Pat (pogo69)

I posted something about his (Keith Barr's) tendon rehabilitation protocols a little while back (wow! almost 5 years ago): Very interesting stuff, relatively simple and very accessible: low but progressive load for a short period (~6 mins) + gelatine + vitamin C. Also useful as a preventative protocol to build resistance to injury.

With the caveat that I only own (and have used) the 25L version, I can highly recommend the Ultimate Direction Fastpack: https://ultimatedirection.com/fastpack-40/ Built as a fastpacking / running pack, it fits like a running vest. So very comfortable, with negligible bounce.

Difficult to find everything I hoped in one place, but the following is a pretty good overview of potential side-effects of therapeutic (classical) ketogenic diet, and mentions the introduction of greater amounts of protein to ameliorate any growth issues: https://www.epilepsy.com/article/2007/11/side-effects-ketogenic-diet-identification-and-treatment I think what often gets lost in the noise around ketogenic dieting, particularly given that the definition is becoming evermore fuzzy with its increasing popularity, is that in its original (classical) form it is VERY strict. Classical 4:1 ketogenic diet prescribes 4 times the amount of fat (in calories) as protein and carbohydrate combined - hence 4:1. While protein is insulinogenic, and can affect ketone production, it does so nowhere near as much as carbohydrate, so it is generally quite possible to titrate protein to balance ketone production and obtain adequate levels of amino acids to support growth. Just had a look at the Wiki article on the Ketogenic Diet, and it is pretty good. It includes some of the history of its usage for intractable paediatric epilepsy going back to the 1920s (hard to believe that is now 100 years ago!): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet Totally agree! That is the main reason that I have never pursued anything like a TKD. I would love to be able to do it. But SO much mucking around, and life is already busy enough.

Can confirm only that I have not done it enough to be able to really relax into its intense sensations. My hips (and back) desperately need it, but I sufficiently fear it to have avoided talking my partner into regular partner stretching sessions.

It makes evolutionary sense, to eat differently throughout the year. We generally do, without having to think too much about it. More carbs in the Summer, less in the Winter; eating food (mostly fruit/vegetables) that are able to be locally sourced, due to their being in season. Agreed. We're all different, so it always pays to experiment. For instance, although generally applicable, my contention above that we might eat with the seasons means comparatively little if your evolutionary background is predominantly equatorial or arctic. What is good for one person can be bad for another. What is good for one person can kill another. What is good for one person, can be bad (or not quite so good) for that same person in a later phase of life. The major issue from therapeutic ketogenic diets for intractable paediatric epilepsy is stunted growth. In its purest form, a therapeutic keto diet is, in addition to being very low in carbohydrate, also low in protein. Most kids these days are put on either: A modified (therapeutic) keto diet. Still very low in carbohydrate, but with much greater allowance for protein. This can impact chronic ketone levels - in some people more than others - so while more protein can be consumed, it isn't ad libitum. The higher (adequate) levels of protein prevent the growth issues seen in the originally prescribed therapeutic keto diet. The MCT diet. Essentially, a relatively "normal" (albeit somewhat carb restricted compared to the general population) diet, supplemented with MCT oil, which bypass the intestinal tract and are rapidly transported to the liver and metabolised to create ketones. Our 7yo boy has been on a modified keto diet for a couple of years now. His epilepsy, while somewhat controlled by meds, was still considered sufficiently intractable to trial him on the diet. He went from having a seizure every couple of days, to about 1-2 per month. Incredible improvement, although we have hit another downturn in the past couple of months (still working on it with the Neuro team). Most popular (not therapeutic) keto diets are more like the modified keto diet above. Heavily carb-restricted, but much more tolerant of adequate protein. The best way to maximise the benefits of carbohydrate, while minimising your overall intake, is via targeted keto diet (TKD). Similar to the CKD, but with bolus carbs ingested specifically (and only) around training (higher levels of activity). It will ensure that you have sufficient levels of carbohydrate to fuel intense activity, but allow periods of (carb) downtime in which your body will resume ketogenesis. TKD is also described in Lyle's book (mentioned by @Kit_L, above): https://store.bodyrecomposition.com/shop/ketogenic-diet/

MTB General Still riding ~2-4 times per week. Now riding with Claire a couple of times a week. Once on the weekend, and again on Wednesday (on the way to the office for me, and work placement for her). Been a while since my last hit-out at the local dirt jumps. Did get a day in at Ashgrove (where I had a coaching session a while back) - it was... OK. Trying to get as much variety in my rides as possible at the moment. Mobility Almost nothing. Sporadic "Daily 5". Strength Continues. Still at 3 sessions of usual circuit, still at the initial (very easy) intensity level. Will try to build intensity a little next week - need a bigger (intermediate) kettlebell. Meditation Nothing. Other Walking continues. Think my body is really appreciating the regular, very easy exercise. Missing most HRV readings, due to a long period of particularly abhorrent sleep. Claire is currently in post-placement week, after which she will be done and eligible to graduate. She still has a few things that need to be done after (invited to speak at a Health Research conference; getting her paper ready for publishing etc), but our collective time availability should open up significantly.

