knee update

[Nohillsnearby]

I'm thinking Day 1 back is going to be March 8. Seeing as how that's when I can ski Deer Valley for free with work. DV groomers should be a good first day back, no?

Can you spell Happy Birthday Nohills in the snow for me?

Have fun!

[Kellie]

I just read this and it made me feel nervous/inspired at the same time. I can't believe I've joined the club, but am glad to have this place as a resource!

Some good tips in here though, that's for sure!!!

[stump832]

I'm thinking Day 1 back is going to be March 8. Seeing as how that's when I can ski Deer Valley for free with work. DV groomers should be a good first day back, no?

Looking forward to seeing you in the collins lineup shortly thereafter, AG

[altagirl]

I think the XC helps. Works my leg muscles (well all my muscles) differently than anything I've been doing in the gym. The first day on them I was a little nervous and feeling off balance every now and then - though I'm not sure how much of that was being off balance vs. not being used to itty bitty skis under my feet. I just made sure I was careful, stayed in the track for the first few days, and quit before my legs competely turned to jello and it was all good. My quads and hip flexors and glutes hurt more than my knees did. I've been meaning to go up a few times this week but I've been hacking up a lung with whatever this crappy flu thing is.

Anyway, last week... (I'm not sure I should even admit to this... I'm seriously a dork) I broke out the tele gear and made a loop around our (completely flat, mind you) backyard. The dog found it highly entertaining. I pretty much just wanted to see what it would feel like to drop a knee (in place) and make lead changes - it felt pretty good and didn't hurt afterwards at all, but I wasn't being very aggressive with it - just testing things out and getting snow on my skis...

Anyway, they pushed ski day back to March 11. So that's the day now. And then I figure I'm going to start taking advantage of "ski free after 3".

[GT40]

Your recovery seems remarkable. But I'm sure you've put in a ton of effort to get there.

You might as well ski for a while. It will be Aug. before the snow melts around here, so we can ride the trails.

[L7]

I think the XC helps. Works my leg muscles (well all my muscles) differently than anything I've been doing in the gym.

When I had my ACL done the XC skiing was a huge difference. Lots of work on weights but then going out and using the muscles in a coordinated fashion (open chain?) was a big part of getting on skis earlier.

[altagirl]

You might as well ski for a while. It will be Aug. before the snow melts around here, so we can ride the trails.

Thanks GT! I can't wait to ski....

Mr.AG and I went out to 5 mile pass today and rode dirt bikes.
Just took it fairly slow on the easier/intermediate stuff for a couple hours. Knee felt absolutely great - I stayed standing most of the time and through the whole thing my knees felt absolutely 100% normal. I can't even tell you how much fun today was - not to mention, the weather was fantastic and the trails are in great shape (nice and tacky - not too much dust).

So quite possibly that wasn't on the list of things I'm supposed to be doing yet... (I didn't ask) ...but we stuck to trails I've ridden 100 times where I felt totally confident, and I never had to dab a foot to really test my knee out. Honestly my balance and everything feels better than it has in the past with all the work I've been doing so I don't think it was a big deal. [/end rationalization]

Anyway.... can't wait to ski again... I can't even think about how great that will feel to be back on real skis.

[GT40]

[QUOTE=altagirl]Mr.AG and I went out to 5 mile pass today and rode dirt bikes.
QUOTE]

VERY COOL.

Did you make Mr AG kick start it for you?

[altagirl]

[QUOTE=GT40]

Mr.AG and I went out to 5 mile pass today and rode dirt bikes.
QUOTE]

VERY COOL.

Did you make Mr AG kick start it for you?

Heh. I'm a cheater and have an e-start. Gotta love the magic button.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Anyway.... can't wait to ski again... I can't even think about how great that will feel to be back on real skis.

So good to hear that you're just about back out there altagirl. Seems like only yesterday that we were just trying to get our knees to zero...well, uhh, maybe not Can't wait to hear your first day back on skis report!

[Arnold Babar]

Yup, love to hear it, AG. I started jogging today. Really getting there. Next year I'm going to ski a ton, and maybe even get to meet some maggots. Might try the xc thing myself this week. Thanks for the info/inspiration.

