w/4mins recovery (recovery equals easy cheesy
Reco : 45 mins whistle ride (a whistle ride is one where you're going slow enough to whistle) not as easy as it sounds!
VvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvV
5-20 minutes in the pool adding minutes as you get better trained.
Coming back from debilitating knee injury! Inspired by Richard Bedard who wrote Saving My Knees and who also blogs weekly or more on the subject.
When looking for information on how to save my own knees. I blew out both my knees three months ago. I came across his blog and immediately could see he knew what was going on and built a program based on what I knew about cycling, running, and walking. I am not a PT physical therapist or a doctor. I am a certified teacher and as such have had training on teaching physical education, but I believe the majority of the information found here can be gleamed off of online exercise sites. Its specificity for knee-pain sufferers was inspired by Saving My Knees.
http://savingmyknees.blogspot.com
Only you know what you can do. Tenet: Less is more. Caution is better than grit!
This year with much analytical concentration and caution: fall '17
Paradigm Shift:
Not just patience, but you're dealing with soft-tissue time. (Richard's Pitch Experiment). Weeks -n- months although you'll know the next day you did something wrong.
Remember, do not ramp up too fast or like old times. No accelerations, never out of the saddle, no hills, no kidding!
Good Knee Care Habits: After a bout of exercise 1 to 1.5 hour rest before next thing. (Cycle).
Below 60 degrees embrocation or knee warmers.
10 minute rest half way on long walks in order to not start hurting.(2k steps @ a mile) 4k steps per day maintenance
Beginning 70 steps several times a day walking the dog, going back to the car.
101 steps around X every 10 minutes (Richard started at the pool, I have started walking the dog.
10% increase every two weeks. As a runner this was the rule of thumb. In marathon running it moved to one week, but then on the fourth week you go back to where you were at the beginning of the month. Remember: less is more.
Minutes before 15 : now 5, 7, 13 - Primes
80 rpm @ first for 15 min. 1200 revs
Build time in the saddle up to thirty minutes 2400 revs. Once you can do two sets of thirty then you're adding thirty to what you can already do. 15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/ 25/26/27/28/29+30+30+30+30+30
~£¥$|¢^√π°=÷×{}¶∆\∆¶}{×÷=°π√^¢•|£
4th year with cautious optimism:
Saturday ride - long, strenuous, hilly up to three hours 40 miles Fast and 20 miles easy
Sunday-60 minutes flat or trainer easy pedaling
Tue. -N- Thurs. 45 minutes on trainer or flats 10 easy warm up and 35 minutes faster, but still not intense
Mon. Wed. Fri. Walk 2 miles each day
@#€_&-+()/@#€_&-+()/@#
Eventually - eventually:
After a year of cautious progress:
Less is more keep three steady and change one to improve
Duration - how long - 2hrs conversational pace
Frequency - #of rides per 10 daze
Volume - combo of dur. N freq.
Intensity . Ride 4 60-90 mins warm-up n cool-down . 6x6mins w/4mins recovery (recovery equals easy cheesy
Reco : 45 mins whistle ride (a whistle ride is one where you're going slow enough to whistle) not as easy as it sounds!
VvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvV
5-20 minutes in the pool adding minutes as you get better trained.
Friday, August 18, 2017
Sort-Of, Sort-of, Sort-Of!
This post if for today Friday the 18th and although I'm riding tomorrow, my wife says she can see that I'm physically tired in the way I'm moving so Sunday will be off and next week I'll be back on the trainer for 30 to 45 minutes a pop if it works. Next week I'm back at work and therefore my time with the kiddos will start taking most of my time. I'm not sure if I'll do trainer rides and then Saturday and Sunday outside rides. I know that next week there will be some time devoted to moving furniture and setting up my classroom! I'm hoping to keep my knees healthy, but time to post will be at a premium again. So I will move to once a week like our good friend Richard has done since the birth of his sweet children! Thanks again Richard for all the encouragement and being moved to share your experiences so that the rest of us can learn via your experimentation. Check out savingmyknees
.blogspot.com Your eyes will be opened!
