2sparrows

I was just looking back and realized I haven’t had a knee specific update since September. I know I’ve posted on Adventure Racing and Orienteering, so there’s been a little info, but I thought I’d write a quick post just about the knee.

I did the AR back on 9/24. It was supposed to be an 8 hour race, of both biking and orienteering (plus a short swim), but it turned into a 7 hour bike for me, and my knee got quite sore after that. Before the race, I was able to ride pain free for more than an hour, and running was the problem. After the race, it was somewhat the opposite. I was running better, but riding was out. In fact, I had to cut short a couple of rides, and even had to get up and walk out of a spin class. So I cut out riding totally for 4 or 5 weeks.

Over November and December, and into January, I’ve done a lot more strengthening and stretching (though not as much as I should!). I really feel I need to be doing a lot more yoga, but it has been hard to find the motivation to do tapes at home, and going to a studio is not easy as there are none close by that do the type of yoga I want to do. I did try the YMCA one night, and it was ok, but not great.

The knee has been much better the past few weeks. I have now run 23 minutes (albeit slow!), and even made it through spin class ok. I could tell I had pushed it when in one 3 day span I ran 20 minutes, did some leg strengthening excercises, did spin class, and went to a 90 minute yoga class (in Cambridge), but overall it handled it pretty well. I also walked with a pack on a lot, and even ran an O-event with Riley in a pack (~ 40 minutes).

So it is getting better — very slowly. But I still don’t have confidence that I can get back to doing the really long endurance stuff I used to do.

It is finished!

I just finished reading Gulliver’s Travels using DailyLit, which emails a small, 5 minute reading, of many unpublished works, on a schedule you give it such as week days at 7 a.m. Gulliver’s Travels was split into 115 such installments.

This is a somewhat odd way of reading, but over time I got used to it. There were times when I got behind, but just let the emails stack up, until I got to them. And other times where I had a little extra time, so I’d have DailyLit send me the next in the series immediately.

I have to admit that much of the satire in the book would have been beyond me, if I had not read the Wikepedia article located here. What is somewhat interesting about that is I am now about 90% with Neal Stephonson’s nearly 3000 page story that is all about that period, including lots about the Royal Society, which apparently, one small section of GT was satiring.

At any rate, the book is an ok read. I’m sure it was much better when it was written, as many of the allusions and satires would be much more obvious.

And as alwasy, a few small bullet points that I have from the read:

• When he was describing wine to someone from one of the countries he visited:

  “That wine was not imported among us from foreign countries to supply the want of water or other drinks, but because it was a sort of liquid which made us merry by putting us out of our senses, diverted all melancholy thoughts, begat wild extravagant imaginations in the brain, raised our hopes and banished our fears, suspended every office of reason for a time, and deprived us of the use of our limbs, till we fell into a profound sleep; although it must be confessed, that we always awaked sick and dispirited; and that the use of this liquor filled us with diseases which made our lives uncomfortable and short.

• This one may be scary since Reece has red hair!

  It is observed, that the red haired of both sexes are more libidinous and mischievous than the rest, whom yet they much exceed in strength and activity.

• And this from the land of Houyhnhnms, in which horses are beings of extreme reason, and Yahoo’s are a form of human in their basest form. I have to admit that I found this part of the book the strangest!

  I should here observe to the reader, that a decree of the general assembly in this country is expressed by the word hnhloayn, which signifies an exhortation, as near as I can render it; for they have no conception how a rational creature can be compelled, but only advised, or exhorted; because no person can disobey reason, without giving up his claim to be a rational creature.

I took Riley to this event and she rode in the back-pack. This is the 1st time I’ve raced with her (rather than just hike) since knee surgery, but I did pretty well. I’m guessing that the weight of her, plus the pack, plus water, and a snack, is around 40 lbs.

I chose to do the orange course, which is the last intermediate course, vs. one of the advanced for two reasons. First, Lake Johnson is small and is difficult to have a technically challenging advanced course, so they made it more challenging by double or triple controls. For example, if a control was in a re-entrant, and there were 2 or 3 re-entrants in a row, then they put controls in each of them. So you really had to be spot on! Second, I was worried about how my knee would handle running with Riley, and how long Riley would want to be out there.

Well, the results below show we did quiet well. I was able to run most of the course. I have to admit, she is getting really heavy, or I am really out of shape, or both! I was really getting tired at the end. The orange controls are slightly easier then green or red, which I normally run, so that also helped us go fast.

One final note. Riley had carried a little green bag full of goodies (toys, trinkets, etc.) but she dropped it at some point. We were about to go try to look for it after the race, one a husband wife team came in with it. Considering the size of the area, and the fact that I was slight off when I think she dropped it, we got really lucky that someone found it and returned it. Riley was really happy about getting it back.