Pain. I had been in pain for so long during and after I suffered my stress fracture in my knee in '04, that it took me a while, once I had improved, to realize I was no longer in pain. I was near the threshold and each time I ran (if you could call it that) there it was, the pain. Radiating down my right outer calf, anterior tibialis? peroneus longus? the pain seemed to originate in the outer lower leg-- this preceded my contrlateral stress fracture which resulted, no doubt, from compensation. Fast forward to Saturday September 15, 2007, when for the first time since I *recovered* I experienced the full force of that old familiar pain. OK, rational thinking analyzes the situation and tests various untestable hypotheses. The car accident, glancing blow on my leg caused this? Hard to reconcile considering I was OK Friday, even ran on the dreadmill with out any pain-- testing to see if in fact I did suffer any injury from the accident. Apparently not. I was fine Saturday morning as we strolled the farmer's market. But then, I laced on my new soccer cleats to assume the guise as assistant coach for Ryder's team and as I ran around the field I almost immediately felt IT. So, I reasoned at the time, must be a bit sore from it all. UGH. Pain persisted. All day Saturday I limped around, miserable, in a state of disbelief and denial.
Undetered, and equipped with my trusty Cannodale with the new front wheel (stock wheel on loan while Dan laces up a replacement Mavic for me). I ventured forth to Evanston for the North Shore Century. Tempted though I was to ride 100 miles, I opted to do the metric 100. My longest ride this year being 50 miles, going double that seemed like to be a bit of stretch. So I decided to do the 62 mile route. It was a lovely day, a bit chilly in the morning, but clear and dry. I was on the road before 8:00. A little later than I had planned on, but I was riding alone and just doing the 62, so I took a liesurely approach. I missed the first turn, within 100 yards of starting, but managed to catch myself and get on track. I rode in comfort, cruising 18-20 mph keeping company with similarly paced riders, to the 20 mile rest stop. I ate a peanutbutter and jelly sandwhich and was back on the road, sans jacket. The 62 mile route has a 12 mile loop that takes you back to the same rest stop, then the course follows the same route as the 50 mile tour. Once again I had a PBJ sandwhich (just 1/2 each time), loaded up my water bottles and hit the road again. So far this was an easy ride, relatively flat and little wind. We rode through Lake Forest and passed some giant mansions where a few of the truly richest people in the world live. Though they live in big mansions their roads suck. A very bumpy ride.
I was enjoying the few hills and cruising averaging about 18 mph until about mile 50, then IT started to hurt. Each revolution of the peddle and I felt the pain radiate down my leg. The peroneus, whatever it was, outside right leg just below the knee was really singing. I found that if I pointed my toe down on the peddle swing it didn't hurt. As I lapsed and started peddling flat footed the pain would return. I was very distracted by it, and also very concerned. NO! bicycling CAN NOT HURT ME! I refused to accept the reality of what I was experiencing. NO! But with each revolution, as I tested the angle of my ankle, I could find comfort zones and I could test the limits of the pain as well. It became very clear to me what was going on and I gained new insight into the origin of my initial insult. Bone on bone grinding away, no meniscus, each scrape sending pain down my leg. The trigger point in my peroneus and pain in my lower leg came from the knee, not my feet. Ah ha! Well, this explains a lot of things. My 2003 training season, that one step I took 7 days prior to marine corps marathon which caused THIS SAME PAIN. Yet I trained through all of 2004 with this going on, not recognizing the source, until, stupidly, it caused the stress fracture in my left knee. Which, by the way, is feeling just fine. My right knee is my bete noire. The beast that haunts me. So, does this mean I am screwed? Won't be able to bike either? These troubling thoughts haunted my next four miles until, as if by miracle, the rest stop appeared and I pulled over. No more PBJ sandwiches for me. I stretched to see if I could help myself out and felt ok. I tightened my headset and water bottle cage which were loose-- from the bumpy roads or the accident, hard to say. I was back on the road, just a few miles to go, and struggled, now over the hills and into a 15 mph headwind. I finished in 3:58, 16.1 mph average, having covered 64 miles. Top speed 27.5 on one of the downhills. It was quite festive in Dawes park at the finish. The Honey Bees, a bopping rock billy band were serranading the crowd. I relaxed a bit, and then got on the massage table to get stretched. It was quite pleasant and when I walked my bike to the car I felt OK. I went to bed at 8:30 last night, imagine that.
So this morning I was slow to leave the house. I had to reconfigure my ride for commuting instead of riding long, find my clothes in the laundry and hit the road. I immediately could tell I was going to be OK. Riding the bike this morning, spinning in a low gear and not pushing it was completely comfortable. My knee felt stiff and a bit swollen, but NO PAIN. Now as I sit at my desk in my office blogging this instead of working, I have an ice bag on my knee and am encouraged. This weekend I plan on running 24 miles and then next weekend riding 100 miles. After that all that is left to do is run the Denver marathon. And one thing for sure, I am not going to lace those soccer cleats back on my feet.
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