The Day After…

So, Christmas has come and gone in a rather uneventful manner. I suppose that’s a good thing though. Got to talk to the parents, brother and sis on the phone yesterday. They’re all doing the traditional thing. Matt and me? We decided to escape the white Christmas in Albuquerque and become beach bums in Santa Monica, CA. The real reason we’re out here is because I needed to get those 3 knarly screws removed from my hip. But we figured, if we’re gonna take the time to get out to SoCal for the surgery, might as well stick around. After all, what are we gonna do at home?!? The screws aren’t as long as they looked in my x-rays, about the length of my cell phone…

Matt’s been getting in lots of riding and has been able to hook up with some friends. He did a ride with the LA Wheelmen yesterday, and today he got to meet and ride with Mario. wish I could have done both, but I’m still down with the recovery. Of course I’m just fooling myself about riding with Matt & Mario…unless they’re on a recovery ride and are pedaling with only 1 leg.

Me? I’ve been getting in a lot of walking, which is nice exercise. I get sore a bit as I walk, but nothing too bad. The worst is the rubbing on my incision. I have to walk pulling my waistband away from the cut. I tried extra padding around the area, but that doesn’t help. Guess I just need to wait for the area to heal. Today I managed to make it into the hotel gym. I went yesterday as well and got in 30 min cardio. Today I got in some weight lifting and 70 min of cardio. I switched machines so that I would be in different positions since it seems that I really start aggravating my incision if I stick to one position on a machine for more than 30 min. Well, the weight lifting was stupid. I ended up opening up my incision. I knew something was wrong when I was doing some hamstring curls (lying on my belly). I felt the wound open up a tad and decided to stop. Duh! I’m an idiot. I didn’t think weight lifting would hurt as long as I didn’t do something like squats that could injure my healing bone. I didn’t think that weight lifting might stretch my skin and rip open the wound. Oh well, I cleaned things up and it should be fine. It was minor since I caught myself before doing too much damage.

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Screws are OUT!

13 months after my periactetabular osteotomy (that’s a hip rebuild in layman’s terms), the screws holding everything together were removed. This is the last stage in that journey, and a new beginning for the way my body works. Essentially, I can do everything I used to do activity-wise, except running. I’m relieved that I had this procedure done, and disappointed I didn’t do it sooner! For anyone with hip problems looking for a world-class surgeon, here’s a plug for the man that made it happen for me:

Dr. Richard Santore
7910 Frost Street, Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92123
858-278-8300

Dr. Santore is an expert in this field, and spends a good part of his time fixing the botched up surgery jobs of other less-qualified surgeons who attemp this procedure. I’m thrilled I found him as my surgeon.

Matt and I took off on Monday for the surgery, just in time to miss the huge snow storms in the Burque. I’ll finish off with a beautiful photo of our recent snow taken by Karen, a friend of mine. She does photo greeting cards!

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I am a Singlespeeder!!

Note: If you are looking for info about periacetabular osteotomy recovery, scroll to the bottom of this page and click the “previous entry” link. Continue doing this at least 3 times or keep going until you get to the very last set of pages. These blog posts go from most recent to the past. This current post here is the turning point in my recovery…the point at which I’m really feeling pretty normal again. The struggles/training and exercises to recover are futher back.

The Chica Ride was small tonight, just Kim and me. Randy had come along with Kim and was planning to do a solo, so Matt suggested the 4 of us take a ride together. This would be a great time for me to try out the new singlespeed too! I was a little nervous about using the singlespeed…I’m doing great on the road bike, but am still not up to par on the mountain bike. Turns out, I had nothing to be worried about, it was much easier than I thought it would be.

I gotta get a pic of the singlespeed for the blog. The pic I have up now is my bike with gears. Matt transformed it for me and I’m back on the 24″ wheels. I love it!! It’s a perfect addition to the stable…Moots YBB Superlight, Intense Spyder and Kind Cycles Jeni for the dirt; Giant TCR1 and Surly Pacer for the road…oh, and the Specialized Rockhopper beater for taking to the bar, so I’m good to go.

Important things to remember when riding a singlespeed:

1. Look ahead and anticipate upcoming climbs. Either spin fast to get a good start or stand up and crank it hard.
2. Spin, even when you don’t want to. You need to keep your momentum going.
3. Use every little downward slope to your advantage.

I’m sure there’s more to it, but hey, this is my first ride.

So we headed to Elena, biked up, rode around in the Elena area, then headed to the North Foothills and then back to the house.

Ride Stats

• Distance: 15 miles
• Total time: 2 hrs (lots of stops)
• Average heart rate: 133
• Calories: 700

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I’m Back!!!

I rode 125 miles on the road bike at the Grand Tour in Malibu, CA! How about them apples?!? Matt’s shocked that I’m not more excited, but I guess I’m still in a state of shock. My longest ride since the surgery was 40 miles in Durango. I got the ride done in 11 hours, 53 minutes…definitely not a race time, but hey, I’ll take it! I ended up burning 3404 calories and had an average heart rate of 133, so I definitely took it at a leisurely pace. No results posted on the website yet….arggghhhh!!

I had a blast on the ride. Started out going solo, and rode with a woman who was out on the course for a leisurely weekend ride on her own. We talked and rode through the more “gruelling” climb on Latigo Canyon Rd together, which was nice. She was one tough rider too!

When we parted ways, I rolled down the hill and ran into a guy, Bart, with a soggy course map he could hardly read. Since Matt had prepped me the night before with a laminated map we put together at Kinkos and clipped onto my brake and shifter cables, I had the perfect navigation system (and a record of an awesome ride that can be done again and again). Bart, not knowing me and my directional deficiencies, willingly allowed me to navigate the ride. Anyway, turns out Bart is from NY and on travel in CA for 2 weeks doing business, so he decided to do the Grand Tour. Pretty cool!

So, we made it to the first rest stop at about 35 miles or so. I felt really good! I grabbed some orange slices and 1/2 a banana and we continued on to the next checkpoint at about mile 65 where we were given a great lunch. 2 other riders, Ron and Ray both from CA, joined us for the next part of the ride. They said they were going to go for a group run the next day, which I found to be highly unlikely…they ended up running 17 miles the next morning!! So, after hearing the story that Ron and Ray took a wrong turn right from the starting line, we still let Ray lead the pack. We ended up missing a confusing turn and got a “lovely” climb that added about 2.5 miles to our journey. No biggie, we got some great downhill on the way back to the correct turn. Ray had ridden like a bat outta hell and totally dropped us…he got a 151-mile ride reward for that one. The rest of us made it on to the 3rd and last checkpoint. This stretch seemed to be the longest to me. I was glad to take a break!

Check point 3 was my last bailout point. I had a respectable 87 miles under my belt and my hip was starting to hurt a bit, but hey, I only had about 35 miles left, so why not go for it? We ran into Matt at this checkpoint as he was finishing up his double century. We saw Richard and Dave, who were riding tandem on Dave’s new bike too. Matt offered to pull me the rest of the way, but I didn’t want to hold him back, plus I wasn’t quite ready to get back on the bike yet. I popped a few ibuprofen, and Bart and I hit the road. Ron hung back to wait for Ray who was still returning from his wrong turn.

On the last leg of the tour, I got some sort of crazy burst of energy and was hauling tail (for me) at about 21 mph for well over 10 miles. I turned around to see if Bart was still behind me and he was nowhere to be found! I was a tad bummed, because I’d lost my riding buddy and now I’d probably have to finish the rest of the ride on my own. As I hopped back on the bike to get ready for the solo trip to the finish line, a guy from Rancho Cucamonga, CA came up and we rode together for a bit until we hit the PCH.

