My Second Century Part I: Blog Resurrection

I'm back!  But just a brief recap of the Summer of 2015.

I set out with two goals at the beginning of the summer.  The first was to ride another century, but that didn’t light the fire like last year.  It was one of those “Been There, Done That, Wrote a Blog about it” kind of things.  My second goal was a little more ambitious.  I was going to try and ride 3,000 miles.  To put that in perspective, I finished last year just shy of 2,000.  Making things even more interesting, I made a friendly wager with my buddy Steve.  It was known as the Race to 3K.  I am going to Memento this story just a little bit and tell you that I lost the bet.

Let’s back things up to last September first, to just after My First Century.  Even though I was on top of the world and felt great about my achievement, I was exhausted and physically worn down.  I had tendonitis in my elbow; I had discomfort in my back; and I was experiencing pain from my knees.  I decided to take a few days off, which turned into a few weeks, which turned into a few months.  Before I knew it, I had put back most of the weight I lost and fell back into my old bad habits.  With spring around the corner it was time to start working my way back into shape.

I started hitting the gym again and I laid out my summer goals on how to get back into shape.  It was at this point when I discussed the idea of riding 3,000 miles with Steve.  He threw down the gauntlet and offered me a challenge.  And the Race to 3K was born.  I was out early and often.  I bought some winter gear for those early morning work commutes.  I felt great.  I was quickly way ahead of last years progress.  I physically felt better.  I had a new confidence.  I was determined to win the Race to 3K.   

By mid summer, I had jumped out to a sizable lead.  I think Steve realized that I was on a mission and started logging some serious miles himself; which only pushed me to log even more miles; and back and forth we went always trying to out do the other. 

I was up 500 miles, closing in on 2,000 and ready to put the nail in the coffin.  I took my bike to the shore on vacation.  I was planning a massive week on the sweet flat roads of Holden Beach, North Carolina. 

After a 40 mile ride on my second day, I started to experience some tightness in my hamstring.  I didn’t give it much thought and figured it would loosen up on my next ride.  Except I couldn’t get my leg to loosen up and was forced to cut the ride short.  That night, I was in some serious pain which eventually made its way from my hamstring down to my calf.  A few days later, along with the pain, I started to experience numbness in my foot.  When I got home I was diagnosed with a pinched nerve.  Other than the pain and the numbness, it had also caused me to lose most the strength in my leg, particularly my calf muscle, which was now just for show. 

After resting for 10 days, I decided to give it a go.  I had been able to manage the pain, but I was still lacking the strength.  But my lead was quickly shrinking and I had an 80 mile race to prepare for.  Unfortunately misfortune struck again on my second day back.  I had my first cycling accident since I was in second grade.  It wasn’t anything major.  I cut a corner too sharp and my back wheel slipped out.  I took a tumble, brushed myself off, popped my chain back on and continued my ride for another 5 miles. My elbow was a little sore, so I threw on the bag of frozen corn we keep for bumps and bruises.  Things started to swell over night and I found myself at urgent care the next day.  X-Rays showed a radial head fracture. 

My first question was “how long until I can get back on the bike?”  My doctor told me at least 6 weeks.  I tried to explain to her that I was an avid cyclist and that I was currently in training.  I thought perhaps if I showed her my desire to get riding again, she might pull out her super secret, aggressive, recovery method allowing me to speed