Lunch Ride_tandemonium_brksC15_broke it_129/63'115 Today's ride was supposed to be an easy 15 minutes out and 15 minutes back, but no, part of the way on the trail I got hung up on some bailing wire! No fun! It went around my crank and actually there is still some there. I managed to take my tandem out today. I modified it for one person and I won't lie to you, it was difficult. But my wife called me back just in time right after I got most of the bailing wire off the spindle! So to work on the crank and remove the wire I flipped the bike! I don't like doing this because it makes a mess out of your seat and the handle bars. But I was not having much success the other way so I flipped it! Now about ten minutes after I finished messing with the wire I came up on another big freaking log! I reach down and grab my seat and the whole thing pops off in my hand. Remind me to tell you how I'm a tester for seats for Brooks Ltd. So, I'll have to send another tester seat back to the builder so they can work out what happened to it! So I piece the seat back together and try to make it home. I was successful! The seat is not in good shape, oh well, that's why they pay me the big bucks to test products! Ha! It's all pro-bono work for supplying me with seats! This is the fourth one! Three of them still being used!
Rationale: A tandem weighs more and since I still had a tripple on this tandem, I'm going to try to do modified weight lifting with the tandem. I'll still be spinning like a bugger-boo, but hopefully I'll building strength and endurance.
OCN: 1:16.07 moving time for 6 miles at 4.8 MPH. I may not be doing a whole lot right with this build up, but one thing I am doing is going slow enough. Having the tripples have really helped me stay under. Although, the time I'm not being very good about.
Lbs.: 281.4 Tomorrow is a weigh-in day. My best results are normally Saturday and Tuesday. If you haven't figured out what day is best for you to weigh yourself you may want to wander down that little rabbit hole!
Nutrition: Thursday and Friday has gone well!
Saturday: Long Ride 1:49.09 minutes and 14 miles distance 7.7 MPH
I was being very strictly cautious today and was able to do 14 no hills, no accelerations, no out of the seat etc. The route I was on has this massive hill that I blew off by going cross country and it ended up getting a piece of glass imbeded in my tire! I did a partner ride today first time since early February! I told my friend if I go according to schedule perhaps we could ride again at Thanksgiving! Trying to get it in my brain that I need to take it easy! I just went up and down the stairs a couple of times I can feel that the glycogen in my legs is totally spent. I need to chillax!
OCN: 1:49.09 moving time 14 Mile Distance 7.7 MPH Still on a triple because it gives me a couple of gears to mess with. During the ride when I tried to increase the RPM or decrease the RPM I could feel a little bit of a nag in my right knee. We'll see what it says tomorrow!
LBS: 285 Boom! No comment!
Nutrition: Off day Wednesday, but on track the rest! With school starting up I normally do Intermittent Fasting I'm playing around with the idea of 16:8. I normally do 6:10 and I eat in a four hour period there at the end of the 10. Snack, meal two hours later, snack and I'm done for the night. On the 16:8 I would have to skip breakfast and I have never ever done that, so I really don't know!
.blogspot.com Your eyes will be opened!
Lunch Ride_tandemonium_brksC15_broke it_129/63'115 Today's ride was supposed to be an easy 15 minutes out and 15 minutes back, but no, part of the way on the trail I got hung up on some bailing wire! No fun! It went around my crank and actually there is still some there. I managed to take my tandem out today. I modified it for one person and I won't lie to you, it was difficult. But my wife called me back just in time right after I got most of the bailing wire off the spindle! So to work on the crank and remove the wire I flipped the bike! I don't like doing this because it makes a mess out of your seat and the handle bars. But I was not having much success the other way so I flipped it! Now about ten minutes after I finished messing with the wire I came up on another big freaking log! I reach down and grab my seat and the whole thing pops off in my hand. Remind me to tell you how I'm a tester for seats for Brooks Ltd. So, I'll have to send another tester seat back to the builder so they can work out what happened to it! So I piece the seat back together and try to make it home. I was successful! The seat is not in good shape, oh well, that's why they pay me the big bucks to test products! Ha! It's all pro-bono work for supplying me with seats! This is the fourth one! Three of them still being used!
Rationale: A tandem weighs more and since I still had a tripple on this tandem, I'm going to try to do modified weight lifting with the tandem. I'll still be spinning like a bugger-boo, but hopefully I'll building strength and endurance.
OCN: 1:16.07 moving time for 6 miles at 4.8 MPH. I may not be doing a whole lot right with this build up, but one thing I am doing is going slow enough. Having the tripples have really helped me stay under. Although, the time I'm not being very good about.
Lbs.: 281.4 Tomorrow is a weigh-in day. My best results are normally Saturday and Tuesday. If you haven't figured out what day is best for you to weigh yourself you may want to wander down that little rabbit hole!
Nutrition: Thursday and Friday has gone well!
