A Beautiful Bike Ride

One highlight of my trip to Yosemite was a bike ride. Rather than dealing with a bike rental I took my poor, neglected road bike with intentions of getting back on for a spin. I didn't know if the tires were any good and I'm sure it was in major need of a tune-up, but I thought, why not?

I purchased new pedals a while back (Speedplay, better for the knees they say). I actually had not been outside on them, only riding on my trainer, so the first mile of my ride was actually pedaling around a parking lot making sure I knew how to clip in and out of them! Once I hit the road, I ended up riding for just over an hour. Yosemite has wonderful bike paths and roads, the scenery is just spectacular! I even took on some minor hills and wasn't worse for the wear later that night or the next day. It just plain made me happy.

Ah, Half Dome. This was the start of my ride.

A lovely creek.

My bike. : )

On the way back through Yosemite Village I noticed a crowd staring at something...

A buck! Yes, it's real. I texted my Mom to tell her. She said, "Don't go near it!" Thanks Mom. : ) It didn't seem to care about any of us. I also ran into my cousins just afterwards. They looked at me in my riding gear and said, "Ali?" Yeah, I'm not usually wearing a helmet and bike shorts around them.

Le Tour

Yeah, it's that time of year again! The Tour de France is underway. : ) I love it. I'm cheering for the US based teams Team Columbia (formerly High Road) and Garmin Chipotle. There are many incredibly talented cyclists from all over the world in the race, so it's amazing to watch. Go George Hincape! He rocks.

A Sore Knee

For those of you who may not know, the reason why I started this blog was to chronicle my recovery after knee surgery on July 5, 2007. My friends and family know how important running and triathlon training was to me and how devastating my knee injury has been. I would get questions all the time, "How is your knee?" or "Are you running yet?" I felt bad that I would either ramble on and on about my frustration or I couldn't really answer the question. I decided to start a blog my friends and family could reference if they chose to do so. It has ended up being a wonderful way for me to journal my experience and throw in other happenings in my life. As I mentioned early on, I knew the blog was probably more for me than anyone else. At the time I started the blog I never thought it would take so long for my knee to heal. I was sure I would be off and running within a matter of months. My knee pain has been one of the biggest frustrations of my life so far and there are days I have my own little pity party. That said, over the last two years I have been trying hard to put things into perspective. Outside of my knee injury, I am very healthy. I have a great job and my friends and family are happy and healthy as well. I am grateful for this and it is mentioned in my prayers every day.

Still, my frustration gets the best of me sometimes and the disappointment can be almost unbearable. My knee pain is still such a mystery! My knee scope (arthroscopic surgery) ruled out several common knee injuries which was good and bad. There was no torn meniscus, no ACL tear... good. But, on the bad side, there was no obvious reason for what was causing the pain. That is why they call it "anterior knee pain" or a type of "syndrome." The most my doctors could tell me was that it was an overuse injury and their guesses were that I have either Patellofemoral Syndrome (when the kneecap tracking is off in the femoral groove) or Hoffa's Syndrome (inflammation of the fat pad), maybe both. I may never know for sure. I'm continuing to try to be patient and let my knee heal and the aggravated nerves settle down. All I want to do is be able to exercise like a normal person again.

The latest... On Sunday I rode for 30 minutes on my trainer. My trainer is my road bike locked onto a base that makes it a stationary bike. 25 minute rides had been going well for more than two weeks, so I decided to add 5 more minutes. This is the direction I was given by my physical therapist. Yesterday that achy/burning sensation I get when I do too much returned. Ugh! I'm keeping in mind what the author of the book I read recently (Brain Training) said. He went through a similar injury and it took him 3 years from the onset of his injury (he was training for Boston too!) until he could run a marathon again. Some days were two steps forward and then another day, one step back. That is exactly what I'm going through. I can only hope with my continued patience, that my activity will slowly increase and eventually I will be able to get back to regular exercise. Of course, I would love to run races and train for triathlons again, but I will cross that bridge when I come to it. Hopefully, it will be sooner than later!

