It has been a full 3&1/2 weeks since the incident/accident/collision and every one of those days has had painful moments or pain free moments if you're looking glass half full I guess. If you hadn't already heard; I collided with a force of nature up in Harriman State Park doing about thirty mph. The deer scampered off seemingly unscathed while I did an endo landing some five feet from my bike and sliding along the asphalt for another ten.
Took an hour and a half to clean my road rash, the majority of which appeared to be on my legs with some on the elbows as well. I pulled and sprained the major leg muscles in my right thigh and bruised my knee cap. The healing process had me overcompensating with my left leg and trying to use too much of the healthy muscle in my right leg resulting in pain and soreness in new and even more exciting places.
One bright spot in all this for you skeptics: The nurse, a true angel of mercy despite the pain she inflicted while excavating my wounds stated how lucky I was that my legs were shaved or I would have been in all kinds of trouble with the clean up and healing process. VINDICATED!!!!!!
The mental battle has been rough. Just before the incident/accident/collision I had reached my Peak. Right on schedule for Colt's Neck, my first A race of the season to be followed by the TOGA Biathlon a week later. The last hard workout I did before the taper was a run/bike/run in Rock Lake on the actual biathlon course. I felt great, strong and ready!
Going from the strongest you've felt in years to walking with a cane in a matter of days is a near-devastating event. I have not been on a bike or done training of any sort for three and a half weeks and I am jonesing like a crack addict who hasn't seen a corner in a month!
There is still pain at times, the morning before I am loose just plain stinks but at this point I have complete mobility and after I stretch I feel okay. You know how mentally rough it is when you were riding 80 miles on the weekend and find you are hurting so bad you can't tie your shoe lace? I hope you never have to find out. But enough whining....
Here's the deal, the point, the reason for this new blog: I have 3 races in August- The Silvermine Time Trials, The Timberman Sprint Tri in New Hampshire and a week after that Westpoint. I am hell bent on getting myself back into top form for these races.
The Westpoint Tri in August is dedicated to a riding buddy, JIM061 in the hospital recuperating from a collision with a van while out riding.
Tomorrow, Monday May 19th is my first day back on the bike. It will be a slow spin to help me assess where I am and how much I have lost. I am going to chronical my journey, my progress, trips and falls as a way to stay focused and I invite you along for the ride. Read, comment, ignore...whatever.
"It's not how many times we fall down that matters, its how many times we get back up..." ~~~Dr. Wayne
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2 comments:
"It has been a full 3&1/2 weeks "
So is this like a "glass half empty/glass half full" sort of thing? A FULL 3 and 1/2 weeks? As opposed to a partial 3.5 ?
I'm glad you're on the road to recovery. I almost got doored the other day, and as I was braking to a halt, I thought "well I'm sure glad that wasn't a deer."
Arms still good for swimming?
If its a Guiness then half full, please. Arms are good. I'll put the floaties on my legs...
Eric J
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