Saturday: Long Ride 1:49.09 minutes and 14 miles distance 7.7 MPH
I was being very strictly cautious today and was able to do 14 no hills, no accelerations, no out of the seat etc. The route I was on has this massive hill that I blew off by going cross country and it ended up getting a piece of glass imbeded in my tire! I did a partner ride today first time since early February! I told my friend if I go according to schedule perhaps we could ride again at Thanksgiving! Trying to get it in my brain that I need to take it easy! I just went up and down the stairs a couple of times I can feel that the glycogen in my legs is totally spent. I need to chillax!
OCN: 1:49.09 moving time 14 Mile Distance 7.7 MPH Still on a triple because it gives me a couple of gears to mess with. During the ride when I tried to increase the RPM or decrease the RPM I could feel a little bit of a nag in my right knee. We'll see what it says tomorrow!
LBS: 285 Boom! No comment!
Nutrition: Off day Wednesday, but on track the rest! With school starting up I normally do Intermittent Fasting I'm playing around with the idea of 16:8. I normally do 6:10 and I eat in a four hour period there at the end of the 10. Snack, meal two hours later, snack and I'm done for the night. On the 16:8 I would have to skip breakfast and I have never ever done that, so I really don't know!
Every Other Day, Sort-Of Again!
So, Tuesday, I was off and good thing because the moving of furniture in preparation for the move has intensified. In fact one night, It was after being a bit tired moving a huge sectional couch, I managed to tweak my knee so in order to finish the work I put on a neopreme knee sleeve (neopreme seems to add a heating element to he support it is also giving). Once out of the shower my knees were back to being parallel so crisis averted.
This is the post for Wednesday 8/16/17 Morning Ride_Under Water_brksC17w/CO_129/64'103 at Olmos Basin
We had a very hard rain two or three weeks ago and this whole area of the basin was under water. If you look at the discoloration of the foliage in the two pictures here you can see that the water three to four feet high. We have had it before where this whole area was as high as the viaduct that is above it. That would submerge century oaks etc. Crazy!
I was fortunate that someone had been out to the trails recently to complete some maintenance and they were pristine on the embankment to the basin. The area pictured above was still mushy so no riding on there. Plus when they're mushy, it's hard to tell where the trails lie. I thought that it would not be any big deal to these trails, but alas my training effect was mostly gone. I was in the easiest gear which normally is too easy to do these trails, but this time I needed it badly.
I ended up with 1 hour and 32 minutes a little less than last time, but then last time I had to do lots of walking. Not this time! I almost managed ten miles! The look on my face is one of fatigue as you can see:
This is the post for Wednesday 8/16/17 Morning Ride_Under Water_brksC17w/CO_129/64'103 at Olmos Basin
I was fortunate that someone had been out to the trails recently to complete some maintenance and they were pristine on the embankment to the basin. The area pictured above was still mushy so no riding on there. Plus when they're mushy, it's hard to tell where the trails lie. I thought that it would not be any big deal to these trails, but alas my training effect was mostly gone. I was in the easiest gear which normally is too easy to do these trails, but this time I needed it badly.I ended up with 1 hour and 32 minutes a little less than last time, but then last time I had to do lots of walking. Not this time! I almost managed ten miles! The look on my face is one of fatigue as you can see:
Or I guess it could be stubborn optimism!
OCN: 1:32.20 for 9.6 miles at 6.3 MPH
LBS. 281.4 (numbers are fluctuating wildly)
Nutrition: Since I'm writing this after the fact I can tell you my eating regime Wednesday night was nothing to be proud of and I'm dealing with some guilt! I'll get over it!
Every Other Day, Sort-Of!
Post for Monday the 14th of August 11:36 AM Lunch Ride_ Out in the Sticks!_brksC17w/CO 100/60'117
On Monday, I got back out there after taking Sunday to totally veg out! Can you tell I'm not a great fan of the trainer downstairs?! I can see that in myself.
I went out on the trails for the first time to see how my body would react to the extra effort required to ride on the dirt. Some folks say that a 1.5 hour ride on the trail is like a 3 hour road ride. At the same time the trails that are closest to my house needed some love and care so kept getting off the bike to move huge logs (dumb because I could see me using the same musculature that got me in trouble with my knees in the first place). So rather than use grit, I decided to finesse this huge log, 'bout the size of a Smart Car! I just rocked it back and forth until I could nudge it out of the way of the trail single-track. I felt smart for finding a different way to git 'er done. Before I would have just picked it up and moved it :-). Darned the consequences!
