Spring Holiday Weekend

To celebrate the long spring holiday weekend, Steve and I decided to head out to the bike trail this morning for a pleasant jaunt through the forest. It was actually nice to get back on the bike even for a short while, and we had a fantastic ride through some beautiful wooded trails.

After our ride, we headed out to the WRAL Azalea Gardens, which were spectacularly in full bloom and incredibly aromatic. It was a wonderful ending to a gorgeous long spring weekend.

Spring into Tennis

As another type of cross-training which allows more mobility and position changes for my spine, the physician and therapist have approved me going ahead and continuing to play tennis, as long as I try to limit the number of matches I play per week and, of course, adhere to a strict pre- and post-match stretching program. Steve and I are both participating in local challenge ladders which has provided us the opportunity to meet a great many delightful players and we are both learning so much from the variety of styles we face each week.

More photos of us playing in our respective matches can be found Here. Be warned though, we both tend to get a little happy with the camera, so there are quite a few photos in the gallery!

Although I still am on restriction with my biking due to the sustained forward flexion and repetitive pedaling motion it requires which intensely aggravates my spine and joint issues, it appears that the constant change of position and multi-directional movements involved in playing tennis has seemed to help with my spinal flexibility somewhat, and being able to still get out in the beautiful spring weather is always a bonus - see you on the court!

Changes

That's my hubby and I couldn't be more proud! Steve has been competing in a local men's tennis ladder and I managed to get some photos of him playing in today's match. Ever the competent athlete, he is demonstrating himself to be a quick learner and quite proficient in tennis as well as biking, windsurfing, running, swimming, and pretty much anything else athletic he tries.

Things aren't looking so bright on my side of the fence, however. A recent trip to the physical therapist regarding intensified knee and back pain whenever I get on a bike revealed that my knee joints have flared again, and now I have bulging disks in my cervical (neck) and lumbar (low back) spine as well. As a result, my therapist and physician have both strongly recommended that I forego any significant bike riding and certainly any bike racing, particularly endurance events, for the time-being and have put me on a strict physical therapy rehab protocol. It seems that the sustained flexed spinal position required for riding a bike significantly intensifies the disk bulges and pain, so my activities have been changed to some other cross-training to include swimming and water exercises along with mechanical stretching protocols. Fortunately, the prognosis is hopeful as long as I adhere strictly to the prescribed regimen so I'm remaining optimistic.