Pes Anserine Bursitis

Just got back from the doctor. My knee has degenerated into a cauldron of pain. I stayed off my legs all day Sunday. Ditto as best I could today. Been taking max dosage of Aleve too. Knee feels ok upon first getting up, but any standing or walking quickly produces severe burning sensations just below the joint in front of the tibia. Researching various knee injuries and causes, I suspected pes anserine bursitis before visiting the doctor. I have never experienced an overuse injury before. I suspected ramping up running the last few weeks was probable cause, but the doctor suspects otherwise.

After waiting more than an hour, the doctor finally comes in. Asks couple questions, then touches my pes anserine bursa. It was puffy and he could immediately see I had bursitis. I gave him run down of my cycling and skiing history, 600+ hours per year training, then 20 minute run takes out my knee. He didn't think so. He said bursitis is an overuse injury, and I couldn't have done enough running (about 50 minutes lifetime total) to have caused the bursitis. He suspected the skiing, especially if I did any skating. That is only technique I do. You see, his son is a high school skate racer, so he's somewhat familiar with the technique and how that could cause an overuse injury with that tendon. I did happen to do a 50km ski the Saturday before my 20 minute run on Monday. My knees were slightly tender from the hard weekend. The run may have been just enough to put me over the edge.

So now I must recover. I still don't know how long this will take or how big of a training hit this will be. I've already lost about 8hrs training volume, a race last weekend, a race this coming weekend, and probably the race the weekend after that. I asked about that. The doctor said if I really must race weekend after next and the pain is not subsiding by this weekend, to call, and they'll set me up with an orthopedist for a cortisone injection. The doctor did say cycling shouldn't be too much of a problem in the mean time, but skiing is not a good idea. I do know after this past Saturday's 50 mile hilly ride, my knee was a wreck. It doesn't hurt too bad while riding, but I'm practically disabled afterwards.

He put me on Voltaren. We'll see if that does a better job controlling the inflammation than Aleve. In the meantime, I have business trip in NJ, so Wednesday will be soonest I can try any aerobic activity. I haven't recovered this much ever, not even for Mt Washington. I can see the belt buckle straining already. Unfortunately, the eating machinery doesn't shut down just because the powerplant stops burning fuel.

Hockey Ice

The Weston winter triathlon is not happening for me on Saturday. Knee is still a mess from Monday's 21 minute run. I've concluded that running is evil and not something I should be getting into at my age. I reason that even if I ease into it over many months, it will just mask damage that will occur none the less. It just won't hurt bad all at once.

I get every other Friday off from work, as I work for a defense contractor where "9/80" workweeks are popular. I tried to ski nearby at Great Brook Farm State Park today. No hills there, and when I called, they claimed conditions should be quite good for skating. I wanted to test the knee to see if it was ready for skiing. I talked my friend Arvid from work to come down with me, as he was thinking of heading more northerly. Big mistake. Conditions were deplorable, possibly the worst I've skied on ever. We had to take skis off multiple times for bare spots, and other areas were hockey ice. Did the Nordic center think we were skating with hockey skates?

Anyway, the knee felt marginally ok starting out and proceeded to get increasingly tender as we skied on the hairball crud. Made my ankles hurt even, trying in vain to find an edge somewhere on the rock hard surface. But the times I had to walk, my knee throbbed. The ski session was going to be short.

Arvid and I did stop to shoot 10-15 seconds of hi-res video of each other with my Panasonic FX100 camera. My technique is not very good to begin with, so when you factor in crusty conditions and a bum knee, I look terrible. The clip is 16MB, shot at 30fps in 16:9 aspect ratio, 848x480 pixels. This was best patch of snow we found, about 150m long. It looks like Blogger/Google messes with the image that gets uploaded though. Click here to see full-res. We did a bunch of small laps around a loop here, as it was the only place to get the heart rate up a little.

It was good to get out for a while, not having skied all week. But when I got home and pulled the tights off, my knee was visibly swollen. Probably should not have skied at all. So what is it about athletes and injuries or illness? We seem to push ourselves even though we know recovery is best for our bodies. Is it the addiction to endorphins? The fear of losing fitness, and we attach high self esteem to our fitness? Or is it the emotional release hard workouts provide? I suspect all three of them are wrapped up in our desire to keep going when we shouldn't. I have big ride planned tomorrow...

Disparate Passions

Check out this amazing project completed by a 16yr old. He managed to combine two passions of mine into a single masterpiece - a functional wooden bicycle with no metal parts. Just wood and glue, including the chain and freewheel! Now I wouldn't want to take it up Mt Washington, but imagine the value as a conversation piece. I think this could also help with university admissions or jobs down the road. Truly creative, what he has done.