Since I was being cautious I made sure anytime I had to do something that would require me to get out of the seat or jump over anything I would dismount. Since much of the trail lay unused, over the past year many trees had fallen to block the single-track. There were times where I was just walking from one fix of the trail to another. I only managed 5.1 MPH and in a 1 hour and 40 minutes I only managed about 8.5 miles which is right in range for what I've been doing.
Rationale: When I first started riding I came from running and went into trail riding to strengthen the different musculature that is used on the bike. I'm am pulling out all the stops to get the ball rolling smoothly again. My transition to Mtn. Biking and then road riding was effortless more than ten years ago.
OCN: 1:39.59 for 8.5 miles
Lbs.: 281.4
Nutrition: Toeing the line
On Monday, I got back out there after taking Sunday to totally veg out! Can you tell I'm not a great fan of the trainer downstairs?! I can see that in myself.
I went out on the trails for the first time to see how my body would react to the extra effort required to ride on the dirt. Some folks say that a 1.5 hour ride on the trail is like a 3 hour road ride. At the same time the trails that are closest to my house needed some love and care so kept getting off the bike to move huge logs (dumb because I could see me using the same musculature that got me in trouble with my knees in the first place). So rather than use grit, I decided to finesse this huge log, 'bout the size of a Smart Car! I just rocked it back and forth until I could nudge it out of the way of the trail single-track. I felt smart for finding a different way to git 'er done. Before I would have just picked it up and moved it :-). Darned the consequences!
Since I was being cautious I made sure anytime I had to do something that would require me to get out of the seat or jump over anything I would dismount. Since much of the trail lay unused, over the past year many trees had fallen to block the single-track. There were times where I was just walking from one fix of the trail to another. I only managed 5.1 MPH and in a 1 hour and 40 minutes I only managed about 8.5 miles which is right in range for what I've been doing.
Rationale: When I first started riding I came from running and went into trail riding to strengthen the different musculature that is used on the bike. I'm am pulling out all the stops to get the ball rolling smoothly again. My transition to Mtn. Biking and then road riding was effortless more than ten years ago.
OCN: 1:39.59 for 8.5 miles
Lbs.: 281.4
Nutrition: Toeing the line
Monday, August 14, 2017
Blew Right Past the 30s
I wish I could say I was oh so cautious, but I was not. Remember: what works for one eager beaver will not necessarily work for another. i.e. don't do as I do, be cautious about what you try so the pain doesn't come back to bite you in the knee. Remember all the cautions at savingmyknees.blogspot .com! Richard we are in your debt for sharing your priceless knowledge.
I go out on Saturday to do my thirty minutes that I had achieved two days earlier, but went too far. I had marked two places, a thirty minute turn-around, and a one hour turn-around location a couple of years ago for when my wife and I were going to use the tandem bicycle in order to build time in the saddle. I realize now that it was a huge mistake, because these times were based on what I could do when I was well-trained and in a much bigger gear.
As you can see I'm not a sparrow, I'm a clydesdale (an actual designation at some cycling events). I have had a problem with my weight since my freshman year college 15 that was more like the frosh 30. One nice development is that as you know I spent three months not doing anything and now less than two weeks later my large size shirts are already fitting better. No they are not flapping in the breeze, but I am more comfortable.
I was concerned with my classes starting up next week, I was going to need to wear something! I'm not going to be in the best shape I've been in, but not the worst shape I've been in either.
Rationalization: 30 minute is the amount of time cyclists normally bump up their mileage by in order to not get overtrained, but yet build time in the saddle.
Because I have been waiting the 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, and 48 hours after my exercise bout, it has been every other day that I exercise. I still have not become accustomed to the workload physically so I will continue at and around this workload for another week. It will be very tempting to go further, but I know I have to be conservative and cautious in order to not have a setback. I have adjusted my riders box to compensate for my knees.
OCN: 1:04 still at lowest gear and high spin at 90 rpm. Benefit of my Litespeed (Classic) Goat is that I have three lower gears than the one I have on the trainer (I made it into a tripple a few years ago when I bottomed out on my gears going up an 18% incline.
Lbs: 281.4 not happy with an increase, but hoping it's muscle weight. Muscle weight helps me burn more.
Nutrition: Still on the negative I can really tell on the glycogen consumption in the one hour.
Rationalization: 30 minute is the amount of time cyclists normally bump up their mileage by in order to not get overtrained, but yet build time in the saddle.
