For those that have noticed, I have been absent from the racing scene for several months. A very inconveniently timed knee injury in early December 2007 sent me on a journey of devastation, frustration and, believe it or not, learning. Initially I would have said that the first two feelings would have been prominent, but as time drags on I’m finding that learning has been an unexpected positive of an unfortunately situation.
The injury: I came out of the Scott 24 Hour with the same niggling knee pain reminiscent of the Kona 24 Hour 10 months earlier, however this time it impacted on my performance, with me having to settle for only doing enough laps to keep 2nd place. First lesson….LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!
After the Scott I gave myself some (what I believed) well deserved recovery time. The Australian 24 Hour Solo Champs were in 5 months – heaps of time. As the weeks wore on I realised that I was beyond ‘recovery’ and just being down right slack! Lesson two….HAVE SHORT TERM GOALS.
After spending a few weeks with panic building in my head, it was time to get serious. Normal training resumed, and two or three weeks later I was stuck on the couch with a very painful and swollen knee. How it happened? I still don’t know. What it meant? Torn medial meniscus (cartilage) which would require surgery to remove the torn sections.
Over the next 7 weeks I attempted to remain active as much as the pain allowed. Minimal resistance wind training sessions, walks on the beach and core/upper body strength were the extent of it. Lesson three….I HAVE A VERY UNDERSTANDING PARTNER, EVAN. This was a difficult time for Evan and myself – no exercise does not make a happy Justine.
And this is where I’m at now – surgery over, good outcome, LOTS of physiotherapy rehabilitation exercises. Today (23rd February 2008) I had my first ‘real’ ride – we drove to the velodrome and I did what I thought I would never do….ride round and round in a circle and really enjoyed it!
The learning part didn’t end here. Not being able to ride I got pretty bored, so I’ve gone over in my head nearly every training week leading up to the Scott, where I needed improvement, what worked, when and why was I fatigued…the list goes on. So although this has been the worst possible time, I have taken some positives from it and focussed on these.
Where to from here? The 24 Hour Solo Champs are out, but my planning still involved some amount of riding at the event. So although I won’t be competitive (I may be able to ride for 6 hours all up), I’ll still be there for the event and to cheer on my friends who, ironically, are also my competitors!
Over the next few months Evan and I might make some joint appearances as a team at endurance events. It’s been a long time (the last was the 2005 Mont tandem effort), but it will be great to still compete and enjoy these events while I’m getting my endurance legs back.
The injury: I came out of the Scott 24 Hour with the same niggling knee pain reminiscent of the Kona 24 Hour 10 months earlier, however this time it impacted on my performance, with me having to settle for only doing enough laps to keep 2nd place. First lesson….LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!
After the Scott I gave myself some (what I believed) well deserved recovery time. The Australian 24 Hour Solo Champs were in 5 months – heaps of time. As the weeks wore on I realised that I was beyond ‘recovery’ and just being down right slack! Lesson two….HAVE SHORT TERM GOALS.
After spending a few weeks with panic building in my head, it was time to get serious. Normal training resumed, and two or three weeks later I was stuck on the couch with a very painful and swollen knee. How it happened? I still don’t know. What it meant? Torn medial meniscus (cartilage) which would require surgery to remove the torn sections.
Over the next 7 weeks I attempted to remain active as much as the pain allowed. Minimal resistance wind training sessions, walks on the beach and core/upper body strength were the extent of it. Lesson three….I HAVE A VERY UNDERSTANDING PARTNER, EVAN. This was a difficult time for Evan and myself – no exercise does not make a happy Justine.
And this is where I’m at now – surgery over, good outcome, LOTS of physiotherapy rehabilitation exercises. Today (23rd February 2008) I had my first ‘real’ ride – we drove to the velodrome and I did what I thought I would never do….ride round and round in a circle and really enjoyed it!
The learning part didn’t end here. Not being able to ride I got pretty bored, so I’ve gone over in my head nearly every training week leading up to the Scott, where I needed improvement, what worked, when and why was I fatigued…the list goes on. So although this has been the worst possible time, I have taken some positives from it and focussed on these.
Where to from here? The 24 Hour Solo Champs are out, but my planning still involved some amount of riding at the event. So although I won’t be competitive (I may be able to ride for 6 hours all up), I’ll still be there for the event and to cheer on my friends who, ironically, are also my competitors!
Over the next few months Evan and I might make some joint appearances as a team at endurance events. It’s been a long time (the last was the 2005 Mont tandem effort), but it will be great to still compete and enjoy these events while I’m getting my endurance legs back.
No comments:
Post a Comment