Cannock Chase debased!

A rather leisurely week on the training front but had managed to use my bikes on few occasions with no knee pain to report. Took a trip to a sports physiotherapist who wanted £48 for a first appointment and £38 thereafter for further appointments. Felt I had rested my knee for a while (10 days with no training at all) and was in no current pain, so kept the phone no. and felt I would 'test' my knee by gently cycling and only contact said therapist if pain came back. Taken advice from my sister (and folk on the DA forum) too, and am now taking cod liver oil and glucosamine on a daily basis.

My first cycle was a short, mostly off road, trip with Ron. We followed familiar routes of ours but discovered new trails too. Knee was fine throughout, but came off once (no damage) and punctured towards the end. I enjoyed these new trials so much, figured I would repeat the route the following day but alas. my bike had punctured again. In view of this puncture menace, took out my road bike and cycled a variation of 'Ron's 1 hour loop'. The final cycle of the week was at Cannock Chase. Had originally planned to complete a 200k audax but in view of limited training and knee problems decided to give this a miss. Cannock, however, was awesome. Ron and I met up with Stu (at last!) and cycled the new purpose built trails, following the appropriately named 'Monkey Trail'. This Monkey trail is like an 'add on' to the 'Follow the Dog' trail and is considered to be more technically demanding and challenging. It had bigger climbs, fast technical descents and some optional 'black graded lines'. Only Ron would attempt these black graded lines (I question his mental health at times) which included riding along a slim up rooted tree elevated at some height with a big drop off at the end and a rocky, almost vertical descent. What I was doing, cycling a trail that was 'intended for experienced and technically competent' riders is also questionable!
Did not run or swim again this week and should really start that up again soon. I have my first (and most probably last) triathlon coming up soon and this will prove interesting with my limited training. I did, however, play badminton for possibly the first time ever. This was fun too. Went with 3 friends from work, namely Roxy, Zalika and Adrian. We played 3 games (doubles) changing partners each time. I won 1 and lost 2. Would like to play this again.

Weekly totals: Cycled 45 miles (4 hours and 43 mins); Played badminton for 1 hour.

De-railed

Horrible week on the training front. I did not run, cycle or swim. Grr!

Saw my local GP who advised that I rest for aproximately 3 weeks. He seems to think that I have damaged my ligament. Am not overly happy with his advice.

Weekly totals: Nil.

Nuisance knee

Has been a while since this blog was last updated. This was for 2 main reasons, the first because blogspot.com was playing up and secondly because my knee has proved menace. Had reluctantly agreed with certain peers to stay away (and rest) from my bike for a whole week until I at least visit my GP. Will be interesting to see what said doctor has to say.

Managed four short trips before my knee started to play up. One trip consisted of cycling to work and then another returning home (via the Rea Valley cycle route). The other 2 training sessions followed the Deer route, the second of which being a reverse way round.

Also joined 'Audax UK' which is basically a long distance cyclists' association. Hope my knee recovers soon so that I am able to participate in the Droitwich - Towcester audax on 24th April. Have vague plans of entering an audax event in the Forest of Dean with my mountain bike too.

Weekly totals: Cycled 73 miles.

Newbury and my knees

Am posting my weekly totals today because have already decided that Easter Sunday is going to be a day of rest. If only that were true, a menace on-call shift at work awaits. Am not planning on any further exercise this week as my knees are quite painfull.

Swam at Kingslesy pool during the week. Have not swam here for a while and to be fair, prefer Hewell Road pool as it is bigger and less congested. Found my swim pretty hard going.

Started the week with a good cycle with John and Ron. We cycled in the rain (though John and I had taken precautions) up to Ullenhall and back following country lanes. Did a back to back cycle towards end of the week to Newbury to train and visit my sister (Jane) and family. Was a mostly horrible wet and windy day. The wind was against me for most of the start, but I was still able to break the 30 mph speed limit into Broom! Battled and defeated the menace Fish Hill. This hill has only a 10% gradient, but even so, it's tough and relatively lengthy. The hail beat so hard at times it was stinging my face on impact. Really need to invest in some fleece lined gloves too - my poor fingers were frozen and had that 'pins and needles' feeling. Reached Wantage and 'had to' go onto the A34 for a short spell, as I was unsure how else to reach Newbury. The A34 is a cyclists nightmare - it is busy and quite exposed. If the weather itself doesn't shunt your bike to the side, the big lorries and speeding cars will. Was able to come off the A34 and follow a Newbury cycle path. This cycle path added further miles and was quite menace as it had far too many stop and starts, particularly around roundabouts and when cycling straight, oncoming traffic was to the left which just felt quite odd. Still, found my way into Newbury. (Went and saw 'How to train your dragon' that night. I have omitted Chris's comments). The cycle back home the following day was equally as wet and windy, but the wind was not a head wind this time. Much faster trip back home, so fast in fact that I reached a top speed of 46.3 mph down one hill and broke the 30 mph speed limit in Wantage! Early into the ride back home was experiencing knee pain. Stopped at local garage and purchased ibuprofen. The ibuprofen helped but my knee continues to hurt. Am a wee bit concerned about my knee as it continued to hurt following day, hence my decision to rest a few days. Have always said 'no' at the thought of a 'professional bike fit', but if this knee pain persists, then, well, who knows...

Ran just once this week. Ran the extended Studley triangle route. Feel like running some more, but painfull knees has put pay to that.

Weekly totals: Swam for 40 mins; Cycled 187 miles; Ran for 40 mins.