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!!

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 3x6-10.
• 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 3x6-10.
  
• Leg Press--no more than 45 degree angle at the back of the knee. Start with 40 lbs. Do 3x6-10.
• 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. 3x6-10.
  
• 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 3x6-10. 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!
  

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!

Solvang, CA

I'm sitting in the Bulldog Cafe in Solvang, CA right now. It's a nice morning, but overcast. I'm beginning to think that Matt and I bring clouds to CA whenever we come to this state; the day was gorgeous yesterday, sunny and the mid 70s. Go figure...

Matt took off on his race this morning at 6 AM. He should be able to finish in 10 hours or less, since this is supposed to be an "easy" double century. He took off with a small crew led by Richard, a fellow he met at the Butterfield Double Century. Richard will be the tour guide since he knows where he's going and the route is filled with turns that could get anyone new to the area totally lost.

I was good and didn't go back to sleep. I checked email in the morning, then headed down to the hotel fitness center when it opened at 7 AM. Did some light weight lifting and 20 minutes on the stationary bike in the hotel fitness room (Royal Scandinavian Inn), and got cleaned up, then walked around the town a bit. Everything was closed, so it was nice and quiet, no traffic or people. Guess the tourists like to sleep in!

I took it easy on the stationary bike this morning because I'm planning on doing a lot of walking around the town today. It's a quaint area, and perfect for those who like to shop. I'm not a big shopper, but I'm up for a walk in some non-windy weather at a comfortable temperature. My sister's birthday is coming up soon, so I'll see if I can find something for her. She always remembers my birthday and sends me something. I should be better at that myself.

Running in Circles

You know how funny it is when you see a dog chasing its tail? It's even funnier when it's a cat. However, when you realize that it's you who has been chasing the proverbial tail, it's not so funny anymore. I just had an epiphany at work today, and realized that a team I've been working with has been chasing it's tail for some time--and I'm dizzy. Now the question is, can I jump out of the circle after I've been asked to lead the chase? We shall see...

Well, on to the real reason why this blog was created...got on the trainer today using the road bike. Rode for 30 minutes, 2 minutes straight in the neutral position. Still have difficulties riding in the drops. Afterwards, did the PT stretches and then hit the shower.

We're heading to Solvang, CA for Matt's second double century road race! I think that if he could ride 24 hours a day every day without becoming exhausted, he'd do it. He's really amazing (or crazy). :) There are 544 riders registered for this race. I guess it's a record breaker for the event.

So, we're packed and ready to go. We'll head to work tomorrow, do the dirty deed that keeps food on the table, then cut outta town and start the road trip. It's going to be a long drive!

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)

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.

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.
  

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

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!

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!!

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!

Riverboats and Rednecks

Okay, making fun of rednecks and stereotyping these folks is probably not nice....dear Lord, please forgive me for making fun of the fat-assed rednecks floating along the fake indoor river on theme park riverboats for tours (that they PAID for) inside the Gaylord Opryland Hotel...and please save all the starving Pygmies in Africa. Oh, and Mom & Mike...if you rode that boat when you were here for the Flute Convention, I don't think the 2 of you are fat-assed...just rednecks. ;o)

Here's a view from my hotel room balcony. It seems really cool, but they play the piped in music ALL NIGHT LONG! Every time the music hits a certain high-pitched tone, it wakes me up. Uggghhhh......

That said, there's nothing more to report about my trip to Nashville, TN so far. The Software Engineering Process Group conference is good, which is the only reason why I'm here. I present (you can see me in the bottom left hand corner of the program) on Wednesday, so I need to pull out my slides that I submitted back in December so I can remember what the heck I'm going to be talking about. So that's all I got to say about that.

So, on the upside, the hotel has an excellent workout facility and indoor pool with lap lanes. Nice and warm. Even has a life guard! The sucky part about the thing is that my locker (electronic) didn't work and I had to wait around in my bathing suit for security to let me into my locker. That ticked me off because they took their slow southern time getting over to the locker room...and they say NM is the land of manana. Puhleeze!!

Stationary bikes are cool at this gym. They have the TVs built right into the screen so you can watch the tube and track your stats (time, speed, distance, calories, heart rate, etc.). Very nice...

3/05/2006 Results

• Stationary bike 30 min

3/06/2006 Results

• Stationary bike 40 min
• Pool 30 min (front & back cross, braiding, side stepping, marching, boxes--the remaining pool moves that are still a little painful)
• Swimming 3 laps breast stroke, 3 laps kick board, 2 laps backstroke
• Hot tub 15 min

Just Riding Along...

Finally!!
I got on the bar bike and did some riding for the first time since my surgery! The bar bike is my trusty old Specialized Rockhopper that I bought used for $60. It's just right for transport between home and the local watering hole during the summer time. It's now the perfect recovery bike too!

Matt went riding with Dan at Cedro, and I got to pedal along the paved Tramway trail. It was all together a great day, topped off with dinner at Ragin' Shrimp.

3/3/2006 Results

• UBE 45 minutes
• Full Upper Body (I've increased all my weights except for chinups--I'll post those increases later)

3/4/2006 Results

• Stationary Bike 30 minutes
• Pulleys (still at 5 pounds)
• PT exercises/stretches
• 15 minutes on a REAL bike!!

Rain

It's raining...a little. Regardless, it's nice to see. Cibola National Forest already has fire restrictions. Summer time will be no fun if we don't start getting some preciptation ASAP!

Nothing significant to report, so on to the training log.

3/1/2006 Results

• UBE 47 minutes (I started out stronger than normal, but I was more tired than usual at the end)
• Upper Body workout (asterisks only)

3/2/2006 Results

• Stationary Bike 30 Minutes
• Pulley exercises
• (I'll do the PT exercises and stretches tomorrow along with my normal full Upper Body routine)