Getting Back On Track

At the start of June I wrote about a knee injury and ended on a semi-positive note:

It is possible that my sore knee during cycling is not (just) a bike fit issue and it could be a muscular imbalance or just a general weakness. I know that this needs attention (my squat attempts are pitiful) and I now need to find a gym or, perhaps better for a recluse like me, a personal trainer to give me an initial plan and then regularly review and evolve it.

But in the meantime I’m running again, will be doing Zwift rides again, and will be finishing Couch to 5K very, very soon.

In the intervening six weeks there have been ups and downs and I have been focusing on the downs too much so it’s time to reflect on that and address it.

Since writing that last post I did finish the Couch to 5K program and I have done a few 35 minute runs and managed to hit 5K in them. But, as I had feared, not having a structured plan, particularly when combined with a still slightly fragile knee, allowed me to let things slip and it’s stupid because I miss running. But tomorrow I am finally going to doing my first Parkrun. It’s a bit bitter-sweet because, whilst I’m doing it with friends which will make it fun and sociable, it is being done to help support a long-term member of the Shepton Mallet Parkrun family who is currently battling breast cancer.

I’ve not done any Zwift riding since I hurt my knee and this is purely psychological. I see my knee issue as being tied to Zwift and so I’ve been avoiding riding to avoid injury. But I know I’m being irrational and I managed to ride for months without injury so it’s time to, literally, get back on the bike. That’s another goal for this weekend. I really enjoyed Zwift and felt the benefits so I’m being silly not to do it. Besides, I’ll never finish my re-watch of Star Trek: The Next Generation if I don’t start riding again since it was my viewing companion whilst I rode.

I have started doing CrossFit which has been an odd mix of humiliation, exhilaration, pain and pride. I’m only three weeks in but I am enjoying the variety of activities as well as the comradery and support from both my classmates and the instructor. The debilitating muscle pain that spread itself over multiple days after each of the first few sessions has largely passed and I’m slowly starting to feel more flexible, a bit stronger and generally more physically confident. CrossFit is the sort of exercise I should have added to the mix much sooner but better late than never.

And my healthy eating has remained constant too which is good. My weight is still creeping down and I’m now over half way from where I started to where I think I want to be. But I do need to go and buy some new clothes soon.

Nothing about the last few weeks has been disastrous but it is also not a direction I want to keep going in. I need to draw up a plan to make running and cycling regular exercise again. I’m aiming for two CrossFit sessions, two Zwift sessions and two or three runs a week. The Zwift rides and the runs will not always be full-on but, as much as the physical benefits of exercise help me, the mental boost I get from it is something I am acutely aware that I have been missing.