A Nice Day - Part II

So the rest of my Sunday was nice. After my morning trainer ride, I headed off to church. This Sunday they had a special string quartet performing a four part piece commissioned by City Church. It's always enjoyable to listen to new music. After church, I headed straight to Foreign Cinema, a restaurant in the Mission District of SF for my friend Anna's baby shower. Anna is a friend of mine from my PacWest Athletics days and she is such a cute pregnant lady! Little Braydon Richard is due on May 13. Per Anna, he already has more clothes than she does! I'm looking forward to meeting him soon. : )

The weather in SF was gorgeous this weekend! Finally... It was 77 degrees in the city. People were flocking to the parks, enjoying the rare sun this time of year. I love SF and it is an incredibly beautiful place, but it can get chilly! It was nice to have some warm, spring weather. My Sunday ended with me running a few errands and heading back to my apartment for cleaning and laundry. I know, it doesn't sound glamorous, but overall it was a really nice day! Sun and friends make me happy.

BTW, I woke up this morning and my knee felt fine. Yay. Oh, and the ON sign is being fixed tomorrow morning. Phew...

A Nice Day - Part I

It's been a nice Sunday. I woke up early this morning, for a Sunday, and completed a 25 minute ride on my trainer. It felt fine, but the reality of a workout usually doesn't become clear to me until 24 hours later. My knee often shows a delayed reaction. Hopefully, it will be fine tomorrow.

As for being accountable to my workouts this week, I completed all but one. Swimming was the only exercise I didn't get to in my plans. I rode my bike on my trainer twice, and walked three times. The week was tough, I have to admit. My knee bothered be a bit towards the end of the week and I kept thinking, "Why? I haven't done all that much more than I usually do." Now yes, I had added in the trainer rides, but last week I did those at the beginning of the week. I realized it could have been stress. My physical therapist friend mentioned that my knee could be more sensitive to stress now than before my injury. Interesting. It was a very stressful week. First, my boss unfortunately experienced a terrible bout of food poisoning. I felt so badly for her, it sounded awful. Both she and I had a lot going on this week, so a took on some of her projects as well. I admit, I had a moment (or two) of panic, then I settled in and got everything I could done. Second, I had a big presentation on Friday. It was on my trip to test window displays in our new store in Florida. The presentation took some planning and practice through the week. I was happy and relieved when it was over Friday afternoon and I was told the presentation was good. For those of you that may not know, public speaking is not my forte so the compliments were much appreciated. Whew...

Here is a photo of how my day ended on Friday. After waiting for a Muni train, which rode on by and did not stop because it was full, I decided to walk to downtown. I remembered that the new Old Navy logo sign should have been posted that day at the Gap Inc. headquarters building on 2 Folsom. The window bays on the Spear Street side of the building contain current Old Navy images with a logo sign hanging in the center window. I thought, "Great! I'll swing by and take a look." I walked up to the window and sighed... oh no! The center of the "O" of the "ON" letters in our new logo had fallen to the floor of the window bay! I called my vendor that produced the sign right away. Actually, I sent him this photo I took on my camera phone with the word "Help," then he called me back. He told me the blue letters were supposed to be applied to the white background with a strong, permanent glue. I told him as I peered through the window that the circle from the middle of the "O" looked like it had tape on the back. Tape! Not good. He was upset about it too and promised to make it right on Monday. I will be calling corporate operations at Gap Inc. tomorrow morning to either find a temporary solve to the broken sign or have them take it down altogether. So frustrating! I had been working on getting that sign completed for some time and was happy to finally get the old logo (the ellipse, if you remember) removed from the window. Hopefully, the sign will be fixed quickly.

As you may guess, I was glad it was the weekend.

I Just Want to Run

Some of you may be asking, "What's up with Ali's knee? She hasn't mentioned it lately." No, I haven't. Don't worry, it's not because my knee is hurting or anything like that. I've realized lately that I'm afraid. I'm afraid to step up the pace and really test out my knee. I'm afraid it is going to hurt and there isn't really a light at the end of this tunnel. I have also realized all I want to do is run. I don't want to get on my bike that is latched onto the stationary trainer in the middle of my studio apt. I don't want to swim. I don't want to try out "running" on the elliptical machine. Ugh, it all seems so tedious. Again, don't worry... I'm not going to lace up my running shoes and run out of my apartment door tomorrow morning. That sounds great, but I'm sure in the end that would be a dumb thing to do. Still, it's dawned on me that besides being scared, I've also been a little bit lazy lately. I don't have my teammates to push me to be at a workout anymore and most people I know now, don't even know me as a runner. I don't get questions such as, "What race are you training for next?" People used to ask me that all the time. I have to admit, I am not unhappy with my life now, I've grown into it for sure and there are benefits to not being training obsessed. That is the honest truth. But, I do want some of my former life back. Hmm... being in shape would be good!

