Maybe a trip to the mountains?

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

There was a holiday weekend coming and my brain was whirring. I’ve gone to the Adirondacks on the weekend of the 4th in the past and found it to be rather quiet…much to my surprise. I was now thinking I should make a dash up there and test the knee on a very tough trail that went over two of the 4,000 foot peaks during a 15-mile loop hike. Nilesh had suggested I test the knee in this fashion to determine if climbing had an impact and I wanted to know. If I could do the loop without serious pain, maybe I wouldn’t need the surgery. If it did hurt…get it done and over with. Anyway…

I did the Survival Workout without the running at the end. I didn’t want to risk a trip to the Adirondacks this weekend with some short, meaningless sprints that could enflame the knee. I did push the workout hard and found a low-hanging branch where I was able to perform some pull-ups…something I’ve wanted to add to the program but knew would be fruitless if I didn’t lose weight.

I returned home with dark around the corner, but enough time left for an hour ride…so I went. I like to get back out the day after a bad ride and I was still thinking I needed to do as much as possible to prepare myself for a 15-mile, 10-hour hike this Saturday. Actually, there is little that prepares you for ascending and descending 5,000 of rough, rocky terrain other than doing something like it. I could have hit the bleachers with a pack, but I was still thinking “don’t hurt it or you won’t go.” I deal with the discomfort on the trail. It’s only a day and I’m tough…right?

I returned from the ride just as headlights were being turned on by drivers. It’s the worst time of the day for riding…visibility for drivers is poor…so I was glad to be finishing. I do feel quite confident in my conditioning for a trip to the Adirondacks. Now to see if Holly minds my going…

Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes. Bike workout: 70 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600 for survival workout. 1000 biking.