Knee decisions...

Monday, June 27, 2011

Nilesh…the sports doc…called me to discuss my MRI and knee options. “You’ve got a slight tear in the meniscus as we suspected, but I’m not sure why its causing you as much trouble as it has. I’m really reluctant to put you through surgery unless you continue to have flair-ups every few weeks and it keeps you from doing what you want to do,” he said. I like this approach from a doctor. Who wants surgery? I could be off two to four weeks and that would make me insane..er. I told him my thoughts on the upcoming backpacking season and my goals for the triathlon that I might want to do this fall. “You could just throw a pack on and try hiking in the Adirondacks and see what happens,” he said. He offered to write me a prescription I could turn in to Holly so I could go this weekend. And I’m thinking about it. I want to know now so if I need the surgery, I can get it and recover before September when I’m planning the big trip to the Adirondacks. We’ll see what fits…

I went for a ride after speaking to Nilesh…we both agreed that riding should be my primary form of exercise and to stay away from weight-bearing activities. He said that the meniscus never heals…there isn’t enough blood flow to the cartilage to heal it…but it enflames the bone in the area and that’s where my pain originates. Riding doesn’t seem to bother it and I love to ride. I went with a plan to ride two hours, but as often happens, found myself compelled to ride further. It was a decision that ended badly. By the 90-minute mark, I was extremely fatigued and slowing noticeably. I called Holly to tell her I was moving at a snail’s pace, but would be home soon. I had been riding on Auburn Road and elected to return on Sherman instead of Wilson Mills Road, thinking there would be a lot less traffic. I was right about the traffic, but the hills on Sherman wanted to kick my ass…and they did. I’d never ridden Sherman that far east and I’m glad I did…it was a great workout…but it’s the kind of road you’d like to know about before tackling since it takes some mental preparation. Anyway, I made it back about 25 minutes after I thought I would…and was spent.

I decided to stop putting off checking the weight gain from the weekend. In fact, the last time I’d checked, I’d climbed back to 186 so I was expecting to be back over 190. Instead, I hit a new low of 184. That was a shocking, but pleasant update. I guess I just need to eat more burgers.

Bike workout: Two hours and 25 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 130 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 2100.