health 30.11.2024

Overcoming a low – the train is picking up speed again

Since the pain in my left knee returned in June, my long-term goal of Ironman 2026 has receded even further into the distance. Should I keep the project alive or is it asking too much of me and my body? Excessive ambition?

It’s been a cherished tradition for several years with our Rapperswil cycling group. This year it was ten days across Slovenia in June, last year around Switzerland with neighboring countries, the year before Tuscany with the legendary “Strade bianche” route, 2018 in two and a half weeks down the whole boot, from Bellinzona to Palermo, Sicily.

I don’t have any knee pain on the bike. On the contrary: it keeps my knee supple and strengthens the muscles all around.

It’s October, I feel good and fit. The knee pain has largely disappeared again after four months without running training. Strength training and the exercises from Liebscher & Bracht, the pain specialists (“live to be 100 without pain”), are having an effect. And my motivation to continue pursuing my sporting goal is increasing every day.

On Coach Dan’s recommendation, I have myself examined by an orthopaedist and knee specialist. His diagnosis: strong muscles prevent osteoarthritis pain. Keep up the strengthening and endurance training! Referral to a sports physiotherapist. Here, at “Med&Motion”, the top address for therapists for recreational and competitive athletes, I learn new exercises specifically designed for my weaker knee (and, as a result, weaker leg muscles). I want to incorporate them consistently into my program from now on.

Then a real discovery: “Alter G”, the “AntiGravity Treadmill”, the treadmill on which you can train with reduced weight. Runners use it after an injury to gently get used to the load and the impact on the joints. Just the right thing for me!

I currently run with a load of 85 percent of my body weight, i.e. 54.4 kg (instead of my 64 kg), for 45 minutes at a time, alternating between 2 minutes at 6 km/h and 10 minutes at 10 km/h, which is a pace of 6 min/km. So in the very moderate range. But the feeling is unique. I immerse myself in my earlier days as a passionate runner, protect my joints, but at the same time train them for future exertion. I now do this two to three times a week over the winter months.

During my running training, I am extremely confronted with my age and the associated decline in performance. It’s a good exercise to simply make friends with it, whether I want to or not. A comparison: 40 years ago, I ran an entire marathon in three hours at the pace that I can currently maintain for a few minutes at most with the greatest effort. It’s the eternal cycle of things: Grow, bloom, fade – and away.

I am grateful that I am still able to move so well and enjoy it to this day, that I still lead a life without painkillers or other medication – and hopefully for a long time to come.

In other words: The interruption has been overcome – my training journey continues.


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