I rode a non-eventful 25 miles today on the bike. It was my first ride in 2 weeks. It was a great post-race recovery workout. I'm planning on taking it pretty easy this week, with a couple of rides and a couple of runs. Next week, I'll up the intensity on the bike, including some hills. Time to take a ride on the "pain train". Woo woo! Okay, I stole that from the "Terry Tate - Office Linebacker" videos (look them up, they're hilarious).
I want to share a little more about my re-entry into running and what things seem to be helping to hold my body together in this whole process. Back in 1997, I had an MRI on my right knee. The results showed a partially-torn meniscus and degenerative cartilage. But that's not when I gave up running (which the obviously non-running doctor suggested). I added another couple thousand miles to that damaged knee. I did take certain years off between then and now (doing a lot of mountain bike riding, at one point), but what really put the kibosh on my running was - I think, anyway - my right IT band (the knee issues probably played a role, too, since that knee would completely lock up after a run). I say all this to touch on something you're probably well aware of, and may be taking yourself...and that's glucosamine. I've been taking it for about ten years now and, outside of my IT band flareups, I have not had ANY knee-related pain since I started running again in January '09. I swear by it, and will likely take it the rest of my life. I don't know if there's one "blend" or brand that's better than all the others, but I take a Costco brand that contains MSM. Recommended dosage is two per day, but I've been taking just one a day for the last 3 years or so. I'm certainly not qualified to dish out medical advice, but I HIGHLY recommend taking it - especially if you're a masters runner.
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