Ramblings

I am very much behind in my miles compared to the previous three years. I'm trying to play a little bit of catch up because of my late start due to the knee injury, but have discovered that I'm lazy right now. I should be able to go out most days before school from 4:45-5:45 and get in a decent 10-12 miles. I should also be able to go out some days after school for 15-20 miles each time. So what do I usually do? Yep, I wake up, look at the clock, and reset the alarm for an hour later. And after school, I come home, take a nap, or watch really bad tv.

I'm not giving up on myself just yet, though. I did ride Tuesday morning before school, and today after school. I would have ridden this morning, but a rare thunderstorm was still in existence. Even though I managed just 15 miles after school today, I was still pleased because I fought the wind all the way out past the Grand Hotel and then some.

My knee seems to have mostly healed, but I am still bothered by either plantar fasciitis or fat pad syndrome on my right foot. That's been going on for a long time...probably half a year or more, and is a result of wearing LL Bean summer sneakers everywhere for months on end. Yes, I knew they didn't have enough support, but I liked them enough I wore them anyway. Nope, haven't seen a doctor about the foot, but have been doing some stretching and icing. I also have started wearing Birkenstock's, which seem to help a bit. I can't seem to stop walking and carrying bunches of stuff in my backpack, so until I'm able to do that, I don't think I'll have good healing.

Back to my original thought...my mileage. My goal for the year is still 5,000 miles, and if I reach that, it will be the most miles I've ever ridden in a year. And if I am to reach that goal, I had better get off my duff a lot more often.

I Are an Idjit

So I didn't exactly follow doctor's orders and now I can tell I got back on the bike too soon. (Stupid marble floors in Taiwan.) I will now force myself to ignore my desire to ride and instead do some brisk walking, which should lead up to some pain free jogging in the next few weeks. And, like the good doc told me, when I can jog for 15 minutes without my knee bothering me, then, and ONLY then, will I hop back on my two wheels. Yippee yay.

Looks Like Two More

At least the knee is improving, but no riding just yet. A week of 15-20 minutes brisk walking, then a week of flat surface jogging. Once I can jog for 15 minutes without my knee hollering at me, then I can ride. Got some ground to make up if I want to reach that 5,000 mile goal!

Nope, not yet.

Knee still demands my attention, and Dr. Hang remained adamant about me not riding yet. At least another week, but I'm betting more like two to three more. Hopefully I can get out during my week off at Chinese New Year.

On a more positive note, I'm changing grade levels for next year. While I really do enjoy the 5th graders, and the people I work with, I need a change. So for next year...3rd grade. Youngsters again. We'll see how it goes.

Geez, I really need to go on a bike ride so I have something to blog about!

Off the Bike for Two Weeks?

So, two weeks ago, I was enjoying a nap after our half day of school, and was in a deep deep slumber. The phone rang, and as I groped around trying to figure out which phone it was and where it was, I actually rolled out of bed and landed knee first on the hard marble floor. I iced it right away, and didn't think too much more about it, except for occasional bouts of severe pain on the airplane to the states whenever I accidentally bumped it. I could walk fine most of the time, so I didn't think I hurt it too badly. I discovered, however, that I could put no weight directly on it, painful enough to bring tears to my eyes.

I will always put off going to see a doctor for as long as I can, but I decided since I still couldn't put direct weight on my kneecap (yes I tried kneeling today to see what would happen.) I figured I had at least better check it out, so I headed over to a sports doctor I had seen before. I was lucky enough to get in to see him at 1:00, so I only had an hour to kill, which I did by going to Hola and B&Q.

When I got in to see Dr. Hang, I was semi-apologetic, thinking I didn't really need to be there. Turned out it was good that I went because I walked out with orders to remain off my bike for a minimum of two weeks, no walking up or down stairs, a few exercises to stretcth my hamstrings and further strengthen my quads, anti-imflammatories for a week, and an appointment for next Friday to see how things are progressing.

What's funny is that I rode this morning and dedicated my miles to the Rouge Croix riders on bikejournal.com. It's odd to see the red cross by my name on the forum, but it should be gone soon.