Sweat Fest with the Breakfast Club.

After speaking to the physiotherapist yesterday and there being no mention of my physical activities having to stop, I decided to make today a trainer session ride. The weather was suited to riding inside as it was drizzling on and off and the thought of getting wet was not on my list of favourites. So, once again I set up the chair beside the bike with all my goodies - phones, yes phones (mobile & house), remotes, GU chomps, watch and x2 drink bottles, and off I went. I was determined this time around to sit through the whole movie and what better movie to watch then "The Breakfast Club". I just love Judd Nelson and his bad boy persona, and watching him in this movie brought back so many fond memories of how many times I had watched this movie because of him when I was a young girl.

At about the half way point things began to hurt. Not my legs, but my poor old bottom. I had to shift positions constantly just to get comfortable and all because I didn't wear my proper bike shorts. But, my Tri Suit doesn't have that much padding so I just have to "suck it up" and quit complaining. As one of my friends likes to say "Suck it up Princess". So I did and the remainder of the movie went by quite quickly. I kept a constant tempo with my pedalling and averaged about 25kph. I can't help wonder how much easier this pedalling thing will be when I have my Cannondale. Having cleats and the full use of the entire pedal revolution should make it so much more productive.

So, I thought I would take a post workout photo of my shirt and how much I sweat as proof of my crazy "cycling fest". Lucky my pants are black as they were sopping wet too BLAH. I managed to ride 39km in 1hr 31 mins. This is a first for two reasons :

• Most I have cycled to date in one sitting.
• I sat through a whole movie cycling.

I am so very excited and nothing apart from my tush hurt. After finishing I was a good girl and did what the physio told me to do and rub a tennis ball up and down my left ITB for 5 minutes. Ouch is all I can say, considering the area I had to rub is bruised. It is however less bruised than yesterday thanks to my wonderful cream "Alleviate".

I had a great day today and have already done my strengthening and stretching exercises x2. Two more to go for today.

Physiotherapy Day 1.

Turns out my knee complaint is merely the symptom of a much bigger picture. What an eye opener today. I always knew I had to work on my core strength to keep my back healthy, what I didn't realise is that with all the strengthening I do do, I am still very weak in my core and the impact this is having on the rest of my body is starting to become evident.

Upon arriving to meet the physiotherapist she asked to see my films from the ultrasound and then proceeded to ask me to lay down on my back on the table. She started to manipulate, rotate, extend, flex my ankles, knees and hips whilst asking me questions about what my concerns were that brought me to her today, past history, activities etc etc. After doing that she tested my ROM (Range of Motion), flexibility and found that I have extremely flexible knees which hyper extend backwards - not a problem in itself. However every major muscle group in my left leg and to some extent in my right leg is about as a tight as can be. Problem area No 1 Because my core and back muscles are still weak my lower limb muscles have tightened and become contracted almost in a compensatory fashion.
Problem area No 2 I literally have buns of steel. My gluteus maximus is so rock hard and knotted that I have actual pressure spots in several different regions along my left gluteus that made me see stars when she tried to manipulate and massage the area. This has a direct impact on my lower back and the tighter it gets the more my back flares up - my sciatic nerve has been flaring up as well.

Problem area No 3 My quadricep muscles couldn't get any tighter if they tried. Even with all the stretching I am doing they still are tight and this is having a direct impact on my Iliotibial band which is Problem area No 4. As a result of all of this tightness my left patella is being pulled outwards slightly which does not allow for proper tracking of the knee cap causing undue friction - hence the knee pain Problem area No 5.

Then to add some extra oomph to the mix my Gastrocnemius and Popliteus are tight as well Problem area No 6.

Let me tell you, everywhere she rubbed and stretched I broke out in a cold sweat. The pain at times was too much to bear and I had to ask her to stop a few times, if not more. I always knew I was not that flexible but this made me realise how inflexible I had truly become. Quite scary I haven't torn any major muscle due to the inflexibility.