Because I have been waiting the 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, and 48 hours after my exercise bout, it has been every other day that I exercise. I still have not become accustomed to the workload physically so I will continue at and around this workload for another week. It will be very tempting to go further, but I know I have to be conservative and cautious in order to not have a setback. I have adjusted my riders box to compensate for my knees.
OCN: 1:04 still at lowest gear and high spin at 90 rpm. Benefit of my Litespeed (Classic) Goat is that I have three lower gears than the one I have on the trainer (I made it into a tripple a few years ago when I bottomed out on my gears going up an 18% incline.
Lbs: 281.4 not happy with an increase, but hoping it's muscle weight. Muscle weight helps me burn more.
Nutrition: Still on the negative I can really tell on the glycogen consumption in the one hour.
Friday, August 11, 2017
4_8_24_48 Take Two
My bump up to thirty minutes on the trainer in the lowest gear with zero resistance almost did not happen due to some achiness. But, as my strength would have it I felt sleepy, so I slept for a couple of hours and then boom I was fine! Remember what Richard said about getting 8 hours rest!? Most definitely makes a difference! I had gotten 6.5 to 7 hours and with the two hour morning nap it primed the pumps or the cannons!
What; you've never heard of a morning nap?! Here's what you do, wake up and do whatever you have to do at the butt-crack of dawn: take the dogs out, feed the cats, eat breakfast, read the Bible, read the news, take your 💓 pills, etc. Then, go back to bed work on your languages, read facebook or this blog and you'll be back asleep in no time partly because you took your pill or you're crashing because of your cereal.
So, after my nap, I went down and did my thirty (two) minutes as easy as I could. I did some on the bike stretches and such and I still need to do some adjustments on the rider-box and then go from there. But no pain at 1,2,4,8,24, and again we'll see about 48. After my ride I proceeded to take the dogs out, do some chores and quickly got overheated and overextended enough to feel woozy and almost blow chunks! So, a trained cyclist or an in shape athlete can bump-up the mileage at 30 minutes a pop, but a couch potato for the last three months cannot or can, but then be ready to blow chunks. Since my body didn't like that much I will continue with 30 minutes for at least two weeks. Still having issues with these numbers. My pride has always been endurance and the long-ride. I look forward to those days. Thank you Richard for all your insight in savingmyknees.blogspot.
.com
OCN: 30(2) mins. lowest gear/no resistance
Trng. Video: South Africa
Lbs: 280.3
What; you've never heard of a morning nap?! Here's what you do, wake up and do whatever you have to do at the butt-crack of dawn: take the dogs out, feed the cats, eat breakfast, read the Bible, read the news, take your 💓 pills, etc. Then, go back to bed work on your languages, read facebook or this blog and you'll be back asleep in no time partly because you took your pill or you're crashing because of your cereal.
So, after my nap, I went down and did my thirty (two) minutes as easy as I could. I did some on the bike stretches and such and I still need to do some adjustments on the rider-box and then go from there. But no pain at 1,2,4,8,24, and again we'll see about 48. After my ride I proceeded to take the dogs out, do some chores and quickly got overheated and overextended enough to feel woozy and almost blow chunks! So, a trained cyclist or an in shape athlete can bump-up the mileage at 30 minutes a pop, but a couch potato for the last three months cannot or can, but then be ready to blow chunks. Since my body didn't like that much I will continue with 30 minutes for at least two weeks. Still having issues with these numbers. My pride has always been endurance and the long-ride. I look forward to those days. Thank you Richard for all your insight in savingmyknees.blogspot.
.com
OCN: 30(2) mins. lowest gear/no resistance
Trng. Video: South Africa
Lbs: 280.3
Wednesday, August 09, 2017
Four Eight Twenty-four Forty-eight
Yesterday I rode my trainer for fifteen, actually sixteen minutes. I can honestly say that I feel as accomplished as when I completed my first one hundred miler. The familiar warm ache was a welcome feeling. The knees had the feeling of having done some work, but no pain. I was very cautious in all my walking. I did some experimenting I'll revisit in a minute.
I went through four, eight, twenty-four and now am waiting for forty-eight. I have mostly kept my legs parallel to the floor. Like I said, my muscles had the warm ache of having done some work. I look forward to doing some more work.
The experimentation I did has to do with me remembering that I got new cycling cleats as well as new dress shoes. I was wondering if the new shoes were affecting the foot-fall and therefore affecting my knees. I have learned that everything in our bodies is connected. One example is that when I was overcompensating with my knees, my back has been affected.
I hope I continue improvement and get to work-out again tomorrow!
