Thursday, 9 December 2010

Staying positive. Just!

After a ride a couple of weeks ago my (normally) good left knee started to hurt. I put it down to the cold weather and/or some new eccentric knee exercises prescribed by a physiotherapist for my right knee. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't ride so I carried on riding for another week; however it got to the point where even walking was painful. As I'm writing this I realise how stupid this sounds and that I should have just stopped training as soon as the niggle started, but stopping isn't a quality that comes naturally to me. Perhaps this is a common trait shared by other athletes!?

Following advice from a knee specialist (who I seem to be consulting rather a lot this year!) I've been icing it, taking anti-inflammatory tablets and, remarkably, resting!

Since Monday I've been gradually building up time on the rollers and yesterday I managed 2 x 1 hour sessions. I've also started to become a regular at the local swimming pool!

Today is a perfect day for riding. The sun is shining and it's actually above freezing for the first time in over a week. I want to try a ride outside for the first time in 9 days, but I've got my sensible head on for a change and I'm fighting the urge. My rollers also remain untouched ;-)

A valuable lesson that I've been learning the hard way is simply knowing when to stop. Time off now is frustrating but it's still early and hopefully I'll be back into full training soon.

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