MTB General Still riding ~2-4 times per week. Starting to incorporate some over-geared climbing into my rides. Intention is to build more power, but not doing so formally at this stage. More or less, "Fartlek" style. Adding them in regularly on rides with Claire, as I have plenty of "spare capacity" due to the rides being generally very low intensity overall. Missed jump practise this week. Went for a ride with Claire this morning, instead. Intending to use the off-season and the end of Claire's undergraduate study, to start hitting up new (further afield) bike parks. Mobility Still doing HtSfM. Still very sporadic. Only one session in the past week. Strength Continues. Up to three rounds yesterday. Still felt easy, but at the upper end of "low intensity". A couple of weeks there, and I'll start to very slowly edge up the intensity. Meditation As per mobility, sporadic. Other YAY walking. Have started to use the daily walk to do some "urban exploring". The house we bought just over a year ago, is an old (75yo) Queenslander. I've become rather fond of wandering the local streets and seeing what other people have done with theirs (lots of similar period houses in our area). Also a good way to keep the walks interesting. Have started tracking my HRV again. Not particularly successfully, thus far. Trying to do it, first thing in the morning, but keep forgetting.

Very pleased to hear it! (At least, the "busy with life" bit. Also pleased to see! Yes, I'm finding it similarly so. I keep logging every week or so, because I'm still finding it useful to periodically collate what I'm doing, and reminding myself of what is still missing (almost always mobility and meditation). Sounds fabulous! Ireland is another on my TODO list (actually, never been to Europe at all, so that is a VERY long list). Improvised trips are grand, when/if you're able. I tend towards the extremes. Overly planned or entirely spontaneous. The latter often works better, simply to remove the disappointment (OK: anger, resentment, etc) of plans gone awry. 😄 It is, indeed, a start! I didn't leave home (Mum's place) until I was 25, and ended up back there a couple of times since, due to one thing and another. One can certainly do worse. I understand the financial anxiety. It was the main reason I stayed at home for as long as I did. Added up what it would cost to move out, and... put it in the "too hard" basket. Eek! Good to hear you're back on track. I did similarly a few months back in a mountain bike crash. Frustrating, but as one of my mates said in response: "blood is progression disguise". 😄 While I'm sure I thought so once, 31 is now so long ago, I cannot imagine what it even felt like. A perennial problem for me, also. I've never had any success putting weight on. In the past decade or so, we've more or less had to change the emphasis towards doing everything we can to help me maintain energy balance. Should be an interesting experiment. Especially for one unused to low-carb eating.

MTB General Ditto with the sporadic riding. Had one week where I got 5 rides in, including two with Claire. Then only 2 the following week, and no Claire time. No more racing. But hoping to take the opportunity of off-season time to work on base fitness and skills. Still regularly hitting the Coomera Dirt Jumps to work on airtime. Progressing slowly, exactly as planned. Growing more confident, more in control. Claire has only 2 1/2 weeks of placement left, then 1 week post-placement. After which, she will have completed the requirements for graduation and we should have much more time available for extra-curricular activity. Mobility Still doing HtSfM. Very sporadic. Missed ALL of last week. Strength Continues. Still two rounds at very low intensity. Up to three rounds next week, all going well. Sit there for a couple weeks, then (very) gradually increase intensity. Determined to build capacity in an easily sustainable way, that leaves me fresh for the stuff I love to do. Meditation As per mobility, sporadic. Other YAY walking.

Hey @jaja, How's things? Hoping that the lack of recent posts, means that you're out there fully occupied with living life. Still working with @Frederik?

If you haven't already done so, I would try using a wedge (pillow(s) or similar) under your knees. I have quite a "bony" coccyx, and this can help me if I am lying on a particularly hard surface.

MTB General Riding is still sporadic, due to one thing and another. Final race of the season has been cancelled. Ugh. Yet another victim of the hapless 2021. Fewer than two dozen entrants, so they couldn't financially justify going through with it. Rides Thu 14/10 - Castle Hill. Hit a bunch of trails I'd never done before. Had always been out there with the purpose of practising the race stages. This time, it was just for fun. Lots of new climbing trails. Some of them, really challenging, especially in the wet. Couple of new gravity trails. Hit one of them twice, because it was too much fun. Also hit an unmarked, unnamed trail, out the back of the mountain that turned into basically a steep descent down raw "not really a trail". Lots of fun, but a LONG, STEEP hike-a-bike back up the fire trail, as penance. Sun 17/10 - Scribbly Gums with Claire. Usual bike date. Mon 18/10 - Eastern Escarpment. Race stage practise for the race that is no longer. Hit all 6 stages, then finished up with a pedal out and back along the XC escarpment trail, to recce it for Claire and I. Now added to the list of trails we can hit together. Wed 20/10 - Coomera Dirt Jumps. Another progression session. Made unintentional progress by working on a new gap jump. Unfortunately, didn't know it was a gap until I hit it for the first time, this morning. It used to be a table, but I hadn't noticed the change. Anyway. Few more laps and I'm now hitting it cleanly. Mobility Still doing HtSfM. Only a couple of sessions in the past week. Life. Strength Continues. Upped volume to two rounds of same circuit as previous. Still nice and easy. Meditation As per mobility, only two sessions. Have been trying to incorporate semi-regular short periods of "breath work" - observing breath and/or box breathing. Other Still walking quite a bit. Quite enjoying the habit, lately.

