So, just as I was getting back into the swing of training after the holidays and feeling some fitness come back, my left knee is complaining again. After riding the trainer on Thursday I felt a familar burning and tightness on the inside of my left knee. Those few of you paying attention will recall that the achy-breaky left wheel first surfaced in late 2003 and played a big role in getting me back on the bike. Well, now the bike appears to be part of the problem, and that’s got me just a bit frustrated.
I think I know what triggered the current round of pain: isolated leg training, a fancy name for pedaling with one leg. This is a great technique for building cycling-specific strength but, since it’s done in a big gear at low cadence, it also puts a lot of force across the knee. My log shows that I hadn’t done ILT more than once a week before the new year, but I incorporated it into three training sessions last week and two sessions this week. In retrospect, that was probably a tad aggressive.
So, it’s back to the ice and Advil (aka “Vitamin A”) to get the symptoms under control. That shouldn’t take too long, judging from experience, but I’d like to find a way to cure the underlying biomechanical issue so I can just suffer athletically according to my whims. Right now, I’m motivated to get on with training, but I’m not physically ready to match my mental determination. As ridiculous as this may be for a recreational rider of my modest abilities, taking a weekend off has induced a little stress – it’s cold outside, but I’m ready to ride. However, I’d much rather get a slow start than be sidelined with this problem in June. So I will attempt to exercise some discretion for the next few days, though if we get enough snow tonight I’ll probably try to ski tomorrow. Now where did I leave that ice pack?