unsurprisingly the xray showed nothing. apart from my varicose veins which i can assure you, you don't need radiation to see. now i'm waiting for an mri, which will be able to show up cartilage damage. in the mean time i've made a decision. no more running. no more races and more importantly, no more feeling guilty about not running....until janurary, then i'll reassess.
in the meantime, new hobbies are swimming and climbing. there'll be some cycling too, but mainly the road kind where the use of gears is kinder to my knee-no, 'i told you so's' please.
26 October 2010
18 October 2010
brake & knee update
i'm almost as frustrated with my bloody knee as i was with the bloody brakes. some days i don't feel it at all, some days the pain wakes me up in the night. sometimes is feels weak and gives way, other times it completely locks up and needs clicking back out. it doesn't seem to matter if i run or not. obviously running makes it a bit worse but i've been doing nothing for nearly 2 months now and there's been no improvement. even pedaling causes some discomfort. a good day is brufen free. a trip to the doctors has resulted in an xray. it's going to take 3 weeks for the gp to review it. by that time we'll have moved. oh well. hopefully a friend will be able to take a peek at work tomorrow. worst case, might need a washout, best case, just need to toughen up and take the pills when needed. actually that might be the wrong way round. i'm not sure at the moment.
having not done any regular fun for months i'm getting chubby, which in turn is making me feel pretty fed up. race plans are being canceled. this needs to get sorted out and i need to stop this constant cycle of rest, knee abuse, rest, knee abuse.
the brakes were actually much easier to sort, once you've got the correct tools. these turned out to be a kitchen knife, a pair of pliers and the edge of a hardback wainwright guide book. do folks really carry pliers on the trail? and in a moment of madness i also cleaned and regressed both hubs-incident free! and the road bike is now sporting a new bb but i've been defeated in indexing the gears properly. four and half punctures have been repaired and the mass of bike parts in the cellar has also been consolidated to a(nother) singlespeed for jane-just what she wanted. so all my bikes are ready to roll just need to borrow a left knee from where.
having not done any regular fun for months i'm getting chubby, which in turn is making me feel pretty fed up. race plans are being canceled. this needs to get sorted out and i need to stop this constant cycle of rest, knee abuse, rest, knee abuse.
the brakes were actually much easier to sort, once you've got the correct tools. these turned out to be a kitchen knife, a pair of pliers and the edge of a hardback wainwright guide book. do folks really carry pliers on the trail? and in a moment of madness i also cleaned and regressed both hubs-incident free! and the road bike is now sporting a new bb but i've been defeated in indexing the gears properly. four and half punctures have been repaired and the mass of bike parts in the cellar has also been consolidated to a(nother) singlespeed for jane-just what she wanted. so all my bikes are ready to roll just need to borrow a left knee from where.
12 October 2010
caesars camp endurance run-pit crew view
it's 22:30 on saturday evening, speakers are blaring out bluegrass, there's a giant swearing dutchman, i'm wearing my cow suit, standing in the middle of what is best described as 4x4 test ground and waiting for a woman i've only met twice before. yes, it was a very surreal weekend, welcome to caesars camp endurance run.
the course is 10m long, there are no big ups or downs, just many, many short, sharp, quad mashing ones. gaynor, the woman we barely know, had entered the 100m race. so, that's 10 laps of the uppy, downy, 4x4 churned up, twisty singletrack, stony fire road, flint scattered, hard packed trail running route. for some reason she thought jane and i would make a good support crew and for some reason, we thought, staying up all night watching strangers run themselves into the ground would be good fun too.
from the off gaynor was impressive, all we had to do was follow the plan and not miss her coming though the start/finish area-there would be no 'tyndrum incidents' on my watch! armed with a list of requests and a box of slimfast we happily slipped into a routine. having about 2 hours between laps gaynor had ensured that we wouldn't get bored. she'd left a little pressie for us to unwrap after each lap. this turned out to be a genius idea. not only keeping us amused but a number of people where impressed with my balloon cock hats. there was also a specially selected playlist. also genius, but it did lead to me doing a tina turner impression right in front of where gaynor was trying to run-sorry.
in amongst the balloon animal hilarity and the fake 'tashes, there were some seriously impressive performances going on. and i'm not talking about the tina turner thing... by the half way point gaynor was a lap ahead. it was now time to start thinking about course records. from 60m you're allowed to have pacers. jane and i took turns in keeping gaynor company. from looking at the stats jane actually 'paced' gaynor, think i concentrated more on 'entertainment'.
