Act I: a knee, a needle, and running.
This morning I got my knee injected with a mixture of lidocaine (a nearly immediate-onset and short-acting anesthetic), Marcaine (longer acting anesthetic), and triamcinilone (cortisocosteroid). I did this primarily as a diagnostic step to make sure I really want/need to have surgery on the knee. Sure enough, after watching contrast fill my joint space on a fluoro (real-time X-ray) screen, and after having the medications injected, I drove home and took a run. Since running is the surest way to get my knee to hurt, I figured if this injection let me run without pain, I would know the problem is in the joint space and feel more confident about pursuing surgery.
The run was probably the most comfortable run I've had in six to eight months. Certainly it was the only one in the last five months that didn't just plain hurt. Sure, I had a few creaks that lasted the first two minutes (expected) and sure, my knee joint felt fuller (well, I had just had a teaspoon or two of extra fluid injected into the space), but man, it was so nice not feeling a deep, vague pain and a sensation of instability in that knee. I tried to play it very safe so I ran for 22 minutes around the neighborhood and stopped, despite feeling like I could have gone 15 miles. I got back and did some pushups, pull ups and kettle bell swings, iced my knee, and called it a day. At this point, the anesthetic has worn off, and the steroids have not fully kicked in, so it aches but still feels better than "usual" after a run like this. I am hopeful that in a few days it will feel good and remain that way for at least six weeks. After that, probably surgery.
So I have to sit back and wonder how I have come to this place of planning completely elective knee surgery for a problem that really only has (strong) circumstantial evidence to show that it is there. The best direct evidence I have is on MRI: a congenitally abnormal right lateral meniscus (discoid), but we have seen no tear. Why then, when six months ago I swore repeatedly that there was no way I was letting a surgeon touch my knee etc. etc., does this seem so reasonable? I'll tell you: I love running, and I can't do it. I've tried two rounds of physical therapy, four physicians in three specialties, changing my running form, resting, and cross training, and the fucker still hurts. The last straw was when, a few days before my appointment with the surgeon--a great guy, by the way--I went running and had fun for 40 minutes but my knee hurt for four days. If it doesn't work and I can't really run anymore, at least I tried. But, damn it, I still want to have a go at a few more marathons and a hundred miler, even if I only get another decade of running in.
Act II: Superdad rides again
Jess (my wife) was away for five days recently. It was planned for four days but because of a certain hurricane Irene, she was detained in Portland Maine for an extra day. I had never had all three kids for such a long time before, and certainly had a lot of help from my parents but as we ultimately settled into a rhythm I realized that this was a milestone for me: it was a positive and productive time that despite being challenging was not overwhelmingly stressful. I spent all of my waking non-work time with the children, got a much better sense of their daily routines, complete with ebbs and flows, and was so happy that Jess got to have a substantial trip both mourning the loss of her aunt and visiting with close family members.
So, Superdad rode again, and he's not even dreading his next ride...
Act III: Working Out and Lifestyle Modification
My garage "home gym" -- >
I read two interesting books by the same author recently: Four Hour Workweek, and Four Hour Body.
The first is a somewhat cohesive look at how to game the system, outsource time consuming tasks, and live a life of travel and leisure. I have to admit it has a certain appeal but seems limit for me - whose job depends on time with people, and who has three fairly young children. The take home message was setting firm limits on work and sticking to them without remorse. Easier said that done?
Four Hour Body is a less cohesive printed collection of blog entries on nutrition, weight loss, fitness, sleep, sex, and general approach to life. My favorite thing is that it doesn't claim to cure cancer or solve all problems, just provides some interesting ways to achieve certain goals that worked for the author. As such, I took a bunch of workout ideas and a few nutrition ideas and have been incorporating them into my workout rotation. As I am still struggling to reach "race weight" after sixteen months now, I may try out the food part as well...
In any case, here's a sampling of the last week or two:
Sunday, Aug 21: run 4.25 miles, proving my knee just ain't right.
Wednesday, Aug 24: 55 pull ups, 110 pushups. The pull ups are mostly standard grip with some chin up grip and a few wide and narrow grip, in sets of 2-7 The push ups are mixed standard, military, decline, and wide grip, in sets of 115. Done in mid afternoon in a local park after work.
Friday, Aug 26: indoor bike 12.5 mi hill intervals, yoga 45 minutes. The bike was s poor effort but the yoga was fantastic (dagmar's afternoon grounding practice on YouTube, if I remember correctly)
Sunday, Aug 28: Bike 40 miles in the hilliest section of town. Yes, I know in Gainesville that isn't saying much, but we tried. I rode this with my friend Gary. It was about 94 degrees with 70% humidity. We are going to north Georgia in a few weeks to ride the Three Gap Fifty, the junior partner of the Six Gap Century (http://www.cyclenorthgeorgia.com/). This will be challenging given the lack of available hills and mountains here, but we are counting on training in extreme heat and some intense intervals to pull us through...
Monday, Aug 29: Lifting for core stability, biceps, triceps, and shoulders:
Hip flexor stretch
Kettle bell swings 30 x 30 lb (my first time doing this)
Handstand pushups x 10 (with wall support!)
Swiss ball crunch x 20
Bridges x 20 and Flying Dog x 10/side (on all fours, extending opposite arm and leg)
Bicep curls max weight 6 reps
Hammer curls max weight 6 reps
Tricep overhead lift max weight 8 reps
Tricep kickback max eight 8 reps
Cat vomit exercise x 8 (this one is straight from four hour body - search for it on YouTube)
Plank hold 60sec, side plank hold 45 sec each side
Turkish getups, 20 lb dumbbell, 5/ side (again, I am a rank beginner at these)
Wednesday, Aug 31: Kettlebell swings 30 x 40 lb, torture twists 3 x 3/side (unweighted), indoor bike Tabata intervals, yoga 25 minutes (a "shiva rea" video with my own additions). Torture twists are also from the four hour body book, basically lie perpendicular to a weight bench with your butt on it and feet hooked under something solid, turning your body all the to one side then the other. These will be great when I work up to weighting them. My max instantaneous power output on the bike was 540 W. For me, this is good, and I was happy about it.
Friday, Sep 2 (today): run 22 min, kettle bell swings 35 x 40 lb, 60 pull ups and 150 push ups with bars (push ups and pull ups again a mix of styles).
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