[altagirl]

I went mountain biking both days this weekend. Nice change from the endless hours on the bike/elliptical at the gym. Saturday I just went out and basically rode a big sustained climb up a gravel road until I hit the mud - I checked out the singletrack I normally take down, but it's under snow. So today we (me and the dog) went out, did the same thing faster, and then went up and explored some of the Draper section of the shoreline trail - again, until we hit the mud. But it was fun riding some singletrack anyway.

Getting so close on the skiing...

[altagirl]

I skied today!!!!

Just for the ski free after 3 on Sunnyside, but it was fun. Knee felt solid, but just... not normal, I guess. (I guess that's probably stating the obvious). And on top of that, for some reason I kept wanting to stare down at my feet. No idea what was going on there... I need some more time on skis to feel normal again, and I was REALLY taking it easy, but I had a great time!

Apologies for the lame-ass picture taken w/my cameraphone, but I was stoked to be skiing... sun was shining... moment needed to be captured. And then celebrated w/a beer at Goldminers. Yay!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I skied today!!!!

Just for the ski free after 3 on Sunnyside, but it was fun. Knee felt solid, but just... not normal, I guess. (I guess that's probably stating the obvious). And on top of that, for some reason I kept wanting to stare down at my feet. No idea what was going on there... I need some more time on skis to feel normal again, and I was REALLY taking it easy, but I had a great time!

Apologies for the lame-ass picture taken w/my cameraphone, but I was stoked to be skiing... sun was shining... moment needed to be captured. And then celebrated w/a beer at Goldminers. Yay!

YESSS!!!!!

[FollowMe]

Good job. It must feel strange being out for the first time after surgery and a long time off. Never thought of that. Hmmmmm...Take it slow and you'll be back in full swing in no time.

[altagirl]

Good job. It must feel strange being out for the first time after surgery and a long time off. Never thought of that. Hmmmmm...Take it slow and you'll be back in full swing in no time.

Yeah - it only takes a couple minutes to lose most of the "what in the hell am I doing" feeling, but considering the time I had to spend in front of a mirror relearning how to walk without a limp, you've gotta figure that's normal. It's like first day of the season x20. Plus the nerves of "gotta be careful..." But it was a blast anyway.

[spanky]

Congratulations C. That's great news.

[Arnold Babar]

for some reason I kept wanting to stare down at my feet. No idea what was going on there...

It's because of the alograft. Maybe your donor was a tightrope walker Way to go, AG

[Snow Ranger]

Nice. I am jealous even if its only Sunnyside.
I have been wondering if this will work in order to ski free before three - Wear a baseball cap, dress dorky (jeans or something) and make sure you are drinking a beer when you pass the lifty.


Now it just needs to snow again.

[altagirl]

Nice. I am jealous even if its only Sunnyside.
I have been wondering if this will work in order to ski free before three - Wear a baseball cap, dress dorky (jeans or something) and make sure you are drinking a beer when you pass the lifty.


Now it just needs to snow again.

Heh, might help. I must need to work on my Texan costume.

I went to the little table they have to get my free yellow ticket and the girl standing there looked me up and down, cleared her throat, and said "You KNOW this is only good for Sunnyside, don't you?"

[SPREAD EAGLE]

thanks for posting on my thread. I appreciate your positive attitude and reading about your post-op experiences. Keep kickin' the pain down the drain or you will go insane.

[altagirl]

Went to the doc today for a checkup: graft is good, ROM is 100% with no stretching required, and NO SWELLING. Which is almost unbelieveable, considering that over the last 3 days I skied every day (even tele'd a couple of easy Sunnyside runs Sunday afternoon), mountain biked once, and did a leg workout at the gym this morning. So yay for no pain, no swelling, no stiffness - just feeling good after all of that.

Anyway, my doc said he wants me to stick to groomers/mellow stuff for the rest of the season (boo, hiss...) but I should be good to go with whatever I want to do next season. He said that racing DH in June sounds reasonable, he just doesn't want me doing any real wrecking/hard foot plant/crazy anything quite yet. So I'm supposed to stick to XC oriented riding for a while, keep training hard, etc. Next checkup in 6 weeks.

[Arnold Babar]

HUZZAH!!!