Steven C. Micro thread

steven cummings

Hey Coach!

I'm just kicking off week 17 of the Advanced IM plan headed into Louisville.  I sucessfully made it through Camp weekend with 112M bike+6mile run, 96M bike, and 14.5M run.  However, i went to do my Wednesday trainer workout of 2 x 20's @FTP and my knee started hurting so I pulled the plug 45 minutes in.  I'm not having any pain while running/swimming so I continued with the workouts the rest of the week.  Saturday and Sunday though it continued to flare up while biking....started soft pedaling, low power, coasting a lot to get back to the car.  

How should I approach week 17 with this occuring?  Lot's of volume in the plan this week with an 18 mile run and long days on Saturday and Sunday.  I feel like swimming shouldn't bother it and while it doesn't hurt while running still questioning if I should.  I have not seen a physcian yet as I'm trying to get an appointment.  Any advice on what to do or resources on how to mend it would help!

Thanks,

Steven        

 

Coach Patrick

Steve, where's the knee pain? Front, side? Back? Any bike fit changes for you...like new saddle, bars, cleats?

I don't think it's worth pushing anything on the bike right now until we start addressing what the source is.

I am okay with you swimming and running it out this week as long as there is no pain. I would keep it simple as:

Mon - Swim + Core
Tue - 60' run
Wed - Swim + Core
Thu - 60' Run
Fri - Swim + Core
Sat - Try the bike here for a bit to see how you feel...if good, ride for a short while, then do your 60' run.
Sun - Ideally another run day...but we'll see how you feel.

This program is simple, and manageable, and will get close to the planned swim and run volumes for the week!

Looking forward to more details!

~ Coach P

steven cummings

The pain occurs mainly in the front inside area around the knee cap and slightly into the bottom portion of my quad near the knee.  Yes to the adjustments, I tilted the nose of my seat up slightly right before week 15 and have since tilted it back down after the pain started occuring.  It was probably not the best decision to adjust it but the seat was tilted down so much I was having to slide back often.  This is the first knee issue i've encountered in 4 IM build ups and really my first injury too.  

 

Coach Patrick

SC, could be a few things...try these in order...

1. Move the cleat out bringing your knee closer to the bike frame. You might have narrow hips. 
2. Drop the saddle height a tiny bit -- there might be some lateral stress on the joint at the bottom of your pedal stroke.
3. Consider some knee stabilizing exercises -- you might have a wobble in the knee at the top of the pedal stroke which has it a bit out of alignment as you start applying power. Here's what I am thinking of.

Please keep us posted!!

~ Coach P