Pre-Morocco 2 - Training and injuries

So, its been a week since the last post. Time is running short. I'll be flying to Morocco in 12 days and all my everyday must-do's are filling up my schedule. I haven't even had time to check my pack-list. That will be the goal for this week. Also, there is some pre-course reading to be done, which will have to wait until Thursday evening I think.

Workout is going fine. I'm doing as previously described - a lot of uphill training, mostly indoors though, walking on a treadmill and a stair master. If you walk up stairs for long enough you'll really feel it in the thighs. I find this kind of monotonous training to work surprisingly well, as I have a deadline and a goal, so self-discipline on a high level. yay! An audio book doesn't hurt either. :-)

I'm starting to notice my old knee trouble. There's some irritating cartilage damage in my patella. I suspect that patella has been a bit crappy since I was a kid. I remember falling straight on my knee while ice skating. My knee was blue and swollen long enough that I remember that I didn't walk on the leg for quite some time. And then I've had some knee pains throughout my life, but never really thought about it before last year when I REALLY overexerted myself in the mountains and subsequently had a feeling of gravel in the knee joint. Minor injuries are never a cause for stopping doing fun things though (with moderation...) So, some patience and very careful training and strengthening of the muscles returned full function to the knee, but I need to take care so as not to damage the cartilage too much in my exploits.

I've just spent the weekend at a symposium for sports surgeons and got to try a knee brace (pic) which really surprised me by its efficacy. No pain whatsoever as I wore it. This kneebrace actually gives the patella a slight lift, easing the pressure between the patella and the trochlea (the groove in the femoral bone in which the knee cap slides). So now I have one of those heading towards my post box. Yay! Hiking and mountaineering will be so much fun, especially with some little aid such as that knee brace.

The sense-moral of this post - injuries are not reasons to quit (depending on activity of course, don't be stupid about it ( - said as a medical professional)), they are just pointers to make you modify your activities and think smarter.