I've always said that the hardest part of the old serenity prayer is the last part….the part about figuring out what you really can, or cannot, change.
Yes indeed!
Sometimes it sneaks up on me----the fact that I'm 58 years hold---and counting. I think that maybe when I hit 60 it will click in, and it does sometimes now, but for the most part I don't think about the fact that my life is probably 3/4's over. And when I do think about it I don't lament the fact, but the reality is still there, and as such I gotta accept it.
The problem is that it's a bit of a catch 22. Not acknowledging my age keeps me doing things that are good for my health, and ironically, it also keeps me doing things that are bad for my health!!
And while the net tradeoff is probably still in the positive, I find it difficult to cope when I'm paying for stupid behaviour that I only recognize after the fact.
Certainly in hindsight it was not very smart to see how high I could get the bike power meter to go, especially after already being on the machine for 3 1/2 hours. You're supposed to ride easy for 15 minutes at the end of any workout in order to let the muscles cool down, and to flush out any lactic acid buildup. You are definitely not supposed to see how hard you can ride, even for a very abbreviated time.
And the worst part is that I did it twice, just to see if the computrainer and my pedals showed the same result!!
It took me a while this morning to associate my little experiment with the pain that my body was experiencing, because it showed up in an unusual spot; my lower abdomen, almost to my groin. And while it may all be better by tomorrow, right now it's pretty uncomfortable. And of course my usual paranoia about injury tells me it's gonna be days or weeks!!
And while climbing on the roof for 2 hours afterwards didn't help any either, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the culprit. And with a new batch of snow overnight, I'm at least glad I got that done.
On the positive front, I again learned more from my pedals. It seems that my left/right imbalance is even greater on my long rides, than it is on shorter, harder efforts. Yesterday it was 42/58, and when I looked back at other rides the confirmation is there. And while it is certainly a concern, since long riding is what I do, it also highlights an even great opportunity. Doing a little testing at the end of my workout just reinforced the inability of my left leg to do anything in circles, especially when I'm already tired. I can get about 10 cycles, and then I can no longer come over the top without a big clunk!
I'm gonna try to get on the trainer every day for at least 10 minutes to focus exclusively on single leg drills. I'm pretty sure that it will take an ongoing effort, since it took a long time to get the way it is. The problem lies in my hip flexors, the muscles that lift the leg, and that then support it while you come over the top of the stroke. And while I haven't actually tested this, I'm willing to bet that the problem is even worse when I'm in the aero bars. Like I said….an opportunity.
And it occurs to me that maybe I'll even think about raising my saddle a few millimetres. Actually I can probably test that first by adding a towel under my butt.
Wish me luck!
And while I'm not sure if I could run today or not, I decided to not even try. If I went to the trouble of getting dressed, I'm sure I would try to do something…wise or not…
I need to be proactive in avoiding dumb decisions.
Oh by the way…628 watts!!!
"Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm."---Anon
Love
Peter
Yes indeed!
Sometimes it sneaks up on me----the fact that I'm 58 years hold---and counting. I think that maybe when I hit 60 it will click in, and it does sometimes now, but for the most part I don't think about the fact that my life is probably 3/4's over. And when I do think about it I don't lament the fact, but the reality is still there, and as such I gotta accept it.
The problem is that it's a bit of a catch 22. Not acknowledging my age keeps me doing things that are good for my health, and ironically, it also keeps me doing things that are bad for my health!!
And while the net tradeoff is probably still in the positive, I find it difficult to cope when I'm paying for stupid behaviour that I only recognize after the fact.
Certainly in hindsight it was not very smart to see how high I could get the bike power meter to go, especially after already being on the machine for 3 1/2 hours. You're supposed to ride easy for 15 minutes at the end of any workout in order to let the muscles cool down, and to flush out any lactic acid buildup. You are definitely not supposed to see how hard you can ride, even for a very abbreviated time.
And the worst part is that I did it twice, just to see if the computrainer and my pedals showed the same result!!
It took me a while this morning to associate my little experiment with the pain that my body was experiencing, because it showed up in an unusual spot; my lower abdomen, almost to my groin. And while it may all be better by tomorrow, right now it's pretty uncomfortable. And of course my usual paranoia about injury tells me it's gonna be days or weeks!!
And while climbing on the roof for 2 hours afterwards didn't help any either, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the culprit. And with a new batch of snow overnight, I'm at least glad I got that done.
On the positive front, I again learned more from my pedals. It seems that my left/right imbalance is even greater on my long rides, than it is on shorter, harder efforts. Yesterday it was 42/58, and when I looked back at other rides the confirmation is there. And while it is certainly a concern, since long riding is what I do, it also highlights an even great opportunity. Doing a little testing at the end of my workout just reinforced the inability of my left leg to do anything in circles, especially when I'm already tired. I can get about 10 cycles, and then I can no longer come over the top without a big clunk!
I'm gonna try to get on the trainer every day for at least 10 minutes to focus exclusively on single leg drills. I'm pretty sure that it will take an ongoing effort, since it took a long time to get the way it is. The problem lies in my hip flexors, the muscles that lift the leg, and that then support it while you come over the top of the stroke. And while I haven't actually tested this, I'm willing to bet that the problem is even worse when I'm in the aero bars. Like I said….an opportunity.
And it occurs to me that maybe I'll even think about raising my saddle a few millimetres. Actually I can probably test that first by adding a towel under my butt.
Wish me luck!
And while I'm not sure if I could run today or not, I decided to not even try. If I went to the trouble of getting dressed, I'm sure I would try to do something…wise or not…
I need to be proactive in avoiding dumb decisions.
Oh by the way…628 watts!!!
"Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm."---Anon
Love
Peter
No comments:
Post a Comment