My own woodworking had been on a long furlough until late this fall. We bought a new 42" plasma display and I did not like any of the junk stands available at retail outlets. I still have a bunk of rough sawn red oak I moved here from Michigan over 10 years ago. I drew up plans in Powerpoint, then dusted off the planer, jointer, table saw, radial arm saw, miter saw, router table, and bought a new biscuit jointer.

I converted one stall of our garage to wood shop. Here the rough oak was planed down to a silky smooth finish. Planks were ripped on the tablesaw in the basement, then trued on the jointer in lower part of this first image. The top was the first piece I worked on. It took just two wide pieces. In theory, more less wide planks should be used, alternating grain curvatures, to reduce tendency of wood to warp, bow, and twist. My new biscuit jointer was used to cut mortise slots in the edge of each piece. Then biscuits were inserted with glue, aligning the pieces and preventing the top from splitting apart for a long time.

Next up, each of the leg and apron pieces had to be selected from the pile of planks I planed. These had to be planed all to the right thickness, cut to width, cut to length, bevels cut at feet, corners routed, decorative grooves routed, and finally all the biscuit slots cut. No metal fasteners were used in the table, except to fasten the top as a completing step. Biscuit joints held everything together. I have used dowels extensively in the past, and I found biscuits are so much easier to work with.

The left and right sides were clamped first, then the front and back sides. I couldn't find cheap (free) 3x3 or 4x4 material for the legs, so they are right-angle posts with 1" thick material. After the four sides set up, I clamped them together for a dry fit.

Next up was to glue the entire base together. This required a lot of biscuit joints to be glued and clamped simultaneously. The glue I used set up fairly quickly, so there was little time margin. While that set up, I worked the top, putting radii on the corners, then routing a Roman ogee around the perimeter. Corner blocks were set in at top of base legs for securing the top. After securing the top, lots of sanding ensued. Mostly of it had to be completed by hand. Then stain, urethane, sand, urethane. I was quite pleased with the finished result, not having build a fine piece in many years. It complements the entertainment cabinet I built a long time ago. Should we not need a plazma TV stand 10 or 20 years from now, this project will double as a fine coffee table.

Running Amok

With planned winter triathlon coming up on Saturday, I had to get at least one 5km run in to see if I could actually run for 5km. I have never run that far in my life. I had planned to do that this weekend, but long ski and ride workouts left me depleted. I ran at lunch on Monday. Course was mild downhill for 0.6mi, two 1.0 mile laps on flat road, then back up slight hill to office. I did light 42 minute bike spin around the block to warm up first, then switched to running shoes.

I eased into the run. When I got down to the dead end road for 1 mile laps, I picked pace up slightly. Breathing was what would be about tempo to near threshold pace on the bike (what I could hold for 1-2hrs). First mile: 6:47. Second mile: 6:45. I then took it easy running the 0.6mi back up to the buildings, but I was quite certain I was going to die by this point. My 5km time was about 21:11. When I reached my truck and stopped, my legs didn't want to stop. They were all jelly-like and I felt like I was going to lose balance if I didn't keep moving. It was the weirdest sensation. I ached all over, but nothing extreme.

Now this 5k performance is pretty pathetic in terms of what a runner can do. But in this one run, I nearly doubled my lifetime running volume. The first time I ran a couple weeks ago, my hips hurt for one day and I had shin splints for 3 days. I did two more short 1.6 mile runs since then with little lingering after effects. But last night, my left knee started to throb. Throb like a pounding headache that wouldn't go away no matter what. I took double dose of Aleve. No difference. I could not sleep all night. The pain was extreme. No position, no extra pillows, nothing made a difference. Feels like tendon related in front and back of knee joint, and pain was similar to muscle spasms. Very sharp. I barely made it down the stairs this morning. Well, it started to subside today at work. At least I can walk half speed now.

I've had recent correspondence with a runner that is taking up cycling. He developed knee issues. Gerry Clapper, another x-runner popped into the Masters cycling scene last year, setting course records and winning hillclimb events overall. Running certainly achieves great fitness, but at what expense? In conversation with Gerry last summer, he commented about the time he went in to buy a bike. After telling the salesperson about running issues, they commented "You know, we get all you guys eventually."

So what am I doing dabbling in running when guys that have been running a while are migrating to cycling? If I manage to finish the triathlon on Saturday, it may be an anomalous blip on my athletic record. I could like it and train more sensibly for multisport events next year. My running friends tell me I expect too much too fast. My cardio system is way ahead of the needed running infrastructure. If I become serious about this, I will have to run slower, more frequently, and build slowly. It will be interesting to see how this week plays out.