I had to bail to use the restrooms, so I said goodbye to him and the rest of the ride was on my own. There were 6 climbs on the PCH that I wasn’t really expecting, but I managed them all just fine!

I rolled into the finish line to see Matt fixing a plate of BBQ for himself. Richard and Dave were there too. Matt quickly set his plate down, grabbed my bike, and told me to hurry and check in–they were timing us! Matt had a recovery drink and a warm plate of BBQ he fixed, just for me upon my return. What a sweetie. ;o) He finished his 200 miles BEFORE I finished my 125, starting about an hour before I did.

I had a great experience and I would DEFINITELY do it again! Matt talked me into entering at the last minute. I had planned on doing a solo ride while I waited for Matt to complete his double. What a great change in plans! I think I’m ready for the doubles now!!

Tomorrow is the Chica ride–it may be a small one, Sue is in Japan for work, Kiyoko’s son has pink eye (iffy) and Kim may have her son. That leaves me and Paige! Regardless, should be a fun ride. It’s raining now and it rained yesterday. The trails should be in nice condition!

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Revisiting Old Stomping Grounds

Kim and I did the Chica ride this evening, and decided to take an alternative from the route we normally take…one that Kim and Randy ride, but that I haven’t ridden in a very long time. We headed down to Spain on the paved Tramway Trail and then rode the dirt up to the Spain parking lot and continued up, doing a loop in the Foothills. Then we headed back down the trails and rode around in Bear Canyon Arroyo. On the way home, I showed Kim the dirt trails that parallel the paved trail–pretty fun! Kiyoko will love this route. We’ll have to take her on that next time she rides.

It was a quiet night on the trails. I think the looming rain clouds scared people away. But, as usual, the clouds were there only to taunt us. We got some sprinkles on the way out for the ride, but then nice weather the rest of the time. This was the perfect ride to follow after my Triple Lindy–Light from last night. I was pretty sore this afternoon and a tad bid nervous about riding, but this route was just enough to get my muscles loosened up without adding to the joint pain. I’m thinking that I could probably take the singlespeed out on this route for my first time on that bike. Not quite ready for it yet, but soon!

Ride Stats

• Distance: 15.2 miles
• Max speed: 25.5
• Avg speed: 8.7
• Ride time: 1:55 hrs
• Total time: 2:07 hrs
• Calories: 550

Well, I’ve been in 2 days of training off site from work. It’s been nice to be away, but it’s back to the old grindstone tomorrow. Blech!

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Triple Lindy–Light

So I made another riding milestone today! It’s the most climbing than I’ve done in a concentrated period of time since the surgery. I took the Giant down to the Casino and climbed back up Tramway, then headed up the 2nd climb to the Tram and around that and headed back to Tramway. My 3rd and final climb for the afternoon was up Elena Gallegos, past the guard shack and around the little look where the picnic areas are.

I was going to call this ride the Triple Lindy, but the *real* Triple Lindy for me will be the Casino climb, La Luz, and then the Tram. I never even did that before surgery!

So, I’m heading up the Casino climb (the pic is actually heading toward the Casino) at about 12.3 mph (fast for me–I’m usually around 10 mph at this point of the climb) and huffing and puffing when I see this huge shadow creeping up behind me. The biker behind me decides to draft me, doesn’t say anything, just starts hanging onto my wheel to catch his breath. I say hi, he responds, and eventually rides next to me and stirs up a bit of small talk before heading on ahead of me. This dude was huge (tall, not fat)!! I’m telling you, the length of his legs had to have been about as long as my body, minus my head. I’ve seen him before, Trek bike, freak of nature legs. There’s no way he could have been getting any drafting benefits off me, considering my size. Matt says he was probably just checking out my ass. Guys are perverts.

Heading up to the Tram was uneventful, other than almost getting hit by a car backing out of a parking spot behind the Tram building. I sped back down from here and road Tramway Blvd slower than usual…I was definitely starting to run out of energy. I think at this point, my ride time was 51 minutes. So I sucked down some water, tried to recover without going too slow, and headed to Elena.

Again, another uneventful climb, not many roadies out today. I made it past the guard shack (I think I was at 1:08 hrs here) to the top of the picnic area and see an Albuquerque Police Dept SUV parked with an officer working on paperwork inside the vehicle. I give a nod to say hey–it’s cool to see them out there keeping the areas safe! I keep going on and the cop follows me and rolls down the window…turns out it’s Pat. He’s one of 20 police officers that works with Open Space. He came to one of our FooMTB meetings a while back ago. He’s busy as usual, but had just gotten in a Foothills ride before getting back to work. How cool is that?!? So, after chatting a bit with Pat, I head all the way back to Tramway Blvd. On the climb up, the hip started to hurt right as I passed the turn off to Eagle Ridge. This is good to note, as I think I’m going to do this ride more often to mark progress. I decided against riding the neighborhood because that would have entailed more climbing.

Got back to the turn off to the house and I had in 19.4 miles. Doh!! So close! So I turned onto Tramway Vista and wrapped around…not enough, 19.8!! I biked around our condo and came right in at 20. Yeah!! Oh, and yes, that’s a picture of the turnoff to our house. No, I didn’t take it. I found it searching for Albuquerque images. Some person actually took pictures of their drive around Albuquerque and posted them online. Good grief!

So, here are the stats for today:

• Distance: 20 miles
• Max speed: 37.1
• Average speed: 14.7
• Total time: 1:30 hrs
• Ride time: 1:25 hrs
• Average heartrate: 163 (Damn that’s high!! It’s usually around 140ish.)
• Calories: 641 (this seems VERY low. I’m not believing that reading considering how hard I rode today–who knows)
• Casino climb stats (1st climb): max–13 mph; min–7.9 mph
• Tram climb stats (2nd climb): max–8.9 mph; min–4.0 mph (yep, I was a hurting puppy here, no break time really between the Casino and here)
• Elena climb stats (3rd climb): max–10.1 mph; min–7.0 mph (pretty typical for me, so it looks like the short flat across Tramway was a good recovery)

Tomorrow is the Chica ride!

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Playing in the Dirt

Went back to the Foothills again for a ride. Not much around here I can ride right now. Still, had a good time. I decided to attempt the North Foothills again. Last time I did this I walked most of the North side. This time, I took off from the house, starting out on Dan’s trail. I made it to the Tram parking lot with only 3 stops. Not bad! Took a break at the start of the climb up to the water tank and made it to the top without a stop. Impressive (for me)!! The terrain is still too rocky for me in parts, but the good news? The rock garden is now a challenge again! I ended up walking through that too. It hurt too much to be bouncing around in that. Maybe I should have taken the Intense, but I don’t care, I still had a blast!

I rode all over the central part of the Foothills, then back down the dirt trail along Simm’s Park Rd and paved Tramway trail back to the house.

Ride Stats

• Distance: 16 miles
• Ride time: 2:00 hrs
• Total time: 2:20 hrs
• Max speed: 30.5 mph
• Avg speed: 7.5 mph
• Avg heartrate: 148
• Calories: 800

Ouch–I’m very sore right now. Took some ibuprofen, but that didn’t do the trick, so I took something a little better. That’s at least masking the pain, but I can still feel it from the inside out, right at the hip joint. I think I did enough to inflame it just a tad today. Ahhhh, such is recovery.