Enough of the fear and laziness! So who's going to hold me accountable? I was sick this last week, but that is the last of my excuses. It's time to see what this knee can do! Within reason, of course, and implementing a gradual build-up of exercise besides the basic walking I have been doing for the last two months. I'll plan on walking two times next week and how about two trainer rides, 20 to 25 minutes each? Then, one 30 minute swim towards the end of the week. How does that sound? The week of April 14 I'm traveling, but there are gyms at hotels in Minneapolis and Atlanta! Maybe if my walking/trainer rides go well this week, then I can try a "run" on the elliptical while I'm out-of-town. Remember, last Fall I tried it for 10 minutes and whoa... my knee was not happy! Aching, swelling, etc. Well, time has passed since then. It's time to give it another go. OK, you all heard me, right? I better hear some comments from you to see if you're checking in on me! ; ) Thanks friends and family. Glad you are here.

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving weekend. Mine consisted of yummy turkey, all the trimmings, and great company. I saw a few movies, did a little shopping, and tried to fit in some down time. I realized I've been veering away from writing about my knee lately since I'm still frustrated from the elliptical trainer setback. On Thanksgiving Day I hoped on my trainer for the first time in weeks and pedaled away for 10 minutes. Not much, but it's a start. On Saturday I headed to the Bay Club for a swim. They have two indoor pools I swim in from time to time. Dang... they sure chlorinate those pools! I feel like it's my perfume for a day afterward. It's probably not good for my knee, but I also sat in the sauna for 15 minutes after my 35 minute swim. I love it.

So, I decided this week that I need to get back to weights. I was holding off a bit, thinking my knee would heal faster from the surgery and I would be able try the old routine I used to do years ago before I started training for races. It was a good all-around weight machine circuit for the upper and lower body. Now I realize, if I can't run or do heavy weights affecting my knee, I may as well get my upper body toned up! What do you think? Muscle is muscle, right? Hopefully, the lower body weights will follow later.

One Step Back

Sigh. Yes, another step back. This time, I hope it's just one, not two. It turns out my knee was not happy with the elliptical trainer. The first time I tried it, a week ago Saturday, it was fine. The second time, I completed 10 minutes on the elliptical and 5 on the stationary bike. The next day my knee was achy and a little more swollen than usual. I had a PT appointment with Susan that evening and she told me maybe I wasn't ready for the elliptical trainer. She suggested I stick with cycling and swimming, or at least try backing off the elliptical time to 8 minutes, instead of 10. I've just taken it easy and iced since Thursday, but I hope to get back to the gym a few times this week. It's disappointing, but makes it clear I was doing more than my knee could handle. I'm still looking for that "sweet spot" of time where I don't trigger a flare up. I'm told once I find that spot, I will be able to eventually increase my time on the bike and/or elliptical trainer slowly. Baby steps at first, then larger increments later.

Otherwise, I've been working hard and traveling. It was Minnesota this week. One funny story from last week happened when I was sitting in Caribou Coffee in Minneapolis waiting for my print sales rep to show up. Dave arrived and as I was packing up my computer, I looked across from where we were sitting into the childrens play area in the shop.

I looked back at Dave and said, "Is it me or is there something wrong with this?" I took a photo of what I was looking at with my camera phone. So, where do you think the play hunter set is for the kiddies? To have stuffed animal heads mounted on the wall, there must be one somewhere! From what I understand, the nightmares don't last long... only in Minnesota. ; )

Welcome to Fall!

