Death of a runner... rebirth of a what?

Hi Tricky - a chap in my running club recently suffered a knee injury after years of wear and tear.  He is v competitive and a few of us thought it would drive him bonkers.  However, he's set up a road bike club as an offshoot of our running club and he's also a keen mountain biker (amongst other sporting activities).  I don't know the exact nature of his injury, but if it's the same diagnosis as yours and he's happy to share his experience, I can ask him to message you on here if you like ... ?

Hey TD

Like Joddly just caught this now

I am in for an arthroscopy in about 2 weeks time, with a bit of a trim as needed - my meniscal damage does not sound as bad as yours,

However I am biking consistenty at the moment, I only get issues biking if I am out the saddle and hoofing it up hill, (kind of a running position actually).  I have been nursing the increasing pain following long / hard runs over the last 18 months, and yoga has become a definite no no

For IM most of the work / training is in biking, In a big week, I do 12-14 hrs biking to 6 hrs running, (not for the last 3 months   )  Most of the running is reletively low intensity, (ie hr 145). The idea is that you cannot smash a IM marathon as you are already buggered from the bike......

Hope that give you hope that there is still stuff you can do that will give you a buzz......

Thanks Mr.Outofrange Cannon - I need all the hope signs i can get. Op is a week today. I have elected to have an epidural so i can be awake and talking to the surgeon while he works - should get better quality info about the nature and possible causes of the damage in the knee.

Am still struggling to walk properly - I can bike a bit but hurts alot if I apply any meaningful pressure on the downstroke.

Mr.Squirrel - would welcome any insights from people who have passed down this road before me. Please put us in touch with each other - AND THANKS!

OK Tricky - will message him with your first post info.  He's away biking this weekend so hopefully will get back to you early next week. 

Hope everything goes well,

Ms Squirrel

Thank you very much feminine Squirrel. I apologise for having failed to recognise this.

Good luck today, mate. Thinking of you.

Beats the Eastenders omnibus!

That's excellent news mate. Pulling the trigger on the bike purchase then? 

Good luck OC! Can you also use it as justification for a new bike?!

Well done again on your debut IronMan Slow Engineer in what can only be described as a kicking time.

I've just got back from my post-op check up with the surgeon and I have a green light for competitive exercise, once the last bit of swelling has gone out of my leg. Mmmm, so far I have done 6 mountain bike rides, run 12km, 3km and 10kms and done 3 lots of swimming (in a pool in Kuala Lumpur after a long flight!!). I didn't ask if that light was retrospective....

So now, I just need to get Mrs. Tricky to bless the purchase of a nice bike. Afterall, that's what the doc said. A bit less running and a bit more cycling will certainly help to safeguard my long term knee health. I'm so happy. I thought I was going to be eaten alive by the sofa.

That's excellent news my friend!

Everyone on here should live in fear of your methodical approach to training - we might have a fastest debutant soon! Still going for the Canyon?

Well, it seems like Canyon only make a certain amount of each model and the one I had my eye on is unavailable now. I could spend a wee bit more and move up to the Aeroroad frameset with the Ultegra Di2 groupset.

I doubt MrsTD would be too pleased if I were to ask for a 2nd expensive bike in another year's time, so the question I really have in my head, is whether I want to plump for a dedicated tri-bike which would be good for an occasional race, or whether it is better to go for something with more generalised geometry as I expect to replace half my running training with cycling?

And a sub-question I suppose, is something like the Aeroroad frame offering a meaningful compromise in geometry terms between the two (lower headset etc)? Would be delighted to hear other opinions about this, even those that vary wildly! Cheers.