Having said that my bike training has been intensive since February, fortunately the ACL is not used while cycling. The last 10 or so days have seen me do my first road race since a huge crash in April 2010 and first time trial since the ACL operation. How did it go? Better than I thought! My main fear has been the unknown condition and power of my injured legs hamstring. During the ACL operation a hamstring graft is taken and inserted into the knee. This involves an implement that looks similar to a apple corer, that once inserted into the hamstring produces a nice portion of tissue that can be used. As a cyclist this is a huge matter of concern, I weighed up all my options before the operation including that of having a patella tendon graft instead. However my consultant, one of the top in this area, made it clear he still preferred using the hamstring graft.
The road race was at Mallory Park, I've raced here dozens of times and have enjoyed being in breakaways on many occasions. I decided to get some solid training in and rode the 32miles there and back. Having the miles in my legs made the race tough, with a nervous bunch and tired legs I decided to stay safe and finished with the bunch. Big confidence boost and looking forward to the next race.
The time trial was an evening 10, a course I've not ridden before, the K12/10. Not the best way to compare previous performances, especially given the horrid northerly wind. On completing the course and being utterly exhausted I was very disappointed to see 24 minutes. However when seeing the complete list of results everyone was 1 minute slower than normal, comparing myself to previous rivals shows I'm actually about 50 seconds down on where I should be. This gives me a good base and something to work on.
Am I happy with how my return went. I'm never happy with my performances so not really. But its positive and I feel great for it and can't wait to get back to full speed.
For anyone else about to undergo ACL surgery, good luck. Its not fun but is worth doing. Will you come back as strong as before? I don't know yet. I'll be sure to let you know :)
