Training Log Archive: Ari-o

Decided that my arms would be a good thing to use what with my whole knee thing. And that it would be hard not to use my legs too much on the usual hilly rollerski loops. So I convinced my dad to come bike alongside (a little slow for him, but not bad) on the newly paved Chesterfield road. Beautiful rollerski along an esker, just enough terrain to keep it interesting, new pavement, no traffic. Skated part way back, knee felt it a little, but no pain afterwards. Not bad days!

After a camp meeting and then looking at cabin drawings, it was too late to drive to the flat-ish road for rollerskiing (not about to do some steep hills with my legs, and I'd like to recon my routes before skiing them after this winter) so I rode bikes again, reconing my 30k route (verdict: okay, but Route 41 is sketchier going downhill) and doing my best not to fall down and die.

And I didn't.

Only went about 43 down Nickerson Hill as I saw a car in a driveway. Slowed from 40 to 37 and then back to 43. Up the Church Road, around Fogg and down the North Road at a high rate of speed (pavement there had deteriorated) and then rolling to Mount Vernon, with more fun hills; the hill in to Mount Vernon requires brakes for the downhill.

Then my knee felt it again, so I slowed down somewhat. And it sprinkled. Came home and took a shower; cool today! But good ride. And not much residual knee pain.

We drove up to Maine in the morning; I didn't go run NP because hills and my knees are not agreeing right now. The drive up was painful: heavy traffic the whole damn way up until Maine. Then we stopped for food and beer in Portland.

We had the idea that I'd meet Lincoln and Jess in Brunswick and we'd bike up to Readfield, and my sister and her bf would drive their car up. But Jess has been sick (and just got back from France) and my knee is dogging me and we didn't want to delay the rest of the party, so we went straight to camp and Jess drove up and Lincoln biked up.

Our plan, bike south, try to contact Lincoln and see where he was (he was biking with a flip phone and an iPad, seriously) and then bike back. We went down towards Mount Pisgah having a nice ride. Up the Pisgah hill and then there were a series of culverts being replaced so every 100m or so there would be a two or three foot section of dirt. We went over several and on a downhill there was a higher-crowned one and Jess went over it a little aggressively and lost balance and couldn't recover and went down.

It was scary to watch. She got up quickly, before I could try to do an assessment (don't move your head or back) but she seemed responsive enough. She was okay, her bike was okay, her helmet had a small crack (a foam hat for the rest of the ride, and then the trash), scratches and bruises, but nothing too bad. Her handlebars were askew and fixed (she had a tool) and we went gingerly on.

We made contact with Lincoln and met in him Winthrop, and then went up and over the hill and then up Nickerson. By this point my knee remembered that it didn't feel great, but it was okay and didn't hurt after. Also we jumped in the lake, which cures all ills.

Ran to the bike shop, just to see how my legs would feel. Okay, but certainly not great. Then I bought a new helmet, because they looked at the one I was trying to replace a broken stay for was way beyond saving. So then I Hubwayed home with a box and such.

C • Smart move 2

So I was all excited to run stadiums. Old friends and new, and an old friend who showed up for the first time. I was up before my alarm, there a few minutes early, and it was cool, cloudy and sprinkling rain. I was ready.

I ran the first section. Fine. Second, third, fourth, all good. And then my knee started to hurt. 7 sections in it was time out for a long stretch, and I only did a few more before it hit again.

IT band, die.

Anyone have ideas? Resting for most of a week didn't help. I think strengthening? How does one do that? Ugh being old sucks this kind of shit didn't use to happen.

C • ITB 5

Didn't feel great but this was more a test of my knee, and the pain wasn't there during the run or after. This is good. We'll see how tomorrow goes on stadiums.