OCN: 15(+1) mins.
No Video
Lbs: 280.3
I went through four, eight, twenty-four and now am waiting for forty-eight. I have mostly kept my legs parallel to the floor. Like I said, my muscles had the warm ache of having done some work. I look forward to doing some more work.
The experimentation I did has to do with me remembering that I got new cycling cleats as well as new dress shoes. I was wondering if the new shoes were affecting the foot-fall and therefore affecting my knees. I have learned that everything in our bodies is connected. One example is that when I was overcompensating with my knees, my back has been affected.
I hope I continue improvement and get to work-out again tomorrow!
OCN: 15(+1) mins.
No Video
Lbs: 280.3
Tuesday, August 08, 2017
Avoiding the Primes
So today, I was supposed to start a very slow and arduous process, but since I felt pretty good and excited about the future, I said, "what the hell, I'll go for it!" "Future's so bright I gotta wear shades!" Huey Lewis.
I was going to start nice and slow with 3,5,7,9,11,13, and 15 minutes. But 15 minutes being the increment cyclists use to build time in the saddle, I felt a strong pull. Old habits die hard!
I have spent a month going really slow and doing absolutely nothing so I dared to step it up. Mind you, my wife and I already have two failed attempts at restarting our walking regime both times over-doing it and paying the price.
Yup, I did it! I rode my time trial bike on the trainer downstairs. My Caloi Strada Pro is set up on the Cyclops Trainer downstairs. It will be perfect for this because the front derailleur is busted and it works on tension and there is no way I can get it on to the 52 tooth big ring! I set the Cyclops Trainer at no resistance and left it on the easiest freaking gear! (BTW Richard, if you're reading this I even tried freewheeling {spinning backwards for a little} yup truly easy). I am not very good with pacing; when trying 80 rpm I kept ending up at 60 rpm so I bumped it to 90. When reading savingmyknees
.blogspot.com that the lowest gear would be too easy, I was not convinced. Well, after three months of doing diddley-squat, using the easiest gear feels like something. Very appropriate for the lack of movement I had been relegated to. Also, since I'm writing this over two hours after my forray into this 15 minute craziness, I'm good. No gain! No pain! Or should I say, "Slow gain! No pain!" Let's hope that tomorrow or in two days it's still the same.
Rationale: For over a month now, I have taken 90 steps stopped rested, stretched my back or worked a little on biceps and triceps 3Xs a day and sometimes more. Then, took my 90 steps back stopping at 60, 70, and 80. Now you may think that's kind of weird! Not if you're out walking your headstrong chihuahua, 🥜 Peanut! I speak to her in Portuguese, Spanish, and English, but it doesn't matter she still does whatever the hell she wants.
Stats or the OCN: back in the day of listservs, running.rec there was a group called the Dead Runners Society. The listgods said you could write about anything related to running as long as you posted an ORN: an obligatory running note. Since this is a cycling blog I will post an OCN: 15 minutes plus 1 minute because I can (Scott Cutshall who lost 320 pounds riding a bike would do one extra time around the block and eventually an extra mile just to prove to himself that he could). Poundage is at 280.3 At my heaviest I went up to 289 pounds a mere two years ago. My wife and I had success making little changes for big improvements. And walking, notice not cycling! I had averaged 4,000 miles per year for many years, but it was not ideal to lose weight.
On nutrition I'm in the negative, I am eating less than what I have expended.
I was going to start nice and slow with 3,5,7,9,11,13, and 15 minutes. But 15 minutes being the increment cyclists use to build time in the saddle, I felt a strong pull. Old habits die hard!
I have spent a month going really slow and doing absolutely nothing so I dared to step it up. Mind you, my wife and I already have two failed attempts at restarting our walking regime both times over-doing it and paying the price.
Yup, I did it! I rode my time trial bike on the trainer downstairs. My Caloi Strada Pro is set up on the Cyclops Trainer downstairs. It will be perfect for this because the front derailleur is busted and it works on tension and there is no way I can get it on to the 52 tooth big ring! I set the Cyclops Trainer at no resistance and left it on the easiest freaking gear! (BTW Richard, if you're reading this I even tried freewheeling {spinning backwards for a little} yup truly easy). I am not very good with pacing; when trying 80 rpm I kept ending up at 60 rpm so I bumped it to 90. When reading savingmyknees
.blogspot.com that the lowest gear would be too easy, I was not convinced. Well, after three months of doing diddley-squat, using the easiest gear feels like something. Very appropriate for the lack of movement I had been relegated to. Also, since I'm writing this over two hours after my forray into this 15 minute craziness, I'm good. No gain! No pain! Or should I say, "Slow gain! No pain!" Let's hope that tomorrow or in two days it's still the same.