Other running observations I've picked up:

• Your feet get hot.


• You sweat a lot.


• Empty stomach is good thing. Cycling doesn't matter for me.


• Jarring of running interferes with breathing, each step knocking a little wind out of ya.


• Running moderate aerobic pace for 21 minutes is way, way harder than racing up Mt Ascutney deeply into the anaerobic abyss for 28 minutes.


• You feel 90yrs old after you run.


• Running can't be healthy.

Icecream Headache

Local Road Ride
50.2mi, 3:11hrs
+23F and falling, very windy
Having gotten my intensity workout in for the weekend on skis yesterday, today was going to be a LSD (long, slow, distance) ride. I've been mostly skiing on the coldest days this season. Feeling a little wiped out with wind chills around 0F took extra motivation to head out today. I think blogging you're going to do it, knowing many acquaintances are going to read it, provides additional incentive.

Really, only the first 2-3 miles are rough. I bomb down a 250ft vertical drop in 2mi from my house to start any ride. Without any time to warm up, an instant ice cream headache results. Eyes tear up so bad that blinking splashes the tears against the inside of the glasses. Even though I was going easy today, I went fairly hard starting out to get past the initial discomfort hurdle. Then it was 20 miles straight into the wind. Once blood started flowing, feeling came back to my nose and risk of frostbite vanished.

I went up to Manchester airport, where it must have been 5-10 degrees colder. I passed another rider near the airport, thinking I wasn't the only wacko roadie out today. It was Glen (NorEast Cycling). He thought same about me. Ironically, we just missed hooking up to ride together this morning with emails that crossed paths. Then later we literally crossed paths riding. He was doing CW loop, I CCW loop.

So how do you stay comfy on days like today? On top, I wore a Castelli MicroSpitech fabric jersey. This must make continuous skin contact to shuttle moisture away from skin properly. I have four such jerseys (different labels, but all based on Castelli fabric). They make superb base layers. Next is Pearl Izumi Kodiac jersey. This is heavy weight. It too must hug the base layer without excessive voids to continue the wicking process. Outer layer is Pearl Izumi Zephyr shell. It is polyester, blocks wind, wicks moisture. On bottom, I wore Pearl Izumi AmFib tights. Normally these are enough by themselves, but I wanted extra knee protection today so I put on lightweight nylon-based shell. It is windproof in front, spandex in back for moisture control. Feet were covered by standard cycling socks, Sidi Dominator MTB shoes, and Performance neoprene booties. The booties are best around IMO, and on sale are only $19.95. They are fleece lined, have rubber soles, and will last at least one season. It is very important to not clinch down shoes tightly when it is cold. You must maximize blood flow. I used Pearl Izumi lobster mitts on the hands. Gloves don't work for me. The PI mitts work well if you don't sweat too hard, as they tend not to wick well but do block wind well. Topping things off, I used a WindTec balaclava (no longer available) and additional windproof ear band since my ears are sensitive to cold. I applied Dermatone to exposed facial bits to prevent windburn and reduce chance of frostbite.

I managed to stay completely comfortable for 95% of the ride. Just starting out and one bit heading into gale force winds by the airport had my face hurting. Roads were clean. Could have taken a good bike out today.

50km on Sandpaper Snow

Waterville Valley Skate Ski
50.3km, 1135m vert, 3:31hrs
Temps -12C to -4C, Swix CH6
Had big ski day planned. Do 2+ hours intensity work in the morning, then do the 90 minute Justin Freeman race clinic in the afternoon. Things went awry however. The intensity factor was excellent. Today's workout was my hardest this season, and I believe 50.3km is the longest training ski I've done. The temp was in single Fahrenheit digits when we arrived. The new snow, while firmly set up, was very dry and abrasive. On scale of 1-10, it was about a 2 or 3 for glide speed. This made climbing extremely challenging. Skate skis tend to stall out on steep grades with high friction snow. It was like skiing on sandpaper.

Brett and I first did a major climbing loop on the south end, hitting Jennings Peak, Drakes, and Upper Fletchers before bombing back down through the infamous Hairpin. I have been skiing a lot this season, Brett has had less opportunity. I knew something was up when he capitulated and let me take the lead up Drakes from bottom of Jennings. That doesn't happen very often, as his technique is much better than mine and I have to throw brute force into my effort to stay with him most of the time. Next up was the long gradual climb to the north end via Swan's Way. Tripoli Rd, which gains 800ft from the very bottom, was next. Apparently, the Drakes climb whacked Brett pretty good and he didn't want to hammer Tripoli. I did, so he let me go again. I got to the top 2-3 minutes before he did, holding my highest average HR so far this season up it.