the course is tough, there's no real let up, no opportunity for resting. it's either up or down but at no point did we hear gaynor complain. she's blimin' tough. there were no diva moments, no demands for black forest gateaux (actually there was but we ignored it) and not even a whimper about stopping. she totally smashed the womens course record by over 3hours, finishing in 22:30hrs. she ran 100 miles in 22:30hrs, amazing, just amazing.
we had a top weekend. through the process of sleep deprivation, trail running and balloon animal making i feel like i've made a new friend. one that's pretty darn good at this ultra lark.
oh yeh, some scottish bloke also had a blinder with 18:41. that time is not a typo! well done richie, awesome running.
the course is 10m long, there are no big ups or downs, just many, many short, sharp, quad mashing ones. gaynor, the woman we barely know, had entered the 100m race. so, that's 10 laps of the uppy, downy, 4x4 churned up, twisty singletrack, stony fire road, flint scattered, hard packed trail running route. for some reason she thought jane and i would make a good support crew and for some reason, we thought, staying up all night watching strangers run themselves into the ground would be good fun too.
from the off gaynor was impressive, all we had to do was follow the plan and not miss her coming though the start/finish area-there would be no 'tyndrum incidents' on my watch! armed with a list of requests and a box of slimfast we happily slipped into a routine. having about 2 hours between laps gaynor had ensured that we wouldn't get bored. she'd left a little pressie for us to unwrap after each lap. this turned out to be a genius idea. not only keeping us amused but a number of people where impressed with my balloon cock hats. there was also a specially selected playlist. also genius, but it did lead to me doing a tina turner impression right in front of where gaynor was trying to run-sorry.
in amongst the balloon animal hilarity and the fake 'tashes, there were some seriously impressive performances going on. and i'm not talking about the tina turner thing... by the half way point gaynor was a lap ahead. it was now time to start thinking about course records. from 60m you're allowed to have pacers. jane and i took turns in keeping gaynor company. from looking at the stats jane actually 'paced' gaynor, think i concentrated more on 'entertainment'.
the course is tough, there's no real let up, no opportunity for resting. it's either up or down but at no point did we hear gaynor complain. she's blimin' tough. there were no diva moments, no demands for black forest gateaux (actually there was but we ignored it) and not even a whimper about stopping. she totally smashed the womens course record by over 3hours, finishing in 22:30hrs. she ran 100 miles in 22:30hrs, amazing, just amazing.
we had a top weekend. through the process of sleep deprivation, trail running and balloon animal making i feel like i've made a new friend. one that's pretty darn good at this ultra lark.
oh yeh, some scottish bloke also had a blinder with 18:41. that time is not a typo! well done richie, awesome running.
06 October 2010
hammer time
why the fuck would someone design a brake pad that can not be removed without the aid of pliers and brute force???
or am i completely missing the bleedin' obvious. i give up, i just want to be able to ride my bike...and also stop occasionally.
or am i completely missing the bleedin' obvious. i give up, i just want to be able to ride my bike...and also stop occasionally.
03 October 2010
actually, more boxes please
more hills, more camping, more wild and wind swept times please....there was a planed trip to the highlands this weekend. but the weather wasn't looking too favourable for ramsay round reccying (not mine!). so, instead i made a start on the other 'to do' list and went house hunting. sometimes life just gets in the way.
amazingly, we've found something already. which means we've got 4 weeks to pack up and start our new life in the country-ish. exciting and daunting in equal measure. it's suddenly dawned on me that there's limited time for the local singletrack, drinking with friends and actually enjoying living in city. it's a busy few weeks ahead.
in the meantime jane has fully taken over the role of runner in our house. unfazed by wet and windy trails she did the half 'hope moors and tors' today. i was a very proud (and soggy) spectator. driving home we realsied that next year we'll be able to have 45minutes extra in bed. best get packing...
amazingly, we've found something already. which means we've got 4 weeks to pack up and start our new life in the country-ish. exciting and daunting in equal measure. it's suddenly dawned on me that there's limited time for the local singletrack, drinking with friends and actually enjoying living in city. it's a busy few weeks ahead.
in the meantime jane has fully taken over the role of runner in our house. unfazed by wet and windy trails she did the half 'hope moors and tors' today. i was a very proud (and soggy) spectator. driving home we realsied that next year we'll be able to have 45minutes extra in bed. best get packing...
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