MTB General Probably won't get out much over the next week or possibly more. Lots of rain about. Have one more race, this season. Another gravity enduro event, the weekend after next. This one is run in more of a "true enduro" style. Liaison stages not timed, but you do have a time limit to get there, with time penalties if you're late. Also only one race run, and we only find out the stages, the Monday before the event. 6 stages, also, so another big day out. Rides Fri 08/10 - Cornubia. Hit the 3 main loops. Spangled Drongo/Wallum Froglet, Stupidly Happy, then Resurrection (the Black DH), climbing back up Birdwing after each. Good final fun ride, before the race on Saturday. Sat 09/10 - Mt Joyce - Rocky Trail Superflow Race. My first time at Mt Joyce, so I made the decision ahead of time to have a recce run of each stage, before hitting it at speed for the race runs. Turned out to be a long, hot'n'hard day out. About 25km, but with just shy of 1000m climbing; temps in the low 30°s, but almost the entire park is very exposed. Done in just over 3 hours, with absolutely nothing left in the tank. Recce runs were a good idea, but with two of the stages being quite pedally, I was feeling it by the 2nd race stage. Started cramping on the final climb, which saw me fighting the cramp through the final two race runs. Not ideal, but... I haven't really been training for such a big day. Still... plenty of type 2 fun. Sun 10/10 - Daisy Hill. Regular easy ride with Claire. With her confidence rapidly growing, we went back to Daisy Hill (all green/blue XC trails, but MUCH more populated) and hit the single trails. Claire did great. So much more confident, and balanced on the bike. Me...? Not so much. Had a nice easy ride, but took my eye off the trail, while talking back to Claire, and rode straight over the top of a berm and had a low-speed crash. Oh well; it gave Claire a laugh. Mobility Still keeping at it with HtSfM. More or less, 5 days a week or so. Strength Continuing the gradual return. Same circuit. Still only one set of each. Will add another set next week, then again in probably another couple of weeks. Intensity can gradually increase some time later. All still very easy at the moment. Determined to take it slowly, this time. While I can do more, I have learned that it is better to build capacity very gradually, particularly as I try to balance riding (my #1 movement priority) and life in general. Meditation As per mobility, about 5 days a week. But the length of the sitting meditation session has varied between a few minutes to 10 max. Other Still walking quite a bit.

MTB Sun 03/10 - Kooralbyn - Scenic Rim Gravity Enduro Race #3. Had fun! Came last (out of 4 riders) in my age group. But I am OK with that. I know the guy who came 3rd, and he is objectively faster than me on every level. Screwed up one stage - went the wrong way, and "stopped short" (ceased pedalling hard) of the finish, because I didn't know where the finish was. Had another go at it, and went MUCH better. Went OK in every other stage, so left it at one run each. Overall, reasonably pleased on the basis of a) quick enough for me, b) didn't crash, and c) continuing to build speed and technique in a relatively controlled manner. Mon 04/10 - Scribbly. What has become my regular weekend (long weekend) ride with Claire. Enjoying this SO much. Wore a HRM for the first time in ages. Pleased to see my HR peak in the high 130s, at the top of one fire road climb, with an average of 107bpm. Scribbly is obviously a very easy aerobic effort for me. Good to know. Wed 06/10 - Coomera Dirt Jumps. Another jump progression session. More progress! Hitting and clearing the long skinny tabletop, cleanly and consistently now. Also hit the tall gap jump on the LHS of the first jump for the first time. Rolled it the first time, then "hardened the fuck up" and hit it properly. Cleared with no problem. I "knew" that I could clear it, but was still quite the mental block to commit to it for the first time. At least another half dozen clean runs after that, so the gap is now mine. Mobility Went through HtSfM on Monday and Tuesday. Hoping to continue this at least every other day. Really feels good when I do, but very haphazard with any mobility work lately. Strength Have started back with a VERY rudimentary and low volume circuit of KB and bodyweight work. Going to slowly build the volume and intensity. But deliberately avoiding stepping into max strength territory. Meditation 2 recent sessions after HtSfM. About 10 mins on Monday. But only about 2 mins yesterday, due to interruptions. Interestingly enough, the 2 mins still had quite a marked effect on my feelings of placidity. Other LOTS of walking lately.

I have found this really useful in the past week (finally getting some momentum with mobility practise). I can generally (some days are better than others) perform a pretty decent squat, with good depth, straight back etc. But there is often (usually?) some tension, which inevitably results in my being unable to truly relax into the position for (longer periods of) time. Switching off the ego, and using a prop to hold onto, helps so much to sink into position in good form and relax, while also gently challenging my ankles (and my pesky right shin) to allow greater mobility.