Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Starting to Enjoy Biking...

I didn’t blog yesterday because I have been in a very bad mood for the past few days. I hate blogging when I am in a bad mood because I feel like I am just complaining! My bad mood was caused by a combination of kids driving me crazy!!!!!! (teachers out there- do you ever REALLY hate your job, because sometimes I do…and I don’t know if that’s a bad sign) and the fact that my knee is hurting more now that I have started doing all of this stuff and I’m just so frustrated with having yet another illness (or injury) where doctors really have no idea what they are talking about and just want you to try this, try that, and nothing will really help. I might not mind this so much but this is what I’ve been dealing with for my stomach for three years and frankly, I’m sick of it. End complaints here.

Anyway, in typical Kelly fashion I have taken it upon myself to try something new- a knee brace. When it comes to medical issues/injuries I am very big on logic. If my patella is out of line, it makes sense that keeping it in line would be helpful. So I used my knee brace for the first time tonight while going on a bike ride with my sister. I did the same bike ride as Saturday, and went slightly quicker (11.9 mph on Saturday, 12.4 tonight). I also decided not to bike up my giant hill today even though I can now do it, because I'm afraid that might be pissing off my knee as well. Then I came home, did my stretches and just finished icing my knee. Too early to tell if the knee brace helped at all but I definitely hope so! I am going to ask my PT tomorrow about taping because Caitlin was diagnosed with the same thing as me and that's what they have her doing- AND they told her she can run! So I want that doctor!!!

In other good news, my neck did not bother me at all when we biked today and my hand did not fall asleep at all. Thanks you guys for all your advice. I changed up my hands as much as I could and tried to keep my neck and back straight. I'm not going to lie, my crotch still hurts...but it does seem to hurt slightly less every time so there is definitely hope that I will bike pain free very soon. Biking is definitely growing on me more and more every day. I genuinely think that even when I can run again I'll still make as much time as I can for biking. Thanks again for all the biking support, it has certainly been a learning experience and I'm sure it's not over yet!

12 comments:

  1. Regarding your soreness caused by riding your bike, have you ever seen those gel seats that you can put over your bike seat? I bought one when I used to do spinning because I was always sore after class and riding the bike was very uncomfortable. It did not totally get rid of soreness but it really helped a lot. It just slides right over the bike seat and then adjusts with a little string and fastener. I think I got mine at sports authority.

    http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=gel+bike+seat&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=1695167621&ref=pd_sl_1089r3tzej_e

    check out this link to amazon since I am not sure which sports stores you might have where you live.

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  2. While I'm not, and never have been a "real teacher" I did teach swimming lessons for years and as bad as I feel for saying this the kids would drive me freaking nutso and I swear I had daydreams about holding them under water.... OK, that makes me sound like a terrible person! Haha

    Sorry to hear your knee is bothering you! I hope it starts feeling better really soon!!

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  3. I'm sorry your injuries are bothering you so much. At least biking is going well.
    Don't worry about complaining...it's nice to vent every once in awhile.

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  4. Bah both my parents are retiring in 1 1/2 weeks after over 30 years of teaching and they still love it yet there are certain students that drive them nuts :)

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  5. Your being a teacher is awesome! There may be those crazy kids but I'm sure there are more of those great kids who make your job worth it.

    I take a 10-min bike ride to work so it's not really a workout to cause me any pains.:P I'm glad to know you enjoy biking.
    Good luck with your PT tomorrow!

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  6. I hope your kneee gets better so you can do that race because that would be cool! It looks like fun and FI and I are going to stay in Boston for dinner after. Yum!

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  7. Everyone hates their job some days. That was yesterday for me too. Hopefully it's better today!

    I'm falling in love with biking too. I haven't been running either because of my hip injury, but I think I may like being on my bike more!!

    Have you been checking your cadence? It may help your knee when biking. It should be around 85-95. A lot of people tend to go at a lower cadence (ie a bigger gear) and put unessary strain on they're knees by pushing harder than they need to. Since I don't have a fancy computer, I just check my cadence by counting how many revolutions my right leg makes (or how many times my right knee comes up) in 30 seconds, then doubling that. Hope that helps!! :)

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  8. Great to hear that you are figuring things out and getting more comfortable on the bike. I hope you find that the knee brace helped as well!

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  9. Aw I hope you feel better soon. I bet being a teacher is really rewarding, even though the kids can be annoying sometimes. I hope you can learn how to tape your knees!

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  10. aw im so sorry you're feeling down girl! Though i'm not a teacher i did work at a day care for a few years and i know how stressful kids can be!

    Hang in there <3

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  11. Injuries can be so frustrating. And, if it makes you feel any better, it seems as if most athletes deal with them some time or another. Still, it sucks.

    Glad to hear the bike is suiting you better.

    And yes, being a teacher, I know exactly what you feel. Kids can be so frustrating at times!

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  12. Hope the brace works for your knee!! I can't wait to go running again...if my darn ankle would start feeling better!!! I think I need to wrap it more often, that seems to help...

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