Rationale: For over a month now, I have taken 90 steps stopped rested, stretched my back or worked a little on biceps and triceps 3Xs a day and sometimes more. Then, took my 90 steps back stopping at 60, 70, and 80. Now you may think that's kind of weird! Not if you're out walking your headstrong chihuahua, 🥜 Peanut! I speak to her in Portuguese, Spanish, and English, but it doesn't matter she still does whatever the hell she wants.
Stats or the OCN: back in the day of listservs, running.rec there was a group called the Dead Runners Society. The listgods said you could write about anything related to running as long as you posted an ORN: an obligatory running note. Since this is a cycling blog I will post an OCN: 15 minutes plus 1 minute because I can (Scott Cutshall who lost 320 pounds riding a bike would do one extra time around the block and eventually an extra mile just to prove to himself that he could). Poundage is at 280.3 At my heaviest I went up to 289 pounds a mere two years ago. My wife and I had success making little changes for big improvements. And walking, notice not cycling! I had averaged 4,000 miles per year for many years, but it was not ideal to lose weight.
On nutrition I'm in the negative, I am eating less than what I have expended.
Monday, August 07, 2017
Catastrophic Injuries Seem to Be the Rule
So in 2015 I was playing soccer with the kiddos and felt a sensation (not a good one) in my left knee, my non-kicking leg. I'm not calling it pain because it wasn't pain, but that day however small things changed with my knee. My doc looked at it, osteoarthritis he said, you know you're getting older you can't do the things you used to do. My catastrophic fall where both my elbows cracked happened after that during the summer. Why was I cycling still if I had injured my knee?! Well, honestly with that I am fortunate! The knee lesion did not affect the cycling. In the meantime, I had even done close to a one hundred miler without ill-effects. (92 miles, nevermind the fact that I was lost. But I've been found, gloreh halluyer). Everytime I attempted to run (falcon run 2016), play soccer (Feb. 2017, play basquetball (Oct. 2016), or any other high-impact activity even though I had my braces on to control the movement I paid the price. I continued to cycle although only on flats and only spinning and even doing super-spinning (120 rpm). I could not get the nagging injury to go away and leave me the heck alone.
Fast forward to May of 2017, our new (to us) SUV had a leak that finally had to be taken care of and caused it to die. Deader than a doornail! My wife and I discussed how we were too old for this and we should call a tow truck. Alas, with hindsight I now know better, but I couldn't see spending a bunch of money for something I could do myself. My buddy Joe and I towed it to the dealership a couple of miles away. Once there and off the chains, we still had to put it in a parking spot because the bay was chained up. Fact: Parking lots have slight inclines to alleviate runoff. Fact: An SUV weighs much more than a sedan or pick-up truck. I attempted to push that SUV into the spot all by myself at first. My strong gams from cycling helped, but my weak knee was not happy. This time both knees were affected or strained! I tried taking it easy all the while still going to work. I tried carrying a staff to support myself. The pain was intense. I tried to stay off of them. I tried taking the ramp down and I had to stop mid ramp. Stairs were better, because with the staff and the banister I was able to help myself. But with the staff my employer forced me to get a prescribed staff (one month with the staff). That month was over at the beginning of July. I decided to give it an extra month just to be safe before I started back to exercise. That month was over at the beginning of August. My wife and I had tried to restart our walking regime, but the first time it was still painful and the second time we over-did it. Meanwhile in South Texas temperatures have been way too high. Ambient temp was at 120° F. This is not the desert! These are the coastal plains. So here it is Aug and I didn't have plan!
How do I fix my knee?! I landed on a site that pushed quad strengthening that even brought up the fact that quad strengthening agravates your knees, but did not answer the quandry. Next I tried to learn what I could about the knee from WebMD etc. I presented with pain in the Medial Meniscus and the Medial Cruciate Ligament in the right knee. In my left knee the one that clicks there was pain at the back at the joint capsule. Standard disclaimer here: I am not a medical doctor or physical therapist and I don't play one on the internet. Pa dum tss! Thangiaverymuch, tip your waitress! Doctor prescribed a series of anti-inflamatories that started its work immediately plus the staff. I was good to go! I had four or five days till I closed out the year with my middle schoolers and then I could just rest until it was time to move to another house this summer. Still no plan, my wife and I tried a second time to start our exercise regime, but we over-did it. I was going ahead blindly anyway.
