MetaSprint Series Aquathlon 2014 race report

Words by Alan Grant
Teenage sensation Bryce Chong proved the old adage “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough” as he put in a dominating wire-to-wire performance to easily win the New Moon KhCycle MetaSprint Series Aquathlon on Sunday, February 16 at Sentosa. In the women’s race Kathryn Haesner overcame a swim start stumble to claim the title with a strong run giving her a comfortable triumph.

To read the full report, click on the link – http://metasprintseries.com/race-report14.php

Words by Alan Grant

The sport of cycling is booming in Singapore. And while novices and amateurs get suited up to take on the sport, a group of serious sportsmen are already blazing the global trail for the vibrant community. They are also the country’s only professional outfit, known as the OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team.

To read the full story, click on the link – http://bit.ly/M8wW6f

Day 22 – 72kg               The 39 Steps …

Today was supposed to be a landmark day. Finally, three weeks after the op to rip out half my left meniscus I got to see Ms Physio, the lady who rebuilt my left leg five years ago. I was confident she would poobah Doc's conservative approach and have me doing one-legged squats and other such strengthening exercises. Wrong! 

Ms Physio explained that while the swelling isn't too bad, what's there should be gone by now. And I can't go into full rehab mode until there's no sign of it. And the only way that's going to happen is if I stop living as if there's nothing wrong. 

She said I should still be using a walking stick.

"Still? I never used it in the first place." 

And then she asked if I was still staying in the same abode with all those stairs, all 42 of them. 

"Why, yes ..."

And so it turns out that my choice of home could be the prime culprit in my knee's refusal to play ball. Ms Physio says I should only now, at the three-week mark, be moving into the stairs part of my recovery process. But as she pointed out, there's not a lot I can do about it save for moving into a hotel. She did, though, reiterate the walking stick advice – I've never felt so old :-)

Maybe I'll buy a cool cane.

I did get some exercises to do and the loan of an electronic stim device to work on re-firing my VMO. For the non-cyclists, the VMO is that big lump of muscle that cyclists have situated just above the knee cap on the medial side. It notoriously turns itself off after surgery and can be a stubborn bugger to wake from its slumber.

On the plus side, Ms Physio affirmed that riding a bike sensibly (ha ha) shouldn't present any problems and will indeed loosen any stiffness present. But she was alarmed at my goal of climbing Genting Highlands in two and a half weeks time. Might have to rethink that one.

Another unlikely plus came in the form of a just-completed dip in the pool, my first swim in well over a month. The recent dry spell has left the water at the perfect temperature and I managed to knock out 20 laps without feeling like death. I usually regard swimming laps as a necessary evil but I actually enjoyed it for once as I didn't have to think about my knee. So that's what I'm looking forward to tomorrow, a nice, long, relaxing swim.


Before I go, yes, I know the title of this update was a little misleading, but "The 42 Steps" doesn't have quite the same literary effect :-)

Day 18 – 72.3kg

It's time to cease the blog, or at least slow it down a tad. After all it is entitled "a journey back to the bike" and today marked the second day in a row that I rode a road bike.

I'm nowhere near full fitness but today I managed about 90 minutes on my Litespeed through the rolling terrain of Nongsa in Batam. I'm here to volunteer tomorrow at the Nongsa Challenge bike race put on by the good folks at Cycosports. The roads in this tiny corner of the Indonesian island are well-surfaced and almost traffic free, so I thought a lap or two of the 12km circuit would be a good test of the leg.

There are still a few limitations to "proper" riding. I can't clip in on the left leg yet for fear of damaging the barely heeled joint, so I installed pedals that are SPD on one side and flat on the other. This half in, half out approach made for a strange pedaling action but it felt like I was back. The power isn't there yet, my fair wife Ruth was easing by me on some of the rollers, but it'll come in time.

More importantly, there was no pain mid-ride or swelling post-ride. I iced straight after for 45 minutes lying by the pool (I'm still not allowed to immerse the leg, but stitches out on Monday) then a few more times throughout the day as we hung out at the Turi Beach Resort, which stands quite magnificently on a hillside overlooking a stunning South China Sea vista.  

Tomorrow will be a test as I'll be on my feet most of the morning at the race. I've found that it has been the standing not the cycling that has caused my knee to swell most during the past two weeks, but it honestly almost looks normal so I'm hoping the worst is over.

The weight loss experiment aspect had been a revelation to me. Nearly 3kg in 18 days, just by cutting down. It hasn't been that hard but I can't wait until I can consistently knock out a couple of hours on the bike as I'd like to be able to eat a little bit more and keep this weight off.

And so that's it for now. I'll still post the odd update, but only when significant events occur. Thanks for reading. Writing this blog has helped me deal with the recovery process and it was good to know I had some support.