So, waiting for Matt to get back from his century ride. He should have been back an hour ago if he was doing a century, so my guess is that he’s decided to make it a 100+ ride today. Surprise? Not really!

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Wind and Sprinkles

It rained today! Unfortunately not enough to get us the moisture we really need, but I guess every bit counts. I had planned an after work road ride, so despite the wind, I decided to get out and do it. I attempted to head down Tramway Blvd. toward the Casino, but a side wind kept pushhing me toward traffic. I had absolutely no control of the bike and was freaked out to say the least. I decided to head back and do some neighborhood riding instead. I was hoping I’d be blocked from some of the wind…for the most part, it worked.

Took the road to La Cueva campground since the La Luz road was way too hard for me…still can’t stand in the saddle, so needed something with less of a grade. I stand for most of La Luz, even on my better days! Anyway, got to the top of La Cueva and immediately headed down. I got creeped out by the fact that each camp area (these are picnic areas, not overnights) had 1 vehicle in it. Nobody out, just the vehicle. What does someone do solo at a picnic area?? To top it all off, this guy on a small motorcycle came creeping up the road at a very slow pace behind me. He had a full helmet on with a totally black visor so I couldn’t see his face. I was at the top of the road, turned around, and got the hell outta there. Don’t think I’ll be riding that road anymore.

Finished up with a neighborhood ride. Forgot the stats, but I think it was about 19 miles, 1 hr, 40 minutes.

Time for bed.

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It’s pronounced Floreeeda

I took Florida (don’t pronounce it like the state, or you’ll get funny looks from the locals) Road all the way out toward the reservoir, but decided to keep on chugging along toward Bayfield. I wanted to set a new goal–40 miles. I got in 43! I’m paying for it now though. My entire body is sore. Feels like I have the flu or something with the all over achiness. Just popped some pain meds, so soon, all will be good. ;o)

The ride was awesome! The pic you see was heading out to the reservoir at mile 10. Had to take a nature break, so I got a picture as well.

As I got to about mile 15, the dark clouds really started rolling in, as did the wind. Luckily, it was a tailwind for the climbing, so I got a little boost, which was nice. On the way back was another story. I wanted to stop and take some pics, but I wanted to avoid the potential rain even more, so I chose to bypass the scenery. I rode part of this ride yesterday, with one descent I distinctly remember being 35 mph. Today it was 20 mph and I was hauling ass just to get that. It was brutal coming back, but a very good workout.

Ride Stats (a new record since the surgery!)

• Distance: 43 miles
• Ride time: 3:07
• Total time: 3:34 (includes a short stop in town to get a glimpse of the crits before heading to the hotel)
• Avg speed: 13.8 (blasted wind!)
• Max speed: 38.3 (blasted wind!)
• Avg heartrate: 145
• Calories: 1254

Made it back to the hotel room, downed the recovery drink, ate a banana with peanut butter, and a hardboiled egg (mmmm, yummy lunch–not–but no appetite after the recovery drink) and took off downtown to watch the men’s crits. I missed the women and was bummed by that, but did get to see Luna Chix Shonny Vanlandingham and Crazy Cat/Yeti’s Shannon Gibson hanging around after the women’s crits. Definitely 2 of my road and mountain biking heros!

Got a call from Matt (that’s him stretching for the ride yesterday) about 20 minutes before the men’s pro crits were to finish. I headed back to the hotel, and sure enough, he was all in one piece and happy to have had one epic of a ride. He got cleaned up and we headed out to STB (Serious Texas BBQ) for some sammiches, then off to Steamworks for some good beer!

Well, I’m wiped, Matt’s wiped, it’s been a great day, so it’s time for some shuteye.

Hasta!

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Faster than a Speeding Train!

As expected, Matt beat the train today. He took off at 8:15 AM from Durango, along with all the other riders in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic Citizen’s Tour, with the challenge of beating the infamous train into Silverton. 2:56 I believe was his time; the train generally takes 3:30 to get to Silverton, so he had lots of time to spare. You’ll be able to get the details from his blog pretty soon. I got some good pictures of him at the starting line.

The weather is great here. A nice respite from the pounding heat and wind in Albuquerque. I took a slower ride out on Florida Road today, only covering about 25 miles. I was sore today, so I didn’t want to push it, especially since I want to go on the longer ride tomorrow. I’m planning to take Florida Road all the way out to the Lemon Reservoir. I thought it was 40 miles, but just Googled it from the hotel and it’s only about 30. There’s some ass-kicking (at least for someone in my physical state still recovering from the hip surgery) climbs involved, so that may be all I need. If I need more, I’ll go a bit more on County Road 240 to get in 35 or so.

To avoid doing any damage to the body, I have to remember to sit and spin…sit and spin. No more standing on the climbs. Reminds me of a toy my sister had when she was little.

Matt will be doing a hammerfest tomorrow, and I’m hoping he comes back with no mechanicals and a big fat smile on his face. Should be fun, as he’s planning to ride with a very good rider from Durango, Dave Harris.

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The Manitoba Loop

Ouch! I can’t believe I’ve done it again. My strength and cardio far outweigh the ability of my hip. Today, after a day’s rest, I was feeling very strong and ready for a hard ride. I was planning on a short one, since I got home late from work, and generally, short rides are fast with lots of climbing. That was in the old days…I gotta remember that I can’t do that yet!

So, headed down to the casino and climbed back up. I had to pedal into a headwind, so I think my max speed going downhill was maybe around 30 mph. I figured I’d have to ride harder to make up for the lower speeds. Climbed back up, trying to stay over 11.5 mph, but started to make 10 mph as the grade increased. I was a pathetic 8.5 at the steepest part. Oh well, I got another challenge as I started climbing toward the La Luz road turn off. Some guy was coming down from the road and hooked up on Tramway. He wasn’t too far ahead of me, so I decided to push it and planned to catch him before we got to the stop sign at the top of the climb. I caught him, right before the sign! Pretty happy with that, so I let him pull me for a while along the flat part of Tramway. At first he was a little miffed (who knows why), so he tried to drop me. He couldn’t, so he finally gave in and tried to be friendly. Eventually, he turned up Manitoba and I was ready to turn around and head back home. This usual after work loop is 16 miles, and I wanted to make it an even 20, which is why I had biked to Manitoba rather than heading up Elena on Simms Park Rd.

Went back to Simms Park and rode up to the check in shack, turned around, and did the usual climbing back through the neighborhood. I realized I wasn’t quite at 20, so added 1 more mini climb up Cedar Hill. Got back home and I knew I’d overdone it. A nice sharp pain in the hip joint reminded me that I’m a bit “stubborn” when it comes to following the directions of my PT and my surgeon. I guess that’s just a part of my heritage, according to Lee, a fellow Asian who was kind enough to spread more stereotypes by telling Matt that Asians are “stubborn” and “cheap”.

Ride Stats

• Max speed–42.1 mph
• Avg speed–16 mph
• Distance–20.3 miles
• Ride time–1:16:27
• Total time–1:17:00 (stop light at the turn around by the casino)
• Calories–529

So, the plan? Start riding the trainer again during the week–shoot for 2 times, then add in the upper body cardio workouts during the week. I’ll save the longer rides for the weekend, where I’m less apt to push it because I’ve got more time

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Fanta Se

Matt’s doing his SFBFL ride today with some friends as I sit down to type this blog. I got us a hotel in Santa Fe near the plaza, the Old Santa Fe Inn. It’s just a couple blocks from where Matt and crew met at the Zele Cafe bright and early this morning at 7:30AM.

