I’ve been struggling with a sore-ish knee lately.  I blame Adam for planting the psychological seed.  It’s a game of mental sabotage.

Actually it’s not.  Every time I put any heavy effort into it, like climbing hard while seated, my left knee would begin to act up and become annoyingly painful.  This started in the last day or two of the first 1000km leg and caused me no small degree of concern.  I changed my approach and made it work but was still cautious.  Having ignored the childhood admonishment to “never mess up your knees – it’ll stay with you for life”, by crashing a snowmobile into an immobile object, my right knee has given me grief on and off throughout life.  More worryingly, this was my left.

I’ve been unable to get in for a massage this season, ostensibly due to limited time but more likely a side-effect of the unexpectedly brutal (but effective) deep tissue therapy session that was my last “massage”.  I went to see Ed at Prema Sai after he’d treated Trace for some chronic issues with good results.  I was tired of sessions that were close but no cigar knot where I’d leave wishing the therapist had stronger fingers.  Ed didn’t disappoint and he introduced me to a whole new level of agony while assuring me it wasn’t that bad.  I left much more knot-free than when I went in, which had been the entire point so the visit was an outstanding success.  I also left with a clear appreciation for the phrase white-hot pain.  As soon as I find my man-pants, I’ll make an appointment with Ed again and have him sort out my knee.  (Lest I’ve filled you fear about a session with Ed, Trace tells me the relaxation massage she received from him over the weekend was stellar).

Pretty that's what was hiding under the guise of the foam roller

In the meantime, I dug out the fat foam roller to see if I could mitigate things.  Last night I rolled around the living room floor in bouts of barely-controlled agony as I foam-rolled my legs.  I have no idea what I’m doing mind you but the relief after I stopped hurting myself was stupendous!  The most entertaining (if you were to be a viewer and not the rollee) was to lie on my side with the roller under my hip, then slide up until the roller was almost at the knee.  I’m pretty sure I passed out at one point though I’m not certain if that was from the morning star apparently buried in my quad or just the result of a lack of sleep.

Today’s rides bore fruit however – positive fruit.  No knee issues to speak of despite setting a new PR for the nastiest climb on my commute and hitting a 45km/h sprint shortly after.  Of course all these terms are relative – my versions of climb and sprint are I suspect considerably shorter than what a “real” cyclist might envision, particularly in light of the route Ryder was on a few days ago.  The Passo dello Stelvio is 24km long with 1800 meters of climbing making it in excess of 7% – this at the end of a 219km mountain ride.  My climb is barely a jot.

Whatever – I had an excellent ride home, an excellent ride in and met up with all-things-cycling reference / guru Thomas who was directly responsible for setting up the draft that allowed me ride the 45km/h sprint – no Thomas, no 45.  All without any knee pain before or after.

While catching my breath and trying not to heave up my breakfast on the side of the road, Thomas reminded me that going all-out every time I got on the bike was not the way to go faster.  Cycling requires some recovery periods for optimum growth and adaptation.  A mind break, a muscle break, an opportunity for amino acid chains to reform and rebuild, for neurotransmitters to replenish and muscle fibers to re-grow.

The same must be said of life too.  All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy (and me too).  We pay lip-service to work-life balance while holding in high(er) esteem the colleague who is there before everyone else, there after everyone else and puts in a few hours on the weekend.  The unspoken message – this is how you get ahead.  Such a focus takes a toll though.

We know now through current studies and science that focused and willful action causes physical changes in the brain.  Physical.  Think about that.  Willfully.  What you spend your time doing – reading, watching, writing, listening to and thus who and what you’re spending your time with, re-shapes your brain.  The computing adage garbage in, garbage out, used to describe any number of computer-related issues from data entry to climate modelling is equally true of us and our noggins.  Think about that the next time you sit down in front of the idiot box.

In the interest of changing it up, I’ll take the opportunity provided by the coming two days of solid rain to set the Rescue Bike back on the trainer and focus on spinning.  Maybe I’ll even read a book while I’m at it.  What are you going to do?