Monday 31 October 2011

October round up - An epic fail

This month has been really poor mileage-wise.  My knee hasn't been behaving. After taking an initial 7 days off the bike at the start of the month; when my knees were at the worst, I started becoming really fed up.  The lack of exercise was leaving me very frustrated and tetchy. I needed to ride!

The first ride after that week off was interesting. I hadn't planned on riding that day as my knees still weren't 100% but at 16.30hrs I knew that the way my mood was going I would be ready to kill someone if I didn't ride soon!

I knew that I probably shouldn't be pushing my luck and riding too far, so a quick pootle on my shopper was the ideal option - just to test my knees. I've not ridden the shopper for a while now but it was nice. It was a great ride. An easy 5 miles without any pain or discomfort. Simple and easy! It took a while to get used to the flat pedals but I think the freedom of movement in my feet and ankles was probably the best option. On my return my knees felt ok, but the day after they felt stiff so a few more days off the bike. :-( Maybe I had pushed myself back into it too soon.

A few more days off the bike resulted in more frayed nerves - I really hadn't realised how much I use the bike now to release any frustrations, particularly work stresses. Another pootle on the shopper. Sore knees again... back off the bike... it was just a vicious cycle.

Unsurprisingly October has been a really bad month, mileage-wise! Less than 100!!

(The majority of the miles have been done in this past week; a new blog post to follow.)

5 comments:

trio said...

It's not an epic fail when you have been injured.

scary how many of my friends need riding to keep them sane ;-)

TrevorW�� said...

The way you were feeling due to not being able to ride and exercise is a pretty normal reaction to any forced lay off.
I used to feel exactly the same when I was having my radiotherapy treatment.
Hope the knee continues to improve..

-Trevor

Small Adventures said...

Like TRIO said,it's not a fail,you were dealing with injuries\ailments,don't beat yourself up at all.

This has been my best month of the year,ironically-probably due to now living in the city (having all this road\city riding available). I hit 176 this month,which after the year I've had,is far and away my most-mileage month for '11 (sad,eh?). I wanted SO badly to ride that extra 26 miles today,but between taking care of a sick wife,the spine acting up,and later getting the kids ready for and trick-or-treating (HAPPY Halloween,BTW! :) ),it just wasn't in the cards,LOL!

You done good for what you dealt with,be proud,my friend :)

Steve

KatieCake said...

Thanks all for your continued support. =D

My knee has eased slightly, but I think a nice week off work helped matters as it meant no kneeling down for 7 days!

Small Adventures said...

I'm glad you were able to take it (week off),sounds like just what the Dr. should have ordered :)

Steve