I tried to get back to sleep after Matt took off, but couldn’t. Friggin’ inn workers were laying bricks on the ground outside our room! Geesh, this is a local Inn, but come on! Do you have to start manual labor at 7:30AM?!? I’m pissed–I was looking for some more shuteye.

So, rather than be lazy, I woke up, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the inn, eggs, potatoes, etc., then came back to the room, threw the hair in a ponytail and put on some shorts and a t-shirt and headed to Zele myself to get an Americano and read the newspaper. I finally made it back to the hotel and out the door for a ride on my own at about 11AM. Wow, what a ride it was!

I decided to ride Dale Ball Central. It’s probably been a year since I’ve been out there! I pretty much had the trail to myself until toward the end of the ride; a very peaceful day with a slight breeze and just enough clouds to keep the temps reasonable.

I left from the hotel, taking Alameda to Upper Canyon Road, to the trail head at Upper Canyon Road and Cerro Gordo. From Alameda, I picked up the Santa Fe River Trail. It was completely dry! Not a puddle to be found. Very sad considering the amount of water I’ve seen running through there in the past.

The two pics look like totally different trails!

My ride today had a heck of a lot of climbing; the toughest I’ve done on the mountain bike since the hip surgery. The Moots rode like a dream after I let out some air in the tires. I had loaded them up to 35 psi before the ride–way more than necessary–it’s been long enough that I couldn’t remember how much psi I normally ride with on the Bontrager Jones XR TRs. I love these tires, lightweight, and perfect for the terrain I ride.

Ran into Bugs’ cousin on the trail. He saw me coming and hopped to the side, but not too far off. He didn’t seem to be very afraid of me, so I snapped some pics. I continued to the top of one of the many climbs and decided to take a breather and swig down some water. There was a silly little trinket shrine (something quite common in NM), so I thought I’d get a picture of that. While trying to focus in on the shrine with the camera, I heard a large bird calling at me from above. He continued to call loudly, circling around the area where I was. My guess is that I must have been too close to its nest. The last of the wildlife today was a tailless lizard that quickly scurried by my front tire. Gee, I wonder how he lost that tail?!? Had he had one, I probably would have ridden right over it.

Ride Stats (forgot to put the bike computer on, so the miles are an estimate)
Calories: 1355
Avg HR: 138
Ride time: 4 Hrs
Distance: 17 miles

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Back at It

Well, I managed to take the 3 consecutive rest days in a row. The human body is a strange organism. Before the rest days, I was working out every day and craving more exercise. I did it until the hip couldn’t handle it. After 3 days of rest, my body is tired and I’m lethargic (okay, more so than normal). I didn’t want to exercise at all! I managed to drag my ass to Defined and rode the stationary bike and then did an upper body weight lifting session. Hopefully I get the drive back to exercise again.

Stats for the Bike

• Time: 30 minutes
• Pace (1-5): 4
• Maximum heart rate: 174
• Calories burned: 204

Stats for the Weights

• Time: 45 minutes
• Pace (1-3): 2
  
• Calories burned: 189

I’m going to go riding in Elena Gallegos starting at the Embudito trailhead with Paige and Kim tomorrow after work. I could be asking for trouble since all the chuckheads like to ride that area after work too, but I’ll take my chances. I’m more agile now and can manage to get out of the way a bit faster than I have been in the past. This is the first time I’ve ridden with Kim, and Paige is always a blast to ride with, so I’m looking forward to it! Hopefully I’ll be able to ride with Sue before she’s grounded due to her newly pregnant status.

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Living the Sterotype

“I’m coloring the text, just like a karaoke screeen,” says Frank, with a big grin as he edits a script we are going through for an upcoming Asian Pacific American Annual Celebration. I wouldn’t have had a freaking clue what he was talking about had I not heard this ridiculous display of misfits (none Asian, by the way) singing karaoke in Santa Monica at both the King’s Head Pub and Barney’s Beanery a couple weeks ago.

So the next day, I’m given some free swag from this Asian committee I serve on…it’s a a camera carrying case! WTF?!? Somehow I’ve got to find a way to tell my new found colleagues that they need to stop perpetuating the stereotypes. Good grief!

Well, the Celebration went well. Interestingly, there were more Asian spectators than there were Asian performers, even though each performance reflected an Asian culture.

Met Paige for a ride after the Celebration. Went to our usual route along the Bosque. We’re increasing speed each time we ride, so I know I’m improving. I’m increasing speed at an acceptable rate too (no more than 10% a week–PT’s orders).

Bosque Ride Stats

• Ride Time–2:19
• Total Time–2:22
• Max Speed–21.2
• Avg Speed–15.3
• Distance–35.4
• Calories Burned (I got my heartrate monitor back!)–780

I’ve been pushing it way more than 10% a week in terms of overall exercise though, and my hip is paying a price. I jumped from about 2-3 days of very strenuous exercise to 5-6 days. I think that’s what did it. Matt has prescribed 3 consecutive rest days. I think I’ll take the advice.

I think I’m going to start charting some of this stuff to get a visual image of my progress. Could be cool in a geeky, Asian kind of way. ;o)

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Mmmmmmm Beeeeeeer…….

I guess I should have said something like, Mmmmmmmm Wiiiiiiiiine for my title, since I can’t drink the beer at Il Vicino, my favorite watering hole, but the Homer quote sounds better. I’m allergic to the stuff! Guess it’s some Asian thing. Dr. David (Matt’s double century riding partner from CA) said it’s an Asian thing. He had a med school friend who had the same problem. Our Asian blood can’t tolerate alcohol, go figure!

So we just got back from Il Vicino after delivering the new FooMTB jerseys to the club members. The jerseys are awesome! If you didn’t get a chance to order them, we’ll be placing another order some time in the future. These ones are definitely worth the $$. Check out the link and see for yourself! Matt did an awesome job coordinating that effort again.

Didn’t get a ride in today. My hip is killing me from the road ride I did on Tuesday. It was short too, but the climbing did me in. I should know better by now, but I really like doing the climbing, so I did it anyway.

Today, hit the elliptical for 30 minutes, did some ab work and some upper body. That’s it, just enough to get the heart rate elevated to make sure I stay in half way decent shape.

Yesterday was a REST DAY! I felt just like the dog in the picture. Totally wiped after the road ride! The alarm clock went off in the morning and I felt like I’d hardly placed my head on the pillow.

Stats for the Tuesday Road Ride
This ride started from the house, went down to the casino on Tramway, headed back up on the climb, continued on Tramway Blvd, headed up the climb to Elena guard shack, then back down to the Eagle Rock (or whatever the name of that road is), then the neighborhood climbs back to the house.

• Total time: 1:06
• Ride time: 1:04
• Distance: 16.5
• Max speed: 35.4
• Average Speed: 16.5

Monday (I’m going backwards in time) I went to Defined Fitness and did an upper body workout (arms still hurt!) and 30 minutes on the stationary bike.

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Rollin’

Riding is becoming easier and easier!

This recovery thing seems to be working! I went on another roadie ride with Paige on the paved Bosque. As usual, I seem to bring the wind along with me. Paige indicated that when she rides alone, she has better luck with the wind…hmmmmmm.