The third site I came across was savingmyknees at blogger and a book by the same title Saving My Knees by Richard Bedard ( http://www.amazon.com ). Richard chronicles how he saved his knees by healing the soft-tissue damage done to his knees by going too far. Richard was inspired by Doug Kelsey of Sports Center in none other than Austintacious a world away for him, but a mere 45 minutes for me. Richard, thanks be to God, has an analytical mind and a penchant for detail. Richard poured over studies and experimented by trial and error and an experiment of one, wrote a book about it, and still blogs about it to this day! His skill at writing and explaining and supporting those of us wandering around mostly clueless and speaking to doctors that were mostly clueless has proved his point: one can, with careful tracking, careful experimentation regrow soft tissue not with a pill (i.e. glucosamine with chondroitin) although for some it may work (placebo effect), but with successive small movements with non-impact activities like walking, cycling, etc. to push the envelope of motion to allow a joint to recover, grow, and become stronger than before for all intents and purposes. He has the medical studies to support his assertions. He is a man ahead of his time. Now, if medical personnel would just read up and find out the good word!
Fast forward to May of 2017, our new (to us) SUV had a leak that finally had to be taken care of and caused it to die. Deader than a doornail! My wife and I discussed how we were too old for this and we should call a tow truck. Alas, with hindsight I now know better, but I couldn't see spending a bunch of money for something I could do myself. My buddy Joe and I towed it to the dealership a couple of miles away. Once there and off the chains, we still had to put it in a parking spot because the bay was chained up. Fact: Parking lots have slight inclines to alleviate runoff. Fact: An SUV weighs much more than a sedan or pick-up truck. I attempted to push that SUV into the spot all by myself at first. My strong gams from cycling helped, but my weak knee was not happy. This time both knees were affected or strained! I tried taking it easy all the while still going to work. I tried carrying a staff to support myself. The pain was intense. I tried to stay off of them. I tried taking the ramp down and I had to stop mid ramp. Stairs were better, because with the staff and the banister I was able to help myself. But with the staff my employer forced me to get a prescribed staff (one month with the staff). That month was over at the beginning of July. I decided to give it an extra month just to be safe before I started back to exercise. That month was over at the beginning of August. My wife and I had tried to restart our walking regime, but the first time it was still painful and the second time we over-did it. Meanwhile in South Texas temperatures have been way too high. Ambient temp was at 120° F. This is not the desert! These are the coastal plains. So here it is Aug and I didn't have plan!
How do I fix my knee?! I landed on a site that pushed quad strengthening that even brought up the fact that quad strengthening agravates your knees, but did not answer the quandry. Next I tried to learn what I could about the knee from WebMD etc. I presented with pain in the Medial Meniscus and the Medial Cruciate Ligament in the right knee. In my left knee the one that clicks there was pain at the back at the joint capsule. Standard disclaimer here: I am not a medical doctor or physical therapist and I don't play one on the internet. Pa dum tss! Thangiaverymuch, tip your waitress! Doctor prescribed a series of anti-inflamatories that started its work immediately plus the staff. I was good to go! I had four or five days till I closed out the year with my middle schoolers and then I could just rest until it was time to move to another house this summer. Still no plan, my wife and I tried a second time to start our exercise regime, but we over-did it. I was going ahead blindly anyway.
The third site I came across was savingmyknees at blogger and a book by the same title Saving My Knees by Richard Bedard ( http://www.amazon.com ). Richard chronicles how he saved his knees by healing the soft-tissue damage done to his knees by going too far. Richard was inspired by Doug Kelsey of Sports Center in none other than Austintacious a world away for him, but a mere 45 minutes for me. Richard, thanks be to God, has an analytical mind and a penchant for detail. Richard poured over studies and experimented by trial and error and an experiment of one, wrote a book about it, and still blogs about it to this day! His skill at writing and explaining and supporting those of us wandering around mostly clueless and speaking to doctors that were mostly clueless has proved his point: one can, with careful tracking, careful experimentation regrow soft tissue not with a pill (i.e. glucosamine with chondroitin) although for some it may work (placebo effect), but with successive small movements with non-impact activities like walking, cycling, etc. to push the envelope of motion to allow a joint to recover, grow, and become stronger than before for all intents and purposes. He has the medical studies to support his assertions. He is a man ahead of his time. Now, if medical personnel would just read up and find out the good word!
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