Did a hard, hilly 12-mile ride on Thursday and paid for it in hip discomfort on Friday. Both hips, not just the one that's been giving me problems for 2 months.
So, Friday evening I just went to the gym and lifted weights (no lower body lifts) and stretched. Sometimes I also walk for 30 or 45 min. on lift days, but I didn't do that Friday.
I started thinking about why this rehab is taking so long, and since I am in denial about my age, I'm trying out a theory that my mattress is too hard. I've been complaining about the mattress for months now, and last winter bought a thin memory foam mattress to soften it up. That has worked well, but lately I've noticed that laying flat on my back on it was pressuring my tender hip muscles, and I was waking up in the morning sore.
So, last night I slept on a softer mattress, and this morning I got up with much better-feeling hip muscles. Of course, I don't really know if that's because of the mattress or because I avoided working those muscles for a day. I'll do it again tonight and see how I feel on Sunday morning.
Today I resolved not to choose a hilly course, so I went to the flat and friendly English Landing Park to start my ride. It was already close to 90 and humid. My 18-mile route had a segment on the park trail, which was crowded with walkers and runners; on Highway 9 to Horizon's Parkway, on the levee for a couple miles, and then back again. There were a couple short side trips in there, but no hard hills or other challenges. My goal was to maintain a constant pedal, which I did for the most part. Average speed was 12.3 (I hope you're not reading this, Lance), and my fastest was 20.4
I came off the ride with my hip muscles no worse for the wear. -- Rob
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