Stats for the road ride

• Ride Time: 2:10:32
• Total Time: 2:22:30
• Max Speed: 23.6
• Avg Speed: 14.7 (we had 15.6 heading out with a little less wind)
• Distance: 32.1

Forgot the stats from the MTB ride I did last Wednesday as well in the Elena Gallegos area (there’s a pic of the Sandias from Elena)–

MTB Stats

• Ride Time: 2:09
• Total Time: 2:20
• Max Speed: 29.8 (I rode some pavement, duh!)
• Avg Speed: 7.7
• Distance: 16.72

I’m pretty stoked cuz riding is getting better. I haven’t managed to up my miles much. Seems like 35 on the flats for road and 16 on smooth dirt is my max right now, but I’m lifting light weights with the legs at the gym now, so I think my strength will start to improve soon!

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The Last PT Visit

I’ve graduated from physical therapy! Actually, I graduated on April 17, but forgot to post that I had finished. Here’s the lowdown–
4/17/06 Routine 9

• New Stretches
  • Knee to chest (right and left knees)–pull knees as far as possible toward chest
  • Cross Ankle–across the opposite knee, sitting upright in a chair. Do with both legs.
• New Exercises
  • Continue the hip flexion exercise where I lay on my back, right leg hanging off, with weight. Lift the leg up on bench with knee bent.
  • Hip flexion at gym–with knee bent, lift weight up with quad parallel with the floor
  • Lunges–use a 30″ stride by marking the length on the floor with tape. Do with both legs and add weight as I become stronger.
  • Step ups–on an 8″ step, one leg “floating” over the ground, drop the leg until the heel hits the floor, then straighten the leg on the step. Do with both legs.
  • Heel to Hand–standing, bring the right heel up to the left hand quickly and return heel to floor. Work this to improve fast twitch muscles in both legs.
  • Heel Lifts–1 leg at a time, add weight as I become stronger
• Things to continue from previous Routines–
  
  • Leg Presses
    
  • Knee Exercises
  • Advanced Stability Ball
  • Pulleys

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Waiting…

It’s Saturday and Matt’s riding the Mullholand Double Century. He should be back in a little over an hour. Since I’m still a cripple, I’m hanging out. But hanging out ain’t so bad, really. There are much worse things to do. So this morning at about 5:50 AM, Matt and I headed out the hotel room to the 6:00 AM mass start. Matt’s riding with Dr. David, so we found him and the guys got in line. Not much of a line since most of the group decided to start earlier than the mass start, but there were at least 20 there. I took some pics, said hi to Bill (a guy I’ve seen at all the DCs Matt’s done so far), and then headed back to the room.

Took a leisurely ride from Agoura Rd to Las Virgenes to Mullholand Hwy. What a beautiful road to ride on! This entire town is just made for road riding! Lots of long, smooth roads that wind through trees with very few stops along the way. I had a great time riding, even though my gearing still isn’t working. Bike World took a look at it and thought we’d fixed it, but no. Found that out when I was climbing today. What the f&*% do I have a 27 in back for if I can’t use it?!? The second to largest cog in back didn’t work either, so I was climbing in a not so easy gear. I managed okay, but it definitely cut the ride short as my hip wasn’t up for the challenge. Managed to get in 21 miles, 13.4 avg speed, 34.6 max speed, 1 hr 34 min ride time, 1 hr 45 min total time.

I immediately went for a soak in the very HOT hot tub at the hotel. Hot enough to bake me from the outside in, but it definitely felt good! Laid out in the sun a bit and took a nap. It was partly cloudy, so I wasn’t too worried about turning into a lobster. I’ve been biking in knickers lately, so I got a really messed up tan line I’d like to get rid of soon.

Tomorrow we head for Santa Monica! I love that place. We’re gonna risk it and try the low-end Bayside Hotel. We’ll see if it’s worth it. It’s closer to the beach, so we thought we’d give it a try over our normal Sheraton that we stay at. Keep your fingers crossed!

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Foothills Fun

I took the Intense out for a spin in the dirt today. First time I managed to get in some good singletrack!! I did make one big mistake though. I forgot that Matt and I hadn’t dialed in the fork or shock, so that was definitely not good for the gear. I rode pretty light today, so I hope I didn’t do any damage.

Took the paved Tramway Trail to Simms Park Rd and rode the dirt trail up to the Elena Gallegos check-in building (you can see the trail along the road in the pic). Headed right on Tr. 365 and took that to the parking lot off Montgomery. Turned back, then headed down toward Bear Canyon Arroyo and took a short cruise down there. By the time I hit Bear Canyon, my hip was pretty sore and the muscles were getting stiff too, so I took a short spin through there and headed back on the dirt trails that parallel the paved Tramway trail. Cut into another dirt spot to the hood and took the back streets home.

Overall, a great day!

Ride time: 1 hr, 46 min
Total time: ~2 hrs, 15 min (I had to stop a lot)
Total miles: 15.32
Average speed: 8.3 mph

Going for a road ride with Paige tomorrow on the Bosque paved trail. Then at 5 PM, we’re having a girl party–Paige, Sue and Denise are coming over for some brew and chat. Matt will be coming back from the San Ysidro Dirty Century at the White and Red Mesas around that time, so I’ll make some food for him and we’ll share what’s left of the brew. ;o)

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Road Toads

So, I don’t know if they were toads or not, but I saw 3 of them smashed on the road during my ride this evening. Poor toads…they really need to look both ways when crossing the road.

They’re as bad as the suicidal bunnies running around on the mountain bike trails and the roads in my neighborhood. I’m constantly worried that what happened to the poor little squirrel in the picture will happen to Thumper when he inadvertently runs into my path when I’m cruising through the hood.

Lots of roadies out tonight. The weather was great, as usual. My bike computer marked the temp at 77 degrees F. I decided to ride down to the casino on Tramway (first time since the surgery). Turned around at the casino and headed back. Managed to keep my pace at between 10.5-11.2 mph on the way back up until my chain slipped off on a steeper part. That slowed me down and I rode around 8.5-9 mph along that short bit. Continued on Tramway, turning on Simms Park Rd to the checkin building. Turned around and took the neighborhood back home, skipping the really big climbs and taking Tramway Lane back to the house.

Stats for 4/12/2006

• 13.6 mph average
• 36.8 max speed (I could have sworn I hit 39)
• 16.4 total miles
• 1 hr 16 minutes ride time

Let’s see, yesterday I did the PT exercises and stretches, then Monday, I went to Defined. Did 30 minutes on upright bike, 30 min on recumbent, then all the upper body weight lifting I normally do and the pulleys. I’m up to 20 lbs for extension and abduction; 10 lbs for flexion and adduction.

Gonna go riding with Paige and maybe Lisa again this Saturday. Friday is a 9/80, so I’ll ride hard that day and make Saturday my light spin day. I hope to ride Sunday too. Before I know it, I’ll be good as new! I think I may start trying to hit the mountain bike again.

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Biking in the Bosque

Got to go road biking along the Bosque today. It was another gorgeous NM day, providing absolutely no excuse for staying indoors. There were lots of people out enjoying the weather, but we had no issues with sharing the trail today. That was a pleasant surprise right there!

Met Paige and Lisa in the Alameda parking lot, and we took off for our ride. I took off from the house wearing my long-sleeved Crazy Cat jersey, but quickly shed that for the short-sleeved version once I got to the parking lot. We did 20 miles at a nice, leisurely pace a bit past the bio-park and back. We dropped Lisa off and did a harder ride for about 10 miles. It was a great way for me to get in the miles without the pain that usually goes along with it.

