Normally I associate cycling with suffering – that’s part of the perverse enjoyment of the sport. Suffering leads to accomplishment and reward, so we embrace it and repeat it.
But in this context, they are disassociated.
Today was my second 25-minute spin following Monday’s physio. It was … easy. Maybe 2/10 on the suffering spectrum. I’m only pushing 95 watts at 80 rpm. My normal training rhythm would be in the region of 175 watts at 90 rpm, and for 1-2 hrs. On the road, I’ll push even harder – 200 watts for 2+ hrs. So yeah, fairly easy and barely broke a sweat. But felt good. Then I went for a solid 2 km walk and again, it was easy and felt good.
The suffering, on the other hand, is twofold: nightly, or after prolonged stationary periods, the pain in my knee (general aching) cranks up to a solid 6 or 7/10. I’ve thought about how to describe it, and I think it’s how it would feel the night after a car accident, where you crunch your knee into the steering column, or maybe after a major tumble. Not disabling but bad enough that I would definitely see a doctor about it. On top of that, I have the classic sore muscles that result from not going to the gym for four months and then doing multiple sets of squats and lunges.
So while I am moving well and getting back into gear as it were, my lower body is not enjoying things at the moment. But I persist: most everything is trending in the right direction.
cdub 