Training Log Archive: Traut

Gail and I are not te type to let holidays be about us spending alot of money on each other.. sorry economy... Mother's Day and Father's day will be more about cards and homemade gifts from Claire, but with how many hours Gail has been at work (right through Mother's Day weekend I did want to do something special for her to relax and enjoy something this Memorial Day weekend in honor of her first Mother's day. People have been in visiting and we have been out so this weekend I took her down to the resort at Stonewall Jackson State Park in WV. It is a low key resort (I can afford) that fits us a it better then more expensive resorts and it had a spa for Gail to spend Sunday afternoon getting a facial and massage.

Saturday we took care of errands and headed down in time to check in and get ourselves set up. All I had time to squeeze in was a walk around the park roads in the evening for an 40 min. or so. I am planning my first run in 2 weeks tomorrow.

walked on the north ridge trails at North Park for an hour and then full stretching, heal raises, heal walks, and ankle circles. Left knee still agitated.

went to the Y and hit the pool for an aqua-jog. I felt more power then I have in a long time, but I did not feel as healthy as I did on Tuesday. My right knee felt good, but my left was irritable. My right calf was obviously still damaged while I was doing PT.

The good thing is that I was really feeling the eccentric/concentric concentric quad contraction through the knee- which I have mentioned before can be more simply put " I felt the eccentric strength to 'bend my knees'". It always comes down to my eccentric strength. I felt it on my right leg is the pool and the machines I used for PT at the Y. My left struggled in the pool more and got fatigued harshly during PT. Hopefully that was just a sign of good clean work.

The key is that I am 'feeling' the eccentric contraction and bending my knees more. I have to focus on it, but it is there.

Still resting.

Knee extensions, leg press, and hamstring curls (seated) at the Y and then full stretching with wall squats and raised one legged quarter squats in the evening

went for a walk in the woods at North park for about an hour and PT in the evening. Definitely didn't feel as good as yesterday. Calves tight, knees a bit more achy. What I did feel was more contraction/extension in my knees and therefor more purpose in my walk. That was good. PT included full stretching and 4 way hip work with resistance bands.

Knee extensions and leg press at Y then full stretching (including quads) and wall squats and single leg raised quarter squats. Want to get to lunges again before starting up with any running.

Today I actually felt progress. I didn't have any problems with knee during aqua-jog or afterword during PT. I felt my extension and contraction of quads (in other words I was able to bend my knees during eccentric phase- new for me!) during my stride and felt power on the machines during PT. This is probably the most I have ever gained during a week of rest! Not sure why. I may be getting to the point where I am feeling ore normal 'at rest', that may change very quickly when I get back going. I will ease in of course. I will keep resting a bit longer to be sure, I have been fooled many times before...

Walked 45 minutes with Claire. Legs are pretty much identical to a week ago, not shocking. Right calf still damaged and right knee still swollen. The tug on my TA can be felt without any intensity at all.

PT included full stretching and heal walks, heal raises, and ankle circles.

I loaded up the new bike rack with Gail and my bike and threw the chariot in the back and we took advantage of the beautiful weekend and headed up to Oil Creek State Park to do the bike path. Oil Creek state park has a bike path that is about 10 miles long. Gail sticks to bike paths and 20 miles (out and back) is about right for the first ride of the year. I have run on a few parts of it as part of trail runs when I have been in the area but not seen most of it. I pulled Claire along on the Chariot behind me. It was a really nice bike path on a really nice day. Claire was having a funky day though so we stopped a lot to try to sooth her when she started having difficulty on the way back. Very leisurely ride. Exercise but not a workout. Still a rest day. I did get read most of the history displays though as we stopped. Always a bonus. This area has so many interesting slices of history. Keeps us busy.