The Obsessive's Motto

It’s terrible when your knee’s acquired a first name and it’s Bum.  Last week I got fed up with the knee still hurting, and called to make an appointment with a physical therapist. But they told me I can’t be their patient since, by law, they can’t take anyone on Medicare, even those, like me, who would be paying out-of-pocket. 

That’s a bummer since a) they are highly recommended, and b) the sports massage therapist they sent me to is also supposed to be good—and we’ll see—but I can’t be reimbursed for what I’ll pay him. So be it. I need any help I can get. 

'Arrrr! F#%k Moderation, Matey!

I miss running. I’ve been chafing at the restrictions on my movement, and not using my energy well. My knee snaps or pops a hundred times more than it ever used to, which was hardly at all. My mind isn’t as purposeful, and my vision of future sprinting excellence is clouded. I’m tired of having something to complain about, and the solution isn’t to simply not complain.

So, it feels good to be putting Bum Knee into the skilled hands of a knowledgeable professional. The appointment is in five days. In the meantime I’ll keep walking, rowing, lifting and pedaling, but moderately. 

The trouble is, Fuck Moderation is the obsessive’s motto.

And F#%k this "Onward" shit as well!

"Older, Slower, Lower"

Hidekichi "Golden Bolt" Miyazaki, 103

Alternating ice and heat packs twice a day, wearing the knee brace, taking ibuprofen and applying a healing ointment, a few stretches for flexibility, and an easy walk— the past couple of days I’ve been good to my knee, and my knee’s getting better for me. I’ll take it easy today, too, which is not my habit. What I used to do in this situation was as soon as I got to feeling a little bit better I’d push myself too soon. Not good. Learned my lesson. Knock on wood.

During this recovery, I’ve begun researching how to train for sprints, factoring in age. There’s a site called masterstrack.com I’ve begun reading that's subtitled “Older, Slower, Lower: …for adult age-group track and field”. I'm seeing recommendations for, first, strength training to build quads and hamstrings, followed by something called plyometric exercises to build speed and power. 

There also seems to be a seasonal order to train during the winter, adding more fast-twitch running as competition nears in the warmer months. 

It sounds like the challenge is balancing all this work with my body’s capacity so that I don’t overload and get hurt. In the meantime, I’ll try to recover from my knee injury and get back slowly into a good training regime. My aim is to match Golden Bolt's form myself, as a centenarian. 

Onward and Amen!

Ouch Again

If I get this right—what Matt has just patiently explained—a new, and my latest, knee problem comes from tears in a tendon that passes up from the calf muscles to the back of one of my knee bones. He can see the swelling.

This is something different, and more painful, than the knee problem I was experiencing previously. With that one, the pain seemed to be coming down to the knee from the hamstring muscles above.

My theory is that this first problem contributed to an imbalance between the muscle groups operating the knee from above and from below. 

The latest issue arose just last weekend as I was crouching and bending my knee deeply to take a picture. As I was rising out of the crouch—straightening my leg—I relied with unaccustomed force on the lower tendons connecting knee to calf. 

I reason that the tendons coming down from the hamstrings, when healthy, can help provide a complementary force, but they were weakened and could not give adequate support. The sudden strain on the lower tendons resulted in micro-tears, inflammation, soreness and swelling--sort of a compensatory injury.

So now Matt recommends I treat this latest issue with the standard RICE, an acronym whose signifiers I can never quite remember—rest, elevation, cold, something. I’m also taking ibuprofen and applying some arnica ointments.

Matt gave me his old knee brace and prescribed, in addition to RICE, wearing it on my daily now non-strenuous walk. He also recommended:

• maintaining hamstring flexibility with stiff-legged dead lifts
• rowing/cycling as pain allows
• hot/cold compresses 2X a day
• topical ointment

It seems that being in training involves both pushing your body, and managing the often resulting pain.

Onward. But dang.

Recovery

Lying in bed in the wee hours of the morning this past week I’ve tried visualizing exactly how I might have injured my usually sturdy left knee, and I think I got it figured out. About three weeks ago I was adding short runs into the Power Walk, and I hyperextended going downhill on 9th Avenue; it’s not hard to re-imagine the feeling of that first tweak, and then I tried to ignore it for too long. 

Now that I know how it likely happened I've got to be careful not to do it again. 

