Start of Week 9

I was really looking forward to hitting the road over the holidays.  I had a few days off from work and I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to find some flat stretches and just enjoy the view.  Unfortunately I wasn't ready for that yet. 

I've moved over to the stationary training where I have my cyclo-cross bike set up.  During the season I primarily ride a road bike and once in a while go off trail on a mountain bike.  However, I also have a cyclo-cross bike that can do either.  I take that on trips to Tahoe and places where I want to do both road and off road riding. 

The Cyclo-Cross is set up in a Saris PowerBeam Pro.  What's great about this setup is the unit measures heart rate, cadence and watts or power.  That's not super important at this point but it is providing me some feedback on how I am progressing especially in comparison to where I was before the knee replacement. 

I'm using really light resistance at this time starting at 50 watts and progressing up to 150 watts of resistance.  This in comparison would be about 12 to 15 MPH at 150 watts on the road that was flat with no wind.  The muscles are still getting used to flexing many times and when I step down I have some swelling in the knee.  However before icing I move over to other exercises for another 15 to 20 minutes.

When standing and pedaling on the bike the knee doesn't feel comfortable with that as of yet meaning all the pieces are not moving smoothly; the strength is lacking and there is a choppiness to the stroke.  It's not super bad but I won't go out side and ride without more confidence in that.

I'm looking forward to starting ILT (Individual Leg Training) which is an exercise I learned from Dr Arnie Baker.  He has been a fantastic coach and mentor to me over the last 16 years.  ILT is using a single leg to pedal either in stationary or on the road.  It's one of the best exercises I've found to build strength and there are a lot of different ways to adapt this exercise.  More to come on that.

My other focus is building back the endurance.  It feels like it's been a year since I've put in over an hour on the bike.  My body is screaming for a long ride up the coast.  For now I have to settle for watching DVDs while I train from EpicPlanet and Sufferfest.  At least they provide a great view of the world and I feel that I'm in the pack competing.  Below is a interview of Allen Jones the producing of EpicPlanet(Ride) videos.