I participated in the Twin Cities Ride 2009 this morning. The ride is put on by the MS Society to raise money to help fight Multiple Sclerosis. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to ride as I pulled the hamstring in my right leg a couple weeks ago but I decided the ride is close enough to home that if my leg started bothering me I could just ride home.
I arrived at the Maplewood Communities Center, registered, put my number on my bike and was on the trail around 7:45 AM. The morning started off a pretty chilly 44 degrees and I was thankful I had decided at the last minute to pull on my windbreaker. The ride took place along the Gateway trail which is one of my favorites. I took it pretty slow to start with in order to let my legs warm up. At the first rest stop I did a few stretches, grabbed a bite to eat and hit the trail again.
I skipped the second rest stop and continued onto the third stop where I took a short break, had another snack and some Gatorade. There was a bit of a breeze in a few areas and the only time I felt my hamstring was on one of the hills. I just dropped down into a lower gear and took it slow. I was back at the Community Center and eating pizza around 10:15 AM. All in all it was a good ride, I'm glad I decided to do it.
I've been seeing a physical therapist for about a week now to help with my knee issues. I have arthritis under my knee caps. My knee caps also don't "track" correctly so when my knees bend it's pretty much bone on bone which doesn't help the artritis. Now I know why my knees hurt so much. The PT is helping to get my knee caps into the correct position so when they bend it's doing so correctly. There's really nothing to be done about the arthritis, just another pain management issue but if we can get the knee caps aligned correctly that should help.
On Thursday the PT taped my knee caps into the correct position to see if there was any change in how they feel. Well I can tell ya they felt better riding today than they have in a long time. I'm also working on strengthening my quad muscles to help relieve pressure on the knee caps. Another thing I found out is that I walk with my feet pointing outward; now I need to re-train myself to walk straight. Whew, it's like learning to walk all over again. But if it helps to make my knees feel better then it's worth it.
Now that I've gotten this 30 mile ride in I'm ready for the next one! I'm thinking, weather permitting I'll take a ride around the lakes next Tuesday. I'm also going back to commuting to work, if I can ride 30 miles with a pulled hamstring I can certainly ride the 5 miles to work and back.
I arrived at the Maplewood Communities Center, registered, put my number on my bike and was on the trail around 7:45 AM. The morning started off a pretty chilly 44 degrees and I was thankful I had decided at the last minute to pull on my windbreaker. The ride took place along the Gateway trail which is one of my favorites. I took it pretty slow to start with in order to let my legs warm up. At the first rest stop I did a few stretches, grabbed a bite to eat and hit the trail again.
I skipped the second rest stop and continued onto the third stop where I took a short break, had another snack and some Gatorade. There was a bit of a breeze in a few areas and the only time I felt my hamstring was on one of the hills. I just dropped down into a lower gear and took it slow. I was back at the Community Center and eating pizza around 10:15 AM. All in all it was a good ride, I'm glad I decided to do it.
I've been seeing a physical therapist for about a week now to help with my knee issues. I have arthritis under my knee caps. My knee caps also don't "track" correctly so when my knees bend it's pretty much bone on bone which doesn't help the artritis. Now I know why my knees hurt so much. The PT is helping to get my knee caps into the correct position so when they bend it's doing so correctly. There's really nothing to be done about the arthritis, just another pain management issue but if we can get the knee caps aligned correctly that should help.
On Thursday the PT taped my knee caps into the correct position to see if there was any change in how they feel. Well I can tell ya they felt better riding today than they have in a long time. I'm also working on strengthening my quad muscles to help relieve pressure on the knee caps. Another thing I found out is that I walk with my feet pointing outward; now I need to re-train myself to walk straight. Whew, it's like learning to walk all over again. But if it helps to make my knees feel better then it's worth it.
Now that I've gotten this 30 mile ride in I'm ready for the next one! I'm thinking, weather permitting I'll take a ride around the lakes next Tuesday. I'm also going back to commuting to work, if I can ride 30 miles with a pulled hamstring I can certainly ride the 5 miles to work and back.