Stats for the Ride:

• 11.7 avg mph (I know it’s slow, I’ll pick up the pace next time–I’m drinking my milk, remember??)
• 21.5 mph max speed
• 31.4 total miles
• 2 hrs, 40 min ride time
• 2 hrs, 53 min total time

Matt and I headed out to the usual for food and beverage. I could have cooked dinner, but I just didn’t feel like it tonight. Not sure what I’ll do tomorrow. I’ve got a bag packed for the gym, may just do upper body to give the hip joint a rest. It’s sore now and I’m back to depending upon the cane, but it doesn’t hurt as bad as the last ride. I’m either building more strength or riding smarter. Who knows?!? I’m riding, and that’s really all I care about anyway. The rest will come in due time.

“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”

 

– John Quincy Adams, U.S. President

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Bright Sunshine

Okay, so maybe I’m not quite at this pace yet. In fact, I’m probably more along the lines of this pace…..

But it’s all riding and it’s all good. Today was an awesome day! The sun was out, temps were in the upper 60s to lower 70s during the ride, and the wind was light. Matt was in Gallup, NM at the Dawn Til Dusk bike race with Dan. They decided to race duo on their singlespeeds. Since I was on my own today, I went at my happy-go-lucky slow as a snail pace today. It woulda driven Matt nuts! ;o)

Woke up, had a light breakfast, surfed the net…got bored. Too chilly out to get on the bike yet. Okay, so it was in the mid 50s. I could have handled it, but I was too lazy to dig out a jacket and then layer so I could strip down as the temps rose. So, I sat out in the sun on our deck and read a book for awhile. We have some evil birds living in the walls of our house that kept me occupied part of the time. They chase each other out of their nests, then kill each other’s babies. It’s really sad. I found an egg out in our driveway that had been tossed out of a nest.

I started to get ready to head out for a road ride around 11:30, but I didn’t hit the road until 12:30. I got distracted…finding clothes, doing some laundry, filling up water bottles, talking to Isabel, the neighbor…it all adds up. Anyway, geared up with shorts, short-sleeved liner under the SS jersey, and arm warmers, I was ready to hit the road!

I headed down Tramway Blvd, and ended up meeting 2 other women riders, Rita and Lynn. Rita works where I do, and Lynn works as a PE teacher. Pretty cool. I ended up riding with them to Tramway and Central. We turned around and headed back. They dropped off at Tramway and Live Oak, and then I hit the neighborhood for a little bit of climbing. I needed to really test out the gearing as Matt was sweet enough to put on a 27 cassette in back for me so I can wuss my way through some rides while the hip heals. I noticed a slight difference. For one, I could actually use my hardest gears, whereas before, it was too difficult to pedal. Had some slipping in the 3rd and 4th back ring (from the largest in). Otherwise, not bad!

I tried not to climb as hard as I did last time, and it paid off. I’m sore and have to definitely use the cane to walk, but I don’t hurt like I did last time. Plus, I’m good to go for a light ride tomorrow. Paige and Lisa are going to go riding with me on the paved Alameda trail. I’m looking forward to it!

Stats for today–
Ride time: 1.5 hours
Avg. mph: 13.8 (don’t laugh, I’ll get better–I’m drinking my milk!!)
Distance: 20.3 miles

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Working Out

This quasi-working out thing is starting to get to me. I can’t wait until I can ride for real and for as long as I want without paying for it the next day by not being able to walk straight…well enough complaining. Time to get out and do something about it, so here’s the work that’s going to get me to that state.

Tuesday, 4/4/06

• Stationary bike at the gym (upright) 30 min, 6-8 resistance level, around 80-90 rpm
• Recumbent bike 15 min, 4-6 resistance level, around 90-100 rpm
• Leg press, 3 sets of 6, 45 pounds, on each leg

Wednesday, 4/5/06

• Trainer, using the Giant, 1 hour

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Riding the Paved Trail

Well, another new milestone has now been met. I got in my first road ride since the surgery on the Giant TCR1. I was ready to head out on my own, but Matt decided to warm up for his big ride with me. So we headed out on Tramway Blvd and then turned off toward the Elena Gallegos entrance. Got to the check in building and headed back down, taking the neighborhood streets back to the house. The weather was great! Lots of sun, temp at 68 degrees according to my bike computer, slight breeze. I wore my very cool Crazy Cat gear. I have a long sleeved jersey with wind block in the chest. That’s one of the coolest piece of clothing I own!

So I don’t forget, here’s the route:

• Simms Park Rd NE (Elena Gallegos Rd)
• Rt on Eagle Ridge Ln NE
• Lt on Eagle Ridge Rd NE
• Rt on Rockrose Rd NE
• Rt on San Rafael Rd NE
• Lt on Bobcat Blvd NE
• Lt on Deer Dr. NE
• Rt on Tramway Lane NE (I’ll pass Bobcat Blvd)
• Rt on Big Horn Ridge Rd NE
• Lt on Big Horn Ridge Dr NE
• Rt on Juniper Hill Rd NE (cross Tramway Rd NE)
• S on Juniper Hill Rd NE
• Rt on Cedar Hill Rd NE
• Rt on Tramway Lane NE

I could have continued on Juniper Hill Rd, but the hip had really started hurting, so I sent Matt on his way and headed back home. There was a lot of climbing on this ride…more than I probably should have done for a first ride out, but it sure was fun!! I was weak enough in the hip muscles at the end of the ride to make it impossible to put full weight on my right leg (pain level 6 out of 10) and walk without the cane. I’m still sore and stiff in the joint, so I’ll take it easy tomorrow. I need to still work on strengthening the muscles around the right hip. I’ve started the leg press, so that should help. Standing in the pedals was very difficult too. This was a good baseline for future rides.

Total Ride Time: 1 hour!

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Rain–Yeah!

It’s raining today. I thought the weather was supposed to be beautiful like yesterday. Well, Sunday is supposed to clear up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. We really need the rain!

So, it’s probably a good idea to record a follow up report on how I feel today since yesterday was a monumental milestone in my recovery.

• Sore and stiff hip joint, mostly with flexion, adduction, abduction and external rotation movements.
• Muscle soreness in all the adductor muscles, especially in the gracilis.
• I need the cane for walking right now; walking on my own is uncomfortable when bearing weight on the right leg. Pain is a 4 on a scale of 10. I’ve had a lot worse.

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Singletrack SUCCESS!!

I did it! I rode on some singletrack today, all be it just a tiny bit. The day was gorgeous out. Sunny, upper 60s, light breeze. I was planning on lifting weights today, but there was no way I was going to go into a gym on a day like today. So, rather than pull out the bar bike, I decided I wanted to give the Moots a spin…duh, who wouldn’t?!?

I get the bike out, hop on, and DOH!! Where are my freakin’ pedals!?! Ah, that’s right, Matt stole them from me and put them on his 29er. They were EggBeater pedals, so I wanted to try them out on a ride. Well, all his pedals were on the bikes so tight, I couldn’t get them off, so I stole my Candies from the Intense and was on my way.

I told myself I’d be good…I’d stay on the paved trail. I rode the trainer and did the elliptical for a bit last night, and my PT told me I need to be careful about overdoing it. The plan: ride the paved Tramway Trail. I was bad. Who cares…I decided to ride through the neighborhood a bit, then dropped down for a segment of the Tramway Trail. I got to the road that leads up to Elena Gallegos and decided, what the hell? There’s a nice, steady, low-grade climb in the dirt up to the park check-in building. I took that up, slow and steady. I needed a couple of breaks due to some mild cramping in muscles I didn’t realize I had. I made it to the top, and decided to try out the actual trail. It was cool! Swoopy, sweet, then rocks! Ouch! That isn’t comfortable, even on the Moots right now. Too much jostling on the hip joint. I didn’t go very far, but did enough to make myself happy. I rode down the same dirt trail I came up, which wasn’t very comfortable either, so I took it slow to avoid the bumps. I’m slow and have lost my agility, but it will come back as the muscles strengthen up, I’m sure.

