I’m still not running. The knee, oh, the knee! But, you know what? I’m extremely grateful for what I can do. I can ride a bicycle for long distances (weather pending) at a decent pace and I can walk 2-3 miles each day. I am blessed!
Below are the October 2019 biking and total statistics.
It was great to go for a bike ride after several days of rainy and blustery conditions. Walking is alright, but you really can’t get an aerobic workout very easily. Obviously, there are obstacles and challenges to deal with riding a bike in cold weather. Clothing seems to take the longest to get right.
I opted to layer cotton and polyester with one layer being a thicker thermal shirt, then the outer shell being my Work-n-Sport coat then finally my reflective shirt. With a scarf around my neck and a thin hat under the helmet, it actually worked pretty well. I was cold at first, but within a mile or so I had generated enough heat around the torso to expand the ride outside of town and into the fields a few miles.
With two pair of socks on in my leather boots and wind pants, the lower body remained reasonably comfortable. The toes did a little complaining after about 10 miles, but weren’t brutally cold. I’m not exactly a fitness magazine model, but I’m able to keep riding a bit longer outside, for which I am grateful!
A friend told me to check out Tim Anderson over at Original Strength and I am glad I did. I am still checking out the videos over at YouTube as there are tons of useful resources available to introduce some very helpful tools.
The concept of a “reset” is an underlying theme and one key routine is rocking. At first I was thinking that is too simple, however, when I started I quickly realized how much work my knee still required. These resets are great physical therapy!
The knee is getting better. While it’s not ready for running, flexibility is improving and pain intensity lowering. Riding the bike is not a problem for it, for which I am very grateful. I have been able to walk two to three miles a day. I wish I could say the walks are pain free, but not yet.
I felt I had a pretty good handle on staying warm while running in the cold, but I’ve not got it down while riding the bike. Too hot, too cold, too drafty, too sweaty, cold fingers, cold toes, etc. And it’s not even that cold yet!
The toes are a repeat problem. I’ve yet to keep them warm a complete ride. I’ve tried different shoe and sock combinations with little success but I will keep on trying.
In an older post I described why I left the LoseIt app to use My Fitness Pal (MFP). Those reasons no longer exist and other circumstances on the MFP platform motivated me to switch back to LoseIt.
MFP is free, so is LoseIt, however things begin to diverge from there. The Garmin connectivity was my major reason to move to MFP, it was already there and not available on LoseIt. Now, LoseIt supports Garmin connectivity on their paid platform and when I combine the functionality and stability benefits of LoseIt, it was an easy move.
MFP has struggled to remain stable from a technology perspective, often times the system was unavailable or some features were not working properly. I work in tech, I get it, I can put up with a lot of interruptions, but after extended periods and a continued downward trend, other options become attractive.
Since I left LoseIt a few years ago, they have continued to improve the platform. This app/system actually feels like a health management assistant where MFP is sort of like a “spreadsheet” to store your data. I suggest you try them out and the focused purpose of the apps will become clear to you as well.
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