The past two weeks of abbreviated activity, needing to take big doses of Ibuprofen on the worst days, and the canceling of my yoga class have had me feeling kind of low. But it's reinforced my determination to take it easy, paying attention to every twinge and whinge of my weakened knee. A week ago it told me not to go up the steepest part of the Pine Street hill, and I obeyed. I similarly curtailed another attempted Power Walk this past Monday, obeying Knee’s complaints. 

To keep from going nuts, in addition to beach walks and daily warm-ups I’ve been doing Workout Light at the gym every couple of days, letting my right knee bear most of the weight while I pedal or press. There have been ups and downs, but slowly Lefty has come around. A strenuous workout yesterday included leg presses and some hard rowing, and it felt good. I just finished the first full Power Walk in two weeks—full tilt, but no running, and being especially careful on the downhill. I’ve been listening to Lefty, and today he’s offering no complaints. 

That’s a big hoorah. And to keep it that way, I promise to continue paying attention. I don't want to go through another three plus weeks like this!

Onward. 

Learning is Comeuppance

I've just been reading "What I've Learned From 50+ Years of Sprinting," by a world master's record holder in the 100 meters, Steve Robbins. It's humbling, to say the least, and also offers good observations and advice. For me, for some reason, the most heartening piece of wisdom is that "most of us can only aspire to decline at a slower rate than our competitors."

Here's what Steve has to say:

• Keep a journal of workouts--that way I can tell what I did or didn't do before a really good or bad performance.
• The tough news: speed is maybe 70% inherited--I've got a decent start, but all I can do now is work on the 30% that can be improved by training. 
• If you're just starting, have patience and listen to your body--Amen to that! It's much better to curtail a workout than injure myself, setting back training by weeks (as I've already done) or months. 
• Speed declines over the years due to shortening length of your stride--stretching the groin and hip flexors may be the only things that help.
• Track workouts should be no more than three times a week--distance and reps may vary, but should include a few high-effort trials, rather than more slower trials. For example, 4×150m at 80% speed with a two-minute recovery
• Use it or lose it--Even in off-season, one full-out workout every couple of weeks is needed. 
• Both upper and lower body strength is needed for sprinting--progressive resistance training about three days a week.
• Additional fat will slow you down--I should drop about 8 pounds
• Run "relaxed"--I can do this.
• Change training shoes about every 4 months.
• Injury management is essential to keep me on the track--that means listen to my body, rest, massage, stretch, and use my workout journal to see and eliminate patterns that led to injury.

Onward.

Not Languid

Went to yoga early this morning—to a class is called Yoga for Athletes, a description of my ambition—if not yet my prowess—around which I am still wrapping my head—to see if the class would work for me to be its dogsbody in exchange for free lessons. 

I was expecting lithe bodies and languid demeanors. It was none of that. Most of us were at least a little chubby. I think the class will work for me. 

I’m making a commitment through spring. My goal, as I told Tracy, my instructor, is to strengthen and stretch my legs and lower back so I can compete in the Washington State Senior Games next summer…

I went to the gym this afternoon, to watch the Mariners’ game on TV while peddling and rowing. Poor Knee is stronger than it was yesterday.

Just before dinner: a quick beach stroll. I found myself isolating the hamstring muscles we worked on today in class as I flexed my way up the hill. A twinge in the left abdominal muscle has also become evident lately. I'm learning the names of muscles as I encounter them painfully in my body.

Onward.

Eschewing Power Walk For the Nonce

Hamstring stretch. Feel the burn!

Google “muscles behind knee” and you’ll find they mostly come down from the hamstring—I think that’s where the problem is. 

Behind knee

This morning I added yesterday's new exercises to Matt’s original warmup routine. This afternoon I eschewed (meaning ‘forsook’, as I was recently reminded by my Scrabble-playing wife) the usual Power Walk. Later today, while pedaling, rowing--whatever--at the gym, Healthy Knee carried the load; Poor Knee caught a break. 

I'll continue this regime for a couple of days.

Tomorrow I’m auditioning a Yoga For Athletes class held at a studio just two blocks up Dayton Avenue. The goal there is to stretch and strengthen, especially, my leg and lower back muscles, so that my body's movement toward the 2042 goal is sustainable. 

Remember, this is a long term aim. 

Onward.