It's now been three and a half weeks since the crash and while it feels like it's been taking an eon to get over the injuries I count myself very lucky to even be back on the bike at all let alone to have gotten back to a point where I can apply a decent amount of strength and power in such a short amount of time. At this point of the rehabilitation, I am able to maintain a steady pace and HR however the left knee still doesn't like the hills and I experience discomfort on even the slightest of hills - but even this is improving.
I believe I am still another week away from being able to get back to full training and begin the rebuild of fitness and form. I don't believe I have lost much fitness as I have remained active throughout the entire period since the day of the crash, but my form has certainly gone and will require some time to regain. I still have to agree with Brad that it should not take long to establish my previous level and then progress well beyond that. The rehabilitation period has also been a good recovery period for the body overall so I am looking forward to going beyond my previous best efforts.
After starting the week with two rides back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday morning, I pulled up a little sore in the knees on Tuesday evening so I opted to complete the week with a 1:1 work/rest ratio to ensure I did not place too much stress on the injuries and allowed them to recover enough before the next effort. This afforded me a ride with the Bell Tower crew on Thursday morning where I was able to hold a 32.5 km/h average with an average HR of 146 bpm. I was still dropped on each and every climb around the river but used that feeling of frustration (at being dropped that is) to work my way back to the group on the level ground in between.
The 1:1 plan seemed to work well as I was moving freely on Thursday evening and by Friday the knees were feeling much better and I could sense that the bruising and swelling was really beginning to dissipate. This will allow me to put in more of an effort next week possibly with a 2 or 3 to 1 work/rest ratio.
The usual Saturday morning ride will be a good indicator to just how well things have improved. I hope to be able to put in a bit more effort ascending the small climbs of the river loop to see how the knees fair. I will look to start with Group 1 or 2 and if it becomes too much to cope with, I will drop off to the next group or complete the ride solo. I will certainly have to restrain myself considering AP will be riding within the ranks. It's been a while since we've had a hit out together and it's just a shame that I have recovering injuries...
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