Something to do

Week ten post hip break and things are progressing. I am riding out on the road and today's ride was nice and sunny. Ridding at 200 watts you get quite a few riders pass you, although one guy sat in behind me saying nothing and after 10 mins at a set of traffic lights he sprinted off, probably thinking "he learned me good"

This is the kind of thing you put up with on your comeback... so too keep the motivation i have nearly finished building the TT bike. (pictures inserted) Although it will be some time before i ride it, trying to get it just right is a motivation to want to be good enough to ride it. Strange again to do your winter training in the spring, while you would normally be starting long level 3 blocks, but not as cold and that's  nice.  

So most of the discomfort with the metal work has eased, i did have some x rays at 8 weeks as they thought something wasn't right, but the results were normal ( remember when you screw something together - use araldite.. ) So now it's a long steady road of endless level 2. it's been a hard few weeks, but being a racing cyclist prepares you well for discomfort And you mister yellow shirt and white specialized in a few months "i'll learn you good too" ;0)

The hole in my canoe..

and your canoe as well..  Perhaps I should explain?  Your fitness and ability to race can be viewed in many ways, but I’m going to try an analogy to explain the challenge for all athletes.

Imagine you’re in a canoe and it has a small hole in the bottom where the water comes in.  For the sake of this analogy we will also say the canoe has some foam buoyancy so that even if it fills up with water it won’t sink completely.

Next I want you to think of paddling your canoe as racing and that bailing water out of your canoe as training.  Remember your canoe had a hole in the bottom so the water comes in.. In this case your canoe symbolises your fitness. And mine too

So if you bail out your canoe, it sits higher out the water, it’s lighter agile and will go faster. But if you only bail out and don’t race you haven’t gone anywhere, ie the fun bit which is racing.  If you never did any bailing then your canoe gets heavier as it fills up, it is less agile and over time not as fast. Over the winter and spring you need to try and get all the water out.

In this analogy you can imagine that fitness is never constant, it’s going up or it’s going down, but the whole is never sealed and your fitness is never constant. ( a poor design..)

In my case this means that even when I have started to train, the fact that I can’t train the same number of hours in the same intensity means i’m bailing out my canoe, but not as much water is being taken out or as fast, so as I begin training I can still be losing fitness from my base line, but not as fast as I was, this has manifested, but it’s all part of the process. Think about this with your training.

So how am I doing, well no more crutches, I was walking without them at 4 weeks, it’s now 5, I can train on the turbo for just over an hour and my last session was around 40 watts short of Jan 7^th baseline.  Muscle atrophy in the left leg has been a challenge. Most of this happens in the first 10 days, so very difficult to manage, something to think more about in an injury situation.

And after seeing my surgeon the pin needs to come out in October he says, so at least I’ll get some riding in this year.

The Time trial toy project has started and I have included a Lamborghini style  teaser pic, with more of the build to follow. As ever looks of the bike are important.

So the comeback is under way, is it easy? no. Does it hurt? yes will I make it? Just watch me 

The start of the "come back ...

The Comeback

So you’re planning a comeback.. How will you know when your back?  It’s an interesting question eh..? 

Leaving aside small details, such as “Is a comeback possible? “What will it take?  “How long will it take and will you run out of time in the age performance window you’re in?

So here we will look at the science of comeback and how do you measure “being back”. A nice functional measurement of being back would be to measure the power you can produce at the crank  for a given heart rate, in the “I’m back” state vs. the before accident state. Let’s just consider this statement for a moment. By functional I mean for this element we will ignore factors like In a given position on the bike outside the one I used to get a baseline. The other reality might be that for other reasons, the same exact power might not be possible or might happen a lot later (time and other factors allowing) But this approach is tangible.

Below left I have included some pictures including a power sample of 8 min.46 seconds taken 31^st Dec 10. This shows that at a heart rate of 141 (my Level 2) my average power was 244 watts. This split was taken in the middle of a 2 hour endurance ride focusing the training at this level.  So that will form the pre-accident measurement.   

For this approach to have any validity I would need to know that the power measurement was consistent and accurate. My faith in this approach will be based on the SRM power metre. I have one for my training bike and one for my race bike.  My training set was calibrated in November and so should not need re-calibration for the measurement of my progress over the coming months.

Calibration of the SRM power unit should be performed yearly, although I have found that there does not seem to be much change year on year.  My 10 speed set, now with oval rings fitted, have just come back from calibration and a new battery. This is the first time I have had these done since new. After 3 years they were out by 14 watts, reading lower than actual, although they are always consistent and this is the most important point.

