Training Log Archive: schnitzer

Forgot about the orange (think light green) course controls yesterday so went back out into the woods and collected the last few tapes.

Took it slightly harder than yesterday and the knee coped ok. The groin didn't have so much of a problem today either, pleasing.

It's going quite well really, maybe it won't be 'months' before things are back to normal. I'm fairly sure the knee doesn't stick out so much anymore, or rather the muscle is bigger so it just looks more flush. A good sign either way. Plus the RH wire end is starting to swell up and hurt again, just like before the setback. Another good sign in a weird sort of way.

Hamstrings and glutes, as suggested by the Concept 2 website.

Yeah, project rowing is really taking off now. Won't be long and there'll be green on my chart every day.

Shame I missed the stretching/massage last couple of days (Friday not possible, Saturday lazy) but I think the iron throne was easier on the old bum today. Nothing conclusive yet with either hypothesis so the experiment continues.

14713/15150 steps.

Wow, first time I didn't make my goal - should be careful not to lose interest as I think it's a really good habit. It's like continuous active recovery plus keeps the metabolism high, important for someone who likes fat, sugar and alcohol.

A bit naughty but couldn't help myself. Finished what I started just over a month ago and took in the rest of the tapes from where I had the knee setback. Took it very easy, got a bit lost a couple of times but also really enjoyed finding some controls.

The knee coped ok but very soon after collecting the last tape my groin started hurting, stopped the clock and walked carefully back from there.

The new injury didn't really cause me any problems, it had gradually loosened up throughout the day plus I took a tablet, again a bit naughty. Oops.

19708/14911 steps.

The bus timetable for getting to the castle for 9:45 just wasn't doing it for me, decided to power walk it instead.

23981/14619 steps.

So at the end of a long day helping the orienteering club organise the Summer festival at the local castle I managed to get in the way when someone accidentally let go a heavy metal rod over the side of one of the trailers. One end caught me in the right shin before it hit the floor. Nice, not a lot :(

Went for a 4km walk before lunch but knee felt good so also ran (yes, actually ran) most of my short trail route before lunch too.

What a difference one week makes! Still a long way to go, forced to take very small steps going downhill and felt it best to quit while I was ahead with a little over a km left to go. But definitely positive, a big improvement for sure.

Intensity is a guess i.e. probably just into zone 4 - my chest strap has stopped working for some reason.

Edit - changed to zone 3 as a result of a very similar run 9 days later with new battery in chest strap.

I can tell I've run a bit faster than usual but everything flexing rather nicely in fact. As one would expect from so much stretching and massage every day.

The usual battle with both bum cheeks and continued to gradually build up the focus on the quads - it seems the left side is much tighter. I remember it really loosened up after wasting away all of the muscle but now full circle it seems.

Now I wonder - did that left-right inbalance cause the knee setback? Maybe more likely if the tension band actually moved with the quad tendon like I always thought it did. That would make it a compression band, which it isn't, so probably less likely. Then again it is obviously between the cap and the tendon so the tendon must be moving over it. Interesting.

Found a really good article last night about modern knee-cap reconstruction surgery. It does seem like the surgery went very well, I worked really hard at the rehab or I've just been plain lucky. Or all of that. Comparing with the results of others who have also had the cannulated screw/tension band technique done I do have one of the most successful outcomes. Or I did pre-setback in any case. Makes me feel a little silly trying to carry on being a terrain runner who regularly looks at a map instead of where his feet are going. Oh well, one gets what one expects to an extent. All good things come to those who wait providing they work while they wait etc etc.

16932/14498 steps.

Pretty good idea I thought, do the hills route but at walking pace. Much easier to ensure that the bad leg is actually working hard that way.

Then there's the added bonus of counting as 'alternative' training although I'm not sure on some of that terrain that there is much less chance of another setback as a result of walking it.

Lastly I have to find some way of meeting my 'steps' goal each day, getting quite obsessed by that in fact. I must be at some sort of tribal elder equivalent by now.

Yet more attention to quads and some extra to calf muscles too.

15654/14438 steps.

Medium trail route.

Brisk walked the first third and then started jogging once it got more hilly. Tried to keep it comfortable enough in order to almost enjoy myself. Had some complaints from the left groin on the long downhill into Alby, otherwise good.

Lovely weather.

Almost didn't do this. Really glad I did manage to motivate myself.

The left-side problem has flared up slightly after today's run but only in the gluteus, the hamstring is fine so far. Spent a lot of time on both bum cheeks and around the hips, mostly before but also the left-side again after hamstring stretches (which tend to undo the work on the gluteus it seems).

Paid extra attention to the quads today and this is my idea, that getting the left quad muscle working better and more flexible is the key to my left-side problem.

18340/14233 steps.

Quite possibly the best rehab session of all, everything seemed easier even the dreaded good leg at the front lunge. So promising that I even tried some one-legged squats to finish - managed a whopping 15 seconds of those.

EDIT: hmm no wonder, forgot that I took some of the stronger painkillers earlier in the day.

Got my range of movement back now, a very small feeling of discomfort on max extension and a very back to normal, tension band feeling on max flex. I don't feel any resistance at all now on a quad stretch.

Probably time to do an experiment, get smarter on the muscle recovery work and see if I can't...
a) make rowing more comfortable, there is some info on the concept 2 site recommending flexible glutes/hamstrings
b) finally cure this left-hand side problem, the glute/hamstring stability and strengthening exercises have not seemed to help much (and TBH I suspected they wouldn't, not on their own anyway)

17429/14065 steps.