October 12, 2009

Making Progress

I finally broke the lazy/no training barrier on Sunday with my first real ride since Ironman Wisconsin. It was four weeks to the day and my how four weeks can take a toll on the body. Four weeks prior to that moment I was doing the hardest physical thing I'd ever done in my life and four weeks later I was struggling to do an average ride. My Garmin wasn't charged and I think it was a blessing in disguise. I'm not sure I want to know what my HR was or how slow I was going. Instead I just rode and it was a beautiful, crisp fall day and being out there on the road was exactly what I needed. I covered 45 miles in three hours. Not a bad re-introduction to the bike. Next time will be better.

Today was my usual rest day but I did something I haven't done in over six weeks. I walked. I had an MRI appointment so I walked to the train furthest from my apartment, then walked to work from the radiology center. I also took a long walk at lunch and then walked home again from the train. All in I walked about 3.5 miles and my foot felt fine. I was barely limping and it felt great to do something so common.

As I enjoyed my old friend the MRI I realized it was my seventh in a matter of nine years. I've had three on my lower left leg - one to diagnose a tibial stress fracture and two to rule out subsequent fractures. I've had one on each shoulder - the first after falling repeatedly while learning to snowboard and the second after crashing my bike last year and breaking my shoulder. I've now had two on my left foot due to the torn plantar fascia. This total doesn't account for the three CT scans - one head, two abdominal - and countless X-rays I've also had. That's a lot of medical imaging in less than a decade of life. It makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong, or if scans are a way of life for an athlete. Let's hope after this one I have a long reprieve. I think I've earned it.

I'm on pins and needles waiting for the results. My doc said he'd call the moment he has an update. I'll be sure to share the news when it comes.

3 comments:

  1. Glad to hear you got a nice fall bike ride in.

    Fingers crossed you get good results back from your MRI!

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  2. That bike ride sounds awesome. We are already into winter-mode here so a 3 hour bike ride would kill me.

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  3. very nice! where did you ride?

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