Hello! How is everyone this weekend? Good, I hope. I'm doing well this rainy weekend in San Francisco. My knee is feeling better and I'm still learning more about it as it heals. I need to keep it moving and stretched out to allow it to progress and heal. The less I do, the more stiff and uncomfortable my knee can become. Jennifer from Presidio Sport & Medicine said I can get back on my trainer. I need to start only spinning 10 minutes and increase from there. Granny gear, low cadence. Got it. Jennifer also mentioned it will take 6 months to a year to fully heal from the surgery. Sigh. Alright. I've started asking, "When can I run?" Yes, there is a whiny tone in my voice each time I ask. My physical therapists just smile and don't answer that question. Fine, I'll be patient. The first time I finally lace up my sneakers and go for a run, I will probably run with tears streaming down my face. I'll be so happy. : )

One Step Forward...

...two steps back. Wait. Is that the the right phrase? I'm not sure, but it's what I feel like right now. After my 25 minute trainer ride yesterday morning, my knee was swollen all day. I woke up this morning and it's not better. I'm so frustrated! My knee has been swollen for almost 19 months! The surgery was supposed to remove the inflammation and my knee is not supposed to ache this way. I noticed it's not the throbbing ache it used to be, but it's swollen and a little sore nevertheless. : ( I rode my bike on the trainer at a fairly high cadence yesterday (around 90) so maybe that had something to do with it. I've ridden it that fast before, but not for 25 minutes. I'm going to rest today and try a ride tomorrow morning. I'll spin at an easier cadence and see how it feels. I need the cardio SO badly. It's frustrating to realize my progress may be stalling. Is my knee going to be sensitive and swollen forever??? Ugh.

I Must Be Tired

I was a little tired at work today, then I got home and fell asleep on my couch! The TV was still on and it was the kind of nap that knocks you out and then it's REALLY hard to wake up. I'm not sure why I was so tired, but I had a few evenings out this week. I had a great time Tuesday night with some old coworkers from Pickett Advertising, my previous employer. We met at The Wine Merchant at the Ferry Building, then ate some delicious Mexican Food at Orale! Orale! nearby. It was good to see them and catch up on everything. Last night I went over to my friend Lisa's house, who is pregnant and on bed rest. I was planning to bring her dinner and keep her company, but she already had some wonderful pasta and bean salads and veggies brought by recent visitors. We even tapped it off with homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies baked by her Mom! Yum. As always, it's great to spend time with Lisa and even on bed rest, she is looking fantastic!

Neither Tuesday or Wednesday were late evenings, so maybe more rest than usual is best for me for a while longer. I've noticed this week that more swelling has subsided in my knee. Normally I would consider that a good thing, but I realized the swelling was providing some cushioning overall. Now, my knee feels even more tender to the touch. Hopefully, that tenderness will go away soon as well. My range of motion is about 90% and I'm working on it with my exercises. Once I get full ROM, I will be able to start on a stationary bike. I promise, I will take it easy though. I don't think I'll be out on my road bike for a while yet. In the meantime, I'll keep living vicariously through the Tour. Go Levi!

Allez! Allez!

I received two pieces of mail from California Pacific Medical Center this week. I have to say, the first one made my heart jump. I thought, "Are they sending me a bill already?" Then, I thought the envelope size did not look like a bill statement. They turned out to be cards thanking me for choosing CMPC, one with signatures from the nurses that helped me all day. They wished me well. I felt a little badly, since in all reality my doctor chose CPMC, not me. It is where she does her Thursday surgeries. That said, I appreciate their follow-up hoping I had a good experience.

I'm spending this evening watching Stage 8 of the Tour de France. I love it! It's exciting as the competitors chase each other up and down the Alps for 100 miles one day, then get up the next day and do it all over again. I don't know how they do it! When I was in my best shape two years ago, I rode in Waves to Wine, a local bike tour raising money for the MS Society. The first day I rode 75 miles, then 57 the next. I REALLY wanted to get off my bike at the end of that second day! I couldn't imagine cycling the next day, much less day after day for 3 weeks! Well, that's what these pros train to do. They are amazing. If you haven't watched it yet, I thoroughly recommend it. If you get Versus (formerly OLN) try to watch a day or more of the tour. You'll get hooked!