So, where to from here? I am happy that there is nothing seriously wrong with my knee joint. The pain is merely a reflection of poor core stability and tight muscles. So I have a list of basic exercises and stretches that I have to do 4 times a day till I see her again on Friday. I also have to use a tennis ball to rub up and down my ITB after every cycling expedition to stop it from contracting further. On Friday she wants me to take my runners in and she is going to see my posture and running technique whilst I am on the treadmill. I hope she doesn't laugh too hard.

So all in all, although I am bruised from the deep tissue rub I have an extremely positive outlook and know that this can be managed. I am very happy to say the least.

I couldn't help it.

I do believe two posts ago I said I would behave until I saw the physiotherapist on Monday, but that was till I realised how long four days off would be. So I misbehaved in a way that I thought would cause me the least possible damage. I am all for misbehaving in a controlled manner....oh how naughty I can be....lol

I rode for 30km with my brother in law. I did the M7 bike track again and did the same 30km loop that I did the last time. I do believe he really enjoyed himself however I think he found it harder because he was riding a mountain bike. Actually I know he found it harder because I gave him the opportunity to ride my bike and I rode his, and to ride a heavy mountain bike for that distance is hard work on the quads. But he did it and we talked and laughed alot of the way which was nice. It sure makes for time to pass quickly. It was actually quite funny to watch us swap bikes. Scott is about 6 foot 5 inches tall and quite a solid frame and he was riding my bike with his knees almost wrapped around his ears. I on the other hand needed a ladder to get on his bike and once I was on, at full extension of my leg only just touched the pedals - absolutely hilarious - we would have made Laurel & Hardy proud.

The way back is always much easier as the majority of it is down hill and the speed you gain is sometimes hair raising - well for me it is. I hit 49 kph on one part and decided to start slowing down as I thought if I got the death wobbles the potential for becoming air bound and doing some serious damage was highly probable. Where as my brother in law enjoys high speed stuff and was head down bottom up and hooned it past "Grandma me".

I had a fantastic morning and look forward to some more good family rides. Oh, before I forget, I tried the GU chomps today. Absolutely delicious. Like eating a gummy bear only bigger. I think these are a go. Need to stock up on all different flavours.

MS 8km Fun Run.

http://register.mswalk.org.au/MS-Walk-and-Fun-Run-Sydney/BarbaraHughes/&utm_source=individual&utm_medium=Widget&utm_campaign=Walk_2010

Not liking this Rollercoaster

I always valued the importance of my health, being sick for almost a year makes you yearn for TOTAL health like nothing else. The saying "You don't know what you've got till it's gone" takes on a whole new meaning. I used to wake up just wishing for no pain and if I had a mediocre day, then I was on Cloud 9.

Since then my meaning of health and well being has taken on a totally new concept, and when a health scare smacks me in the face - I wish, no pray, beg and plead for things to be okay. I have too many things to attend to for anything to get in the way. I almost feel cheated of my right to be healthy when an ailment comes knocking. God only knows how hard I have worked over this past year at getting my health back for anything to go wrong. So when my preliminary results came back of a bulging meniscus in my left knee, to say I was a "blubbering idiot" was an understatement. All my dreams of the 70.3 went flashing before my eyes straight down the gurgler. I really need to learn to get my emotions under control. What good is having a total meltdown? The outcome would still be the same. I guess it's easier said than done.

The 24hr wait for the conclusive results was hell. I went from feeling sorry for myself, to having the total "you know whats", to almost a sense of grief, loss. Thank goodness it was only 24hrs, not sure if hubby and the kids would have coped any longer. The conclusive results did not make one single mention of the bulging meniscus - zip, niet, nada - WOOHOO. The only thing they did mention was calcification of the quadricep tendon. No biggie. That wont stop me from getting running in. But I will behave till Monday till I see the physiotherapist.

Since Tuesday I do believe I may have aged 10 years with the worry. I know this because my son Kurtis found my first ever "Grey Hair". Can you believe it, bugger I can't. It is right there on my left temple, so everytime I stare into the mirror there the little critter is. I am almost tempted to rip it out but as my son Kurt so likes to remind me if I do many more will take it's place. So guess what I am doing this weekend - you guessed it - a nice deep mahogany colour should suit me just fine. What do you think?

