Ugh
I'm damaged (insert your punch line here).We did a park trail ride of 2.5 miles on Sunday, and it was the best trail ride we've ever had. I think I stepped off four times, even with some funky bridges and steep slopes to negotiate. Eli 8.3 has no problems with this kind of terrain, of course, but it's always been challenging for me, especially when I have to ride slower with him (he has a smaller wheel than I do).
For the first time, I didn't feel like I'd been beaten with a sledgehammer after riding for half an hour or more. My legs felt limber and pretty fresh. This was a breakthrough for me (I'm normally really tired after we ride), so much so that I mentioned to Gloria how great I felt.
So, of course, I woke up Monday morning and started wincing when I walked down the stairs, because my right knee hurt like hell. No pain whatsoever during the ride, no pain before I went to bed, but lots of pain the next morning.
Welcome to middle age.
The pain isn't even in a familiar spot--it's sort of around the kneecap. I'm completely baffled, and it doesn't seem to get better, even though I've been icing it regularly and haven't worked out for three days.
The other thing about middle age is that when this kind of thing happens, I have to be really, really careful. In my 20s, I could just do nothing for a day or two and I'd be fine, or I could work out with some pain and still get bettter. Not anymore--if I try to work out with pain, it will take forever to get better.
I'm not going to an orthopedist, at least at first, because every one I've gone to (three) in the last few years has spent 90% of his time identifying which revenue stream I represent instead of diagnosing my freaking problem. I do have someone who "works on me" once a month (get your mind out of the gutter) for maintenance, and she knows more about this kind of thing than any doctor I've ever seen, so I'm going to ask her on Monday.
In the meantime: damn it.
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