Total time: 1 hour
Total ride time: Who cares??

Tomorrow…the road bike!!

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Taping up the Knees

Old age sucks!! I’m recovering from this ridiculous hip surgery, and now my knees (both of them) are giving me problems. I’ve noticed it for many years, but lately, they’ve really been bothering me, right in the front just below the knee caps. I saw Sallie today and asked her about it. She said I’m just slowly rubbing away the cartilage between that area. I need to strengthen muscles around there as much as possible…so today, PT was about knees more than the hip. Might as well just shoot me now!!!

So, here are the new routines from Sallie for hip AND knees.

3/29/06 Routine 8

• Hip Exercises
  • Modified Hip Flexor from Routine 6–add 2 lb weights to the leg. Do 3×6-10.
  • Advanced Stability Ball from Routine 7–try to start doing this exercise. Make sure I’m not wobbly. “March” my feet slow enough that I keep my balance. Do 3×6-10.
  • Leg Press–no more than 45 degree angle at the back of the knee. Start with 40 lbs. Do 3×6-10.
  • Massage-have Matt massage the inner, front muscle of my hip. Apply pressure while working the leg (knee bent) up and down.

• Knee Exercises
  • Lying Quad Set–on my back, legs straight, tighten quad muscles, hold for 6 secs, release. Follow with quick twitches of the same muscle. 3×6-10.
  • Sitting Quad Sets–while seated, legs in front, knees bent, push feet down into floor (place ball between knees for advanced move) and hold for 6 secs, release. Follow with quick twitches. Move feet slightly out and do the same. Do 5-7 positions. Do this several times a day.
  • Standing Quad Sets–Stand with back to wall, heels against wall. Place 6 inch diameter towel behind knee. Push knee toward wall and hold 10 sec. Do 3×6-10. Repeat with a smaller diameter towel.
  • Standing Wall Squats–With back against wall and heels about 6-10 inches from wall, slide down wall slightly (as far as I can without pain). After initial squat, shift weight to right leg, hold for 10 secs, shift weight to left leg, hold for 10 secs. Do different feet positions as with Sitting Quad Sets.

Taping the Knees

• Start with some Skin Prep (it comes in a tube).
• Start with White Cover-Roll Stretch tape. Piece should be long enough to start at R edge of knee (Right leg) to around knee, but NOT onto the hamstring tendon. Center the bottom edge of the knee cap under the white tape.
• On top of the white tape, I’ll be using the brown Leukotape. Start with a 5″ strip, anchor onto right edge of the patellar tendon, leave the rest hanging. With a new 3″ strip, anchor onto L side of knee, lined up with the inside edge of the kneecap. Leave the rest hanging.
• Take the 2 hanging pieces of tape and form a tent while pulling tape anchors out, away from kneecap. Tape brown edges together, the lay the remaining sticky edge of the 5″ strip of tape on the left edge of the knee.
• Do this same procedure on the left leg.
• I can wear this for as long as tolerated, and can even shower in the tape. Remove carefully or I’ll end up removing some skin along with the tape!! OUCH!

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Stats for Today

Nothing much to say, so I’ll just post the stats so I don’t forget.

• Trainer, using road bike, 5 min neutral, 2 min upright; 5 min hoods, 2 min upright; 5 min drops, 2 min upright; 7 min neutral, 3 min upright
  • Positive step–I should be ready to try out the road bike on the real road now with these stats. I’ll shoot for this weekend for a ride…or whatever day turns out to have some sun and no wind!
• Elliptical–4-2 minute intervals, switching between forward and backward stepping. Incline 2, resistance, 3. This is up from last time when I was only able to do 3-1.5 min intervals!
• Ab crunches
• All PT stretches

I have an appointment with Sallie tomorrow, so we’ll see how that goes…maybe I can get rid of the cane! I’m sure Sandy won’t care when she gets it back, but it will feel good to return it to her.

It’s been a long recovery, but I’m still on schedule with what Dr. Santore predicted, so I’m not too antsy yet. It will be good to cruise in Elena Gallegos for the first time in the dirt though!

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Smooth Riding

Nothing rides like a titanium bike! Matt told me that, but now I truly understand. I got to take the Moots for a test ride Sunday through the neighborhood–about 15 minutes. The stormy weather was slowly rolling in across the horizon from the West, but I was able to take advantage of a brief respite of sun before the long-awaited snowfall. What a beautiful day!

Not only did I get to ride the Moots, but I also hopped on the Intense. This bike is gonna fly on the single track. I can’t wait to take it out to the Cedro/Otero trails! This bike is totally tricked out with a Manitou Skareb fork that has a trigger on the handlebar that allows you to go between 80 and 100 mm of travel. Pretty sweet!

Other than the short spin, Sunday was a rest day.

Monday it was time to hit the gym for some upper body weight lifting. Checking in was a hassle. Turns out that even if you scan your little membership card and the computer says, “Welcome”, it doesn’t mean you’re good to go. You actually have to read the computer screen (which you can rarely see because of the glare from the sun that reflects off the screen) to see if you need to pay your membership dues for the month. Turns out, I used the gym 4 times and needed to renew. The club tried to charge me for 4 separate days ($32) of use PLUS the 1/2 month membership of $22, PLUS a $3 late fee. Anyway, had to talk with a manager to get that taken care of. What a bunch of BUTT WIPES! Defined Fitness is a FooMTB sponsor, but they totally suck! I can’t wait until I don’t have to go here anymore…

Ran into Nat, my old boss from Honeywell, at the club. I figured he’d be there since the weather hasn’t been the greatest lately. He’s a heck of an athlete! Basketball, Tennis, Golf, Cycling, Mountain Biking, Gym Rat…you name it, he does it! Very impressive individual.

Stats for the day (3/20/06)

• Stationary bike 45 minutes–too lazy to cross train today on different machines
• Pulleys for legs
• Upper Body (dips, pull ups, pull, push, chest, flys)

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More Wind!

The wind is brutal today! Regardless, I managed a new record on the bar bike. I went from the house to Spain Rd. on the paved Tramway Trail. Heading toward Spain, I sometimes felt like I was barely moving. There was one guy running in front of me at a mad pace. I wondered if I’d ever catch him…on the bike! It was granny on the way out. On the return, I had the wind at my back (and the big chain ring in gear–another first!), which made life a lot easier, but I still didn’t ride any faster…probably because I was tired from pushing into the wind. Overall, 30 minutes on the bike (15 out to Spain, 15 back).

I’m pretty happy with the ride. I’m very sore right now, but I did all my PT exercises before heading out, so it’s to be expected. I’ll know by late tonight or tomorrow whether or not I pushed it too hard. I’d rather push it and then back off rather than not do enough. I’m sure Sallie, my PT would argue with me on that one.

So, I really need to get my workout schedule cleaned up again. Maybe I’ll do that later today or tomorrow. It’s getting to be a pain to scroll through the blog to find the Routines. Plus, some of the exercises have been replaced with others. I just need to clean things up a bit. Oh, and NO MORE UBE (Upper Body Ergometer)!! Yeah! That machine is from hell. I hated it. Pedaling with your arms is just not natural. It’s almost as bad as swimming…and to think that I’m a Pisces! Doesn’t make sense.