So now I have a way to measure loss and incremental gains on the way back... There is of course an upside and a downside to this; as much as this approach covers the facts of power at the crank, the psychology of the comeback is probably the more difficult to measure, manage and control.

So now the beginning of the comeback.. “Roll on”

Stationary

Stationary - No I don't mean in the chair doing nothing I mean in my leg... they used stationary ...  I pasted the pick from today below left.

Today I went to see Sister Sheila; who in her bag keeps staple removers.. nice you're thinking.. YES FOR MY LEG!  "A surgeon throw a leg at me once she said"  not mine i hoped..

So it's 15 days since the op' and there have been positive changes. No more staples..  I am using one crutch, all day, the 2XU compression, has helped a lot with the swelling which is only now at the op' site on the leg.

It's now a tricky balance to ensure the bones knit, while limiting muscle loss and getting some flexibility back. The pain killers are down to a few ibuprofen a day which has consequences

There is some aching in the femur and further down by the knee on the inside of the leg. When you stop the pain killers you realise more about what other damage you have done and also very importantly where muscle weakness and over tightness and imbalance is taking effect. Think this is a good thing in all.

So what can I do?  Well I went out for lunch with my training buddies on Saturday, which was good, I can bend the left me more than 90 deg' ; lift the leg up into bed without holding the leg, stretch to the floor, some sit up's on a fit ball, (70) today which is more than some of the guys who train and don't have anything wrong...

I also looked at some mountain bike riding shorts that had padding protection on the hip. I wish I had thought of this before the accident, it's not like they are big balloon pant's but you can't help thinking, " if i was wearing these, would I be in the predicament?) I now don't have a choice, If I could recommend something for keeping your winter training gains, it might be a bit of protection. it would be good to think that this didn't happen often, but a quick look at this bike radar link http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=16727123#16727123  would show otherwise.. something to think about... if nothing else it hurts like F' when you go down like this!

so now I'm hoping to progress with some sensible core work, strength and stretching And It's time for building bikes ready to ride outside in march if all goes to plan :o). now the hard work begins

The Horror of it all

Some people have asked me " what is a dynamic hip screw?  So in an effort to find something to describe what it's about and being in I.T, - I  "off Shored" the making of Inserting a Dynamic hip screw. The link is Below left. I think I know why my leg hurts more than just my hip... WARNING the video is very detailed.. and the bit with the hammer and chisel..  yeah...  My fav' bit is when you can see the old black and decker chuck in the background. I think that's Tax deductible for tool hire, must ask the accountant..

So today I had my first big leg spasm.. It hurt like .. well it hurt.. strangely not doing anything , just sitting in a chair. So sitting in a chair is bad for you, get out and ride right now to save yourself from pain; best get a good 50 miles in to be safe ;o)

Yesterday there was a real crisis.. The Gaggia Baby broke.. ( It's an espresso machine heathen! ) It has undergone major surgery, but only a trickle.. the dangers of clotting are well documented and it's important in regular use to think about what goes in, how much it's used and how well it's maintained.. I'll update how further surgery goes Time for the hammer..

Also thanks for all the nice messages and people taking time to check out my injuries and pass back useful comments and information.

Time to go and do my physio exercises..

Damage Limitation

It'a a common thing with cyclists post accident or crash, that you want to get back to riding. You miss the riding outside and you start to go a bit... crazy.. there I said it.. So 11 days post accident and the whole being layed up thing is losing it's charm.. I have surfed the web' looking at hip op's and metal work, read some scary blogs and got to the point where i want to do something.

Although it's different this time. after a bad accident in 2000, with 6 months in physio i wanted to ride at any quality. Now i want to get back to being a quality rider. So the strategy is to build the components in a sensible way that will enable that. The time it takes is a secondary matter.

So part of my work will be to maintain what i can of my gains from my training over the last 2 months, This has to be done while allowing the hip joint to repair. that means no stress on that joint, and not doing something that steels recovery from that joint to other areas.

So to the gym for some very careful work. My gym is very posh.. I am not, but it's close to my house and I am lazy. So it's full up with all the posh people of the Royal Berkshire Racket club. So when Strange cycling bloke comes in on crutches... there was some staring.. A lot of staring... As if what i did usually wasn't strange enough. I think it was when I said to someone " good my arms are getting leaner and more aerodynamic" .. coockoo..

For the aerobic side I selected to sit on a recumbent bike and pedal only with my right leg. Just getting my Ipod, HR monitor and stuff sorted on the bike was like a magicians act.  Bottle hear, while holding crutch and balance bag on arm.. you get the idea.