Day 15 – 72.3kg

In the month or so between finding out that my left knee troubles were caused by a torn meniscus and the surgery to remove/trim the offending parts, I did lots of research. Most of it was encouraging and the odds looked good for returning to cycling pain free eventually. Even when the Doc made the operating table decision to take out a bit more of the meniscus than he’d originally thought he’d have to, I wasn’t too alarmed.

My previous research revealed case after case of amateurs getting back on the bike relatively quickly, although most of them also mentioned “no more running” and the eventual spectre of the dreaded “osteo-arthritis”. As much as I enjoy running, it was probably the main culprit in my meniscus degenerating in the first place, so I’ll live with giving it up IF I have to.

But after doing some more research today into pro athletes having meniscus surgeries, then who knows, maybe there is still a future in triathlons for me. I only want to do the short stuff anyway, as I was one and done with the Ironman experience.

I couldn’t find any instances of well-known cyclists having meniscus problems, which is surprising considering the amount of crashes in the sport. It turns out that pro basketballers are the sportsmen particularly susceptible to torn menisci. And most, but not all, make a full recovery and get back to pounding their colossal frames up and down hardwood floors. So if they can come back surely a non-impact sport such as cycling shouldn’t cause me too much trouble.

But something else I read today might mean I have to change the way I ride. I like to turn a big gear, I can’t help it, it just feels right. It’s been commented on many times by friends or just people I’ve ridden alongside in a race, that I was probably asking for knee trouble churning such a low cadence. After a typical ride, whether fast or slow, when I upload my data, the cadence will always be at or below the 80 rpm mark. The generally accepted wisdom is that the most efficient cadence is 90-92 rpm.

So maybe it was years of mashing big gears that did my knee in, or maybe it was the running or a combo of them both. Pre-op I couldn’t stand up on the pedals or hit a hill in earnest without moderate-to-severe pain, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens when I eventually get to the point of testing it again. And if learning to spin a higher cadence helps, then obviously that’s something to consider. 

There was definitely no testing of the knee today. It was a bit stiff and swollen when I got up this morning and so I didn’t tempt fate. The situation has gradually improved as the day has gone by so I’m hopeful of an easy spin tomorrow.

Day 14 – 72.6kg

Tomorrow marks two weeks since I had half of my left meniscus surgically removed. It feels like it was a lot longer ago than that and that probably explains the frustration at the perceived lack of progress I felt today.  

I managed 20km on the fixie today and I’m walking with barely a limp, but once again I was on my feet most of the day after riding instead of icing immediately, and so the swelling slowly built up as the day went on.

Am I doing too much? Undoubtedly, but I’m also very aware that I have to take it slowly. I guess I just have to find the perfect balance.

My Doc knows me quite well and he knew what he was doing last week when he didn’t give me a referral to visit my physio, even though I had already made the appointment. I go to see the Doc again on Friday when he’ll take my two stitches out and then I’ll begin the rehab process in earnest.

Day 13 – 72.8kg

After a day off back to normal eating (if you call weighing your food and working out the calories normal), my weight chart restarted its downwards trajectory after the one-day binge blip.

More importantly, the swelling in the knee had receded enough overnight that I could fully bend the joint again. It still isn't perfect, that is going to take a while, but it felt safe enough to venture out on two wheels again. I only rode 10km into town to pick up the car from near my wife's office and I took it very gently. But it was good for the soul. 

But I want to return to the food theme. I've become quite interested in this field in these two short weeks and I hope I have the willpower to start eating with a bit of sense when I return to full training. 

You read about all sorts of different methods and diets for athletes (or anybody for that matter) to get to and maintain their ideal weight for their given sport. Whether it be low fat, no carb, gluten-free, veggie/vegan, the newly in-style 5:2 fasting diet, or any other regime, each have their supporters and detractors. 

But in my, admittedly very limited experience, all you need to do is cut down on your portion sizes. I'm still eating chocolate every day and putting butter on my bread and toast but I'm down to one or two squares of Lindt Dark from my usual three or four, and I'm spreading my Lurpak a bit more sparingly than before. At dinner I'm making sure I bring a plate of food out of the kitchen to the table instead of the previous habit of placing large bowls of what's been prepared out family style. I would ALWAYS have more than one plateful, but now I'm eating like a normal person and sufficing with one.

There have been some greater concessions. I have given up my daily cake, which has been an afternoon routine for my son and I for most of the 13 years he's been around, but a digestive with my cuppa is working out just fine. 

And I've also cut down, but not given up my beloved southern Indian vegetarian food. Instead of my favourite thalis with their rice, bread and five or six small dishes of wonderfully prepared veggies, I'm mostly opting for a plain dosa, that tasty rice-lentil flour pancake which comes with a delicious bowl of sambar and two healthy chutneys.

Talking about all this food is making me starving and there's still two hours till dinner. I think I'll have some grapes, a small handful of grapes ;-)