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More PT

Met with Sallie today, so I need to get the routine down before I forget it!! Surprise, surprise…I’m overdoing it again. That explains the groin pain I haven’t been able to get rid of for over a week now. It’s the reason for the pain described in the last post.

3/14/2006 Routine 7

• Modification to leg lifts in Routine 3 –lie flat on back, left leg bent. Flex quad muscle so calf is slightly off the floor/bench. Lift leg up to approximately 45 degrees, then return leg to table. Do 3 sets of 6, then build from there. If it becomes too easy, add 1/2 pound weight increments.
• Modification to hip lift in Routine 3 –place feet on chair, about 4 inches lower than the bench. With both knees bent, lift left knee up off chair. Lift hip up until back is straight. Return to bench. Do the same with the right leg. 3 sets of 6, building up as tolerated.
• Stability ball while seated on ball, place feet together. Lift right knee up, and place directly back down. Lift left knee up in the same fashion. Do this as quickly as possible without losing balance.
• Stability ball–only after above exercise gets easier–rest shoulders on ball, lift knees up in same fashion as above.
• Change to cardio machine routine–try 3-3 minute sessions on the elliptical machine. This is NOT for cardio, it is for strengthening, so go light on resistance and stabalize myself as needed using the railings. Mix this in with 15-20 minutes on a recumbent and 15-20 minutes on upright.
• Hip tilt–Stand facing wall, fingers on wall, ONLY for stability. Otherwise, hands on hips. Lift right leg. Tilt hips up toward the right, then sway to the left. Working small muscle in glutes. Do the same with the other leg. Start with 3 sets of 6, building up, as tolerated. Do this exercise at the end of all others as it will fatigue muscles quickly. DON’T do on same day as pulleys.
• Calf Raise–Standing, facing a wall, bend left leg at the knee (5-10 pound weight on ankle), then return to standing position. Do the same with the right leg. Do 3 sets of 6-10.
• Lying hip adduction–lying on the operated side, bend right leg with foot flat on the floor, left leg out straight. Lift the left leg up and then return to the floor. Do 3 sets of 6-10.
  

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Monday

I’ve ditched the single crutch and am now officially on the cane full time. Before, I was just using the cane at home for short distances.

Otherwise, not a very exciting day. Boring, long drawn out meetings at work all day. I guess it makes the time pass by fast, so that’s the upside to them.

I have an appointment with Sallie tomorrow for PT. I’m going to see if I can start adding some light leg weights to my routine. The stuff I’m doing now is getting boring (exercise wise). I also need to find an exercise that strengthens the groin area since this is an area that I keep getting sharp pains.

I’ll be meeting with Dr. Grady tomorrow too at Sandia Medical. I’m hoping she lets me continue my sickness absence plan for my rehabilitation. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Went to Defined with Matt tonight. Had to pay my membership. I’ve been going for free for a while because none of the employees noticed that my membership was expired…until tonight. Drat!

3/12/2006 Results

• Trainer/Giant, 30 minutes, 4 minutes cool down, very slow cadence
• PT Exercises and Stretches

3/13/2006 Results

• Stationary bike (6-7 resistance level), 30 minutes
• Upper body (asterisks only)
• Pulleys
  • Hip abduction is the most painful on the groin (I think somewhere around the inferior pubis ramus–see image below, which may be where one of the cuts was made in my pelvis), I can lift 5 lbs, barely, 10 reps

    

  • Hip extension is the easiest. I can lift 10 lbs, 15 reps
  • Hip flexion has always been difficult, but is slowly becoming easier. I can lift 5 lbs, 10 reps
  • Hip adduction about the same as hip flexion, but a little easier. I can lift 5 lbs, 15 reps; interestingly, it doesn’t hurt that groin area as much as the abduction

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Keys

Keys….you can’t get far from the house without them, and I was stuck at home all day because I didn’t have mine. Some how they ended up in the Element, which was with Matt at Cedro. Oh well, no biggie, I improvised and worked out at home.

Got on the trainer for the first time since the surgery. Rode the Giant TCR Composite 1. I really like this bike! Didn’t get to ride too long. My butt hurts on the seat. It’s not really my butt, it’s my sit bone on the right side of my butt cheek. Too much pressure on it too long starts to lead to some serious discomfort in that area. I can adjust my position in the saddle, but that only goes so far. Dr. Santore said this would happen and it would eventually go away, so I’m not too concerned about it. Riding in the regular bicycle riding position was refreshing. You get a very upright position when riding the stationary bikes. It’s not at all like riding a real bike.

So, I decided to learn a bit about those “sit bones“, actually called the “ischium” (note the blue arrow). Turns out they are directly behind my acetabulum (that cuplike shape in the middle of the diagram on the right), where the cuts were made. That explains the discomfort.

So, here are the results for the day…

3/11/2006 Results

• Trainer/Giant 25 minutes, alternating positions with hands in the neutral position, in the drops (most difficult), and upright with hands on hips
• PT exercises/stretches

When I got back home last night from my trip to TN, Matt showed me a beautiful sight. My Moots is almost complete, minus the front derailleur. It’s absolutely beautiful! A work of art. Titanium and silver colors blend together to make one sweet looking sub 22 pound bike!! I’ll get a pic up soon as well as the built up Intense that also looks great!

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Rest Day

I didn’t take my rest day on Tuesday like I normally do, so today is a rest day. Can’t wait to get home!!

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Conference Lesson

One thing you should never do when you are on a crutch, is get in the way of people trying to get to the snack table during a break at a conference. You’re more than likely to get run over. I wish they’d put the drinks on a table other than the food table…then maybe I would have been safe. All I wanted was some freakin’ decaf coffee, since they don’t serve bottled water. The tap water the hotel serves out of pitchers tastes like the air smells. That’s really strange to me. The only day I didn’t get pushed out of the way was the day the hotel decided to serve fruit for the snack of the day. There were some ticked off people that day!! I managed to snag a banana for breakfast the next day, so I was happy.

Lots of thunderstorms here in TN today. The weather has been pretty much cloudy and rainy the entire time I’ve been here. There were even warnings of some possible tornadoes…nothing so far though, and it’s almost midnight. Yikes! I need to get to sleep. I shouldn’t have had that Americano today during the break. Doh!

The one thing I do like at this hotel is its brand new spa and fitness center. It’s the cleanest fitness center (and pool) I’ve ever seen and all the equipment is brand new. Apparently they just recently remodeled it. I was able to do all my PT stuff, including stretches/exercises on really nice new yoga mats. I’d actually like to have a yoga mat for myself.

3/7/2006 Results

• Upper Body–the full workout minus the dips and chin ups–no machine for that
• Stationary bike, 30 minutes
• PT Stretches only

3/8/2006 Results (morning workout!)

• There was an invitation only reception I needed to go to in the evening to “network” with Joan, the Lockheed Martin Corporate SSRC Director. She’s the one who maintains contact with the SEI for all CMMI appraisers…she’s good to know, obviously. Anyway, thought I would try a morning workout so I wouldn’t miss it in the evening–no breakfast, just a cup of black coffee
• Stationary bike, 30 minutes
• PT Stretches, Exercises and Pulley
• I felt a little dizzy when on the bike, guess that happens when you haven’t eaten–otherwise, a good workout

3/9/2006 Results

• Upper Body–the full workout minus the dips and chin ups–no machine for that
• Stationary bike, 40 minutes!!
• PT Stretches, Exercises, Pulley
• Swimming–2 laps each breast stroke, kick board, backstroke

Home tomorrow and back to the Mattstar and Fiev. It will be good to be there!

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