Laugh/cry. Which is it?

Today was one of those days which had me not knowing whether I was Arthur or Martha. I started the day off going for my 7km run with Susan. It was absolutely freezing even though the sun was shining, the air was so crisp it hurt to breathe in. With every breath I felt tightness in my chest so I thought it necessary to take a couple of puffs of my inhaler - this eased the pulmonary situation quite readily. The usual aches started as I took off running as well - knee pain in both. But much the same as what happens with my lungs, my knee pain dissipated as they heated up.

Susan is great to run with, she keeps perfect pace and rhythm so its easy not having to think. We got over the bridge which is the 4km mark in 22 minutes. Not bad considering I had to ask Susan to slow down the pace for a couple of minutes till I regained my form at about the 2km mark. I was happy with the time so far. I then felt like I had finally warmed up so I increased the pace and it felt right. Susan said I was running about a 5min 30sec per/km and it felt good. With about 300m to go I decided to ramp it up and start running at about a 4min 30 pace and that just nearly killed me. I have no clue how Susan holds that pace for a full run. I was taking strides that just felt so unnaturally long. Nevermind, the point was I held it for about 300m. YAY FOR ME and I finished with a total time of 38min 35 secs for 7km.

So after that Susan wanted me to do stride outs. 3x100m stride outs. Which I did, but I think I may have turned them into 3x100m sprints. I felt so strong and nothing hurt apart from some twinges in my left knee. I think I may have impressed Susan. She said I actually run like a sprinter - very upright and strong. And, get this, she said I even looked really good. That means so much coming from a runner. So anyways we finished off our sessions the way we always do - having a yummy coffee - only this time we had some drama with a young lass throwing her guts up over the retaining wall just near us. Susan and I both looked at eachother and went "I wonder if she's pregnant?". No sooner did she throw up she hocked straight into her breakfast again.

After my coffee I had the dreaded ultrasound of my Left knee as yesterday was my right knee. Today I was not so happy leaving as I was yesterday. No comment was made on my right knee and the cyst I thought I had there could not be found. GREAT. Today however the preliminary result on my left knee is a bulging meniscus as well as calcification to some of the tendons. The knee I was not so worried about turns out to be the one I should be worried about. I get the conclusive results tomorrow after 10am. Not sure if I want them now, but I know I need them to get the rehab/recovery ball rolling. Not sure what this means and I will just have to wait to see the GP tomorrow afternoon with the results. Kurtis will also get his backslab off his arm as well. Kill two birds with the one stone.

So I think I made the mention yesterday that I would try to find a sports physiotherapist - well I did find one and I have an appointment on Monday at 9:20am. I look forward to whatever it is they have to say. I need to know what I am doing as stopping exercise is not an option.

Motivation. I'm feeling it.

I am yet to encounter a day, and it's been this way for a while now, where I haven't wanted to do some form of activity. Before one day end's I have plans for the next day. Can't help it, it's the way I roll. I do believe that this will stand me in good sted for what lays ahead. I try to make all my training sessions varied as I find that if I start to repeat myself I get bored. That's also how I roll. Variety is the spice of life. It keeps me interested and wanting to keep going back for more. Repetition is a killer for me.

So today I hit the pools again. Below is my session:

• 500m Freestyle warm up
• 10x50m kick with flippers F/s up, Bk/s down
• Ladder 50, 100, 150, 200, 150, 100, 50
• 12x25m medley
• 300m cool down

I changed it up a bit, I love the kick so that stays for me. I really get a good burn. Lactic acid builds very quickly so when I hit the end of the pool I just let my legs hang. No standing on them, just total non-weight bear hang- feels great. Today's session totalled 2400m, not bad. I am feeling strong. The thought of the 70.3 is never far from my mind when I train and it is my sole driving force. I want to be ready, strong, mentally alert and focused.

After the hour spent in the pool I toddled off to have my first Ultrasound of my right knee and then tomorrow I have one of my left knee. Fingers crossed there is nothing, and if there is let it be minor. I will wait for the results and then book in to see a sports physiotherapist. I need to start asking around for a good one in the area.