When I skied up Tripoli with Ryan last week, I did it in 16:35. It was not all out hammering. My average HR was 160bpm. Today, I went about as hard as I could go. It took 19:59, almost 3.5 minutes longer and at at 164bpm HR. That goes to show how big of a variable snow conditions can be. Even though we had perfect corduroy firmly set up today, it was just wicked dry abrasive snow. Last week was sugar granular that had been through a thaw cycle.

We hit Livermore and Cascade Brook next, another 800ft climb, but at reduced intensity. We finished the morning by climbing Upper Snows and rocketing down Beanbender/Swazeytown.

After briefly stopping at the Nordic Center to put on dry uppers and eat, we drove to north end for the race clinic. We ran a few minutes late. Brett headed up to meeting point at the yurt while I took a 60 second nature break. When I got to the yurt, nobody was there, not even Brett. I ask Bert in the yurt where the clinic went, he said probably Mouse Run. I headed out, did full loop, and nothing. Now I was pissed, as I really wanted to get some profession feedback on my technique, and Brett didn't even wait for me to tell me where they went. I ended up going back down to Livemore area, skiing loop there, and nothing. Back up to Mouse Run, a loop, and nothing. By this time I skied another 15km and clinic was about over anyway. I went back down to car and Brett yells out to me from behind.

The yurt has a one way "driveway" that loops off main trail. The upper side is entrance, lower side exit. To be quick, I went in the exit to the yurt. At the same time, Brett went out the entrance after learning the clinic was on Tripoli. He thought he'd catch me still coming up to yurt, but we missed each other by 100m and 30 seconds going in/out separate ways to yurt. Had only one of us gone the wrong way, we would have crossed paths. But we both went wrong ways and missed. Two wrongs does not make a right in this case. Neither would have two rights made a right. I wasn't so mad after we figured out how we missed each other. We both had good intentions. Overall, it was a tremendous aerobic and anaerobic workout. Hope I have something left for riding on Sunday.

Night Ski

I've been fortunate to night-ski twice this week at Great Brook Farm State Park in Carlisle, MA. They offer night skiing on Tues/Thur nights. How it is supposed to work is you follow the 1.4km Lantern Loop. No artificial lights are allowed. The kerosene lanterns don't really light up the path; they merely mark the way to go. Since the area is largely urban around there, ambient city lighting is often enough to ski by (some would call this light pollution).

Tuesday night was a brilliant, moon-lit night. The moon was directly overhead and completely abolished any shadow information for spacial depth processing. Skiing was by feel. A lot of people were there. Many families and large groups did not have a strong sense of trail etiquette. Apparently, the skate lane is where you stop and socialize. I was there for a good aerobic fix, so I bolted from the lantern loop. Technically, the other trails are closed after dark, but a few venture out on them. In the open fields, the bright moon and fresh snow were dazzling and no head lamp was needed. However, in the woods it was much harder to see. Some areas are canopied by thick evergreens, and they were laden with snow to block even more moonlight. I used the lamp. Skiing through the woods on a calm, sparkling moonlit night without another soul around touched into the mystical realm. Skied around 16km in 1.3hrs.

Thursday night I went back again. A snowstorm with mixed precip was threatening the area. Temps hovered right around the freezing mark. Glide was vastly improved over Tuesday night. Waxing my skis this time might have had something to do with that. The trails were less crowed. When I went in to sign for my trail pass (I have season ticket), I was reminded that lights are not allowed. I had it on my head already. I replied I wasn't using it on the lantern loop. Oops, mistake number two. I was further reminded that skiing on the other trails was also not allowed after dark. I buzzed around the lantern loop a bunch of times, quite fast, and I'm sure at the consternation of some of the leisure classic skiers there. I strayed only slightly off the lantern loop. No light was needed at all. There was mix of diffused city light reflecting off thin a cloud layer and moon light trying to poke through. There was decent shadow definition on the trail to see the many undulations. I did multiple laps on a short loop with a small hill away from the people before coming back to the lantern loop. At times, the moon poked completely through the clouds and I would lose my depth perception. Skate skiing is all about balance, and balance is surprisingly heavily dependent on visual cues. Take those away, it's almost like you had too much to drink. I skied about 19km in 1.3hrs.

Biking has taken a back seat to skiing right now. That doesn't mean I'm off the bike. I did some VOmax hill intervals Tuesday at lunch on a gravel road near work. Studs bit very nicely into the hard-packed snow surface. Then Wednesday I did about 80 minutes at lower tempo range ride. I hope to get a 3+ hr ride in on Sunday, but it sure looks like its gonna be cold.