My focus (for now)

I have been hitting the strength sessions pretty hard at Rehab United. The crew there is kicking my butt and I am really enjoying the hard work. I figure since my knee is on the mend I am going to take a small step back from the aerobic conditioning I have been seeking and missing. I love being out riding and running but my knee obviously needs more time to heal (I will certainly ride, run and swim some but just enough to be satisfied and keep the muscles working). My knee holds up really well during these strength sessions, which tells me it is getting better. Plus, since it is October and no racing is in the near future I can just focus entirely on building functional strength that will pay huge dividends in 2010. I am not doing the traditional weight lifting movements. The focus is on dynamic strengthening movements across all axes--forward, backward, sideways, diagonal. I do a lot of really explosive jumping with both legs and single-leg. Seriously, I am doing some really cool, off-the-wall stuff that is making me so much stronger all around. Plus, my stretching routine is money...dynamic stretches in a cage that really increases mobility. I have seen huge gains in the last 2 months with regards to mobility and range of motion.



I have been getting ART twice a week from Patrick O'Shea at Rehab United and it is working wonders. He is really working my adductor, sartorious, quad and it seems as though he is breaking up some major scar tissue. The root of the problem is that we don't have a diagnosis for my knee. Nobody can say for certain what the issue is, which is crazy in my mind. One crash, 5 months later and we still don't know what is causing the knee pain.

I even got another MRI...Bryan and Mike at Rehab United hooked up a free MRI for me. I am incredibly lucky...2 free MRI's. I seriously owe these guys the shirt off my back! I will hopefully get the images looked at early next week. It will be interesting to compare the first MRI to the most recent one. If nothing else, hopefully we can rule out a tear and keep the focus on soft tissue. Whenever I get ART I feel really good so I have to believe it is working. In my mind it makes sense, a ton of scar tissue has formed and it is preventing my muscles from "gliding" over one another, which then tweeks my knee,etc. and leads to pain. Truthfully though, at this point we are just throwing darts and hoping we hit on something that will fix the underlying problem.

I have actually been swimming a little bit (2-3 times per week) at the YMCA. Yesterday Renata and I swam a set...an actual set. Ha, ha I haven't swam in 8 weeks so swimming hard is certainly not easy. I lack the fitness and the strength to pull properly. It will all come back pretty quickly...Even after being out of the water for 8 weeks I was still swimming 1:15 100's. Over the years I have learned that my body adapts very quickly and I take on good fitness after just a little bit of time in all three sports. I guess I am lucky in this sense. I don't doubt that once I get back to training it will all come around after one focused blocked on training.

I am also focusing on Skinfit b/c ever since Kona business has been blowing up. Kona was amazing press for us and we are stoked! Our new website is in the works and it is going to be sweet so I can't wait to see the finished product.

I could probably keep writing for a long time b/c I have a lot on my mind and some cool stuff is in the works with Rehab United, racing equipment, etc. I will share more as it unfolds. The bottom line is that I have learned a lot about myself, training, life, etc. this year and I feel compelled to share what I have learned with others. It has been a hard road this year but I know deep down that chasing dreams requires patience, perseverance and enormous resolve to push through the heartache that ultimately leads to success and satisfaction.

Have a good one out there and thanks for reading!