3 Month update on the ole' wheel

I really can't believe how much better my knee has started to feel in the last 2 weeks. I literally have found myself saying, wow my knee feels normal. Albeit, there are still certain motions where I can feel a difference. But the biggest thing is that I can finally see my muscle tone returning to almost normal. I would say that it is 90%.

I have increased riding the bike to 1 hour/4 times a week (~12-15 miles). Three days a week I hit the gym and do my weights and jumps. I've worked up to 210 lb squats 3 x 20 (which isn't much, but its a great improvement). My leg presses are steadily increasing, at about 210 lb 3 x 20 and single leg at 120lb. I continue to increase weights on the rest of the exercises as well.

Two weeks ago the PT introduced jumps into my workouts. So I try to do 100 jumps 3 times a week. I do straight up jumps holding at the bottom for 2 seconds, side to side (kinda like skiing), 180 degree jump arounds. He also recommended that I skip but I'll be honest I have been slacking on that.


The thing I most excited about is my new mountain bike. I shopped around for 2 months and then finally found a deal and half on Ebay. I found a Kona Dawg Deluxe for over half what it normally retails for. I have a feeling that my kayak may be a bit lonely this summer.

And lastly, I had a my 3 month check up with the doctor today and he was impressed. He gave me an emphatic "you are doing great!" We talked about continue to train hard and continuing to push myself. Range of motion is full, at 130 degrees. No pain anywhere. All test showed tight ligaments. So we left it at another check up at 3 weeks, which at the point it looks like I will be able return to regular work duty. FKNA, they had told me 6 months and I'm a looking like 3.5 months, yes.

Some old school fire pictures

I dunno, maybe it was the heat. We had three 90 degrees days this weekend, way to hot for this time of year. Apparently summer thinks its time to turn on the heat. Anyway, the 80 deg. living room pushed me into the basement, trying to escape the heat. I found my old fire album and scanned some pictures. Kinda cool looking at them. Enjoy.

The photos are from 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999. Some the areas I remember going - All over Nevada, the Big Bar Complex, the Idaho City Complex, Corral-Payette Complex, McCall, Sesech

2 month update on the knee

Its been a while since I gave an update on the ole knee. Things are going well, the knee feels great all in all. I have very minimal swelling and very little pain if any. The main thing that has really improved is my confidence. I've ran for short distances now and it feels pretty good, just a little lagging on the extension. I have also started to do the StairMaster and the Eliptical, feels great. The PT has me doing some agility stuff to help the reflexes and confidence.

I even got out to wade fish this week. While over at a fire conference near Butte earlier in the week, we had a few hours to kill. A buddy and I drove down to Warm Springs Wildlife Refuge

Although we didn't exactly slay the fish, it was great to get out. I wore my knee brace and was super careful on the mossy rocks. The water really does run pretty warm there (thus the name) so its pretty slick wading. But the flows are pretty small so its not too pushy. Neither of us brought in a fish, I hooked one on a San Juan Worm but couldn't bring him in. There are some great stretches of water there, it just gets a lot of fishing pressure so they're pretty smart.

I've kept a lot of the bike riding I've been doing. More than anything, it is just a way to keep myself motivated. That way I can tell if I have been slacking by looking at the sheet. All in all since Feb 5th - May 10th I have riden 615 miles.

Here's the basic breakdown of my lifting at the gym. All sets of 3 x 10 unless otherwise specified:

Leg press: 180lbs

One leg down: 100

Leg pulleys (curl, straight back, side adduction): 30lbs

Squat: 155lbs

Hamstring curl (one legger): 45lbs

Medicine ball throw: 14 lbs 3 x 20 reps

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!