So I did not want to over stress the right knee as it was doing enough work this week, it needed some support from my arms on the upstroke. I targeted a level one effort upto about 124 HR at most. the video link is below left.

So there I am on the sitting down bikes, next to all the pie girls, who watch east enders while they hardly put any effort in to what they are doing. At one point the girl next to me stopped pedalling as she got so engrossed in the TV.. It was as she was getting off the bike she looked at my crutches and looked at me.. you could see the look on her face... "Freak.."  Ha yes that's right I thought. The gym has some usual characters.. There is "Gold Shoes man" who does endless pull up's in his vest, and there is the "Gazelle" a girl who is getting thinner and thinner and wear's smaller legging each week, Gazelle likes the stairmaster, but only if they are free in the centre where everyone can see her getting thinner. They gawp at me for a moment, and then blank.

Some people go to the gym to look good, So when you go in looking like you just finished filming "Jackass 3"  it doesn't fit for some people..

I did some core work sitting on adjustable bench, as trying a fit ball would probably end with a scene

I normally go to the gym to build core strength and build some strength in my arms, as cycling doesn't do much for that.   The core strength and arm work has been a real benefit while i have been on crutches and is helping my recovery. My tip is, Go to the gym do core and stretching in case you crash!

So progress to now - The swelling is a lot less, compression still working well.  strength and flexibility is coming back. I can now lift my left leg into bed without holding it.. Just.. and less weight is going on the crutches when I walk. i can sense soon I will get up and forget the crutches. The clips come out Monday and when the scar is healed i can swim, to keep the engine going.

Swimming will be great for the Heart and Lungs, It's not that I'm much of a swimmer, but one legged pedalling is not the most satisfying way to spend your time..

Some benefits I have discovered-
 If you want your Starbucks brought to your table, go in with Crutches..
If you want the good seats in starbucks, Grimace as you walk towards the comfy seats and look painfully at the hard seats, Works a charm... what.. don't tell me you don't want that seat..?

The downside, I have to watch rubbish TV.. Lin said, Can you stretch you legs like that Girl from Diversity? I did on Sunday the 9th I said, that's how this happend...

So
5 days until I can swim.. maybe
 17 days until I can spin on the Turbo and start physio, and we know how I love the turbo... :o(
47 days until I can ride outside.. Well at least it will be warmer..

Time to do work on the bikes

Back at home

I got back home from hospital on Wednesday the 12th of Jan, It's now Sunday 16th Jan. Each day gets a little better. The swelling in the leg which was right over my Knee is now reducing. I had tried icing the swelling while in hospital, and now I am back at home I am experimenting with compression which seems to be working well.

I have used compression post racing  since 2004. A chat with Sean Yates, convinced me to give it a go. Sean had been using it for years inc' when in Motorola. Good enough for me.

Currently I am using 2XU, it's used by pro's and developed with the Australian institute for sport. They also use it at the Great Ormand Street Hospital.  I need to have compression on the right leg post op' for DVT protection. But they don't provide it for the operated leg, which I thought was strange.

I talked to the surgeon and physio about it in the hospital and they seemed to think calf compression would be useful. If you subscribe to the thinking that you want to reduce swelling then it would make sense.

My Left leg had a lot of swelling even the left calf. so night one calf compression as shown in the pic below left. Amazing over one night the calf was back to normal. I did use the loo a lot night one, but fluid goes somewhere I guess. as an experiment I left the calf compression off, but the calf did not refill.. interesting I thought.. SO the compression had a longer effect than when you wear it.

So I moved on from Calf Sleeves yesterday to full legs upto the top of the thigh. full on the right and just above the knee on the left.

again swelling down in the left. I didn't want to progress too fast, as I speculated that your body can only deal with so much fluid in movement. I needed to think about blood flow too and I also wanted to use compression on the right leg as that was getting a lot of work, each time I stood up and the right knee was getting a few twinges. Secondary strain and compensation injury can happen as a result of overuse of other parts of your body doing more, or even sitting differently. So finding a way to support and deal with that stress was important.

So overall getting better, the left quad is very tight and probably a result of operation, being clamped and moved and new metal work inside the leg.  so now more stretching and finding a way to limit the losses in other areas, including the heart and lungs.

Stairs on crutches.. that's scary the first day.. but getting used to it, Time to get a lift to starbucks ;o) well if you can't fit the ride in, you should still have the coffee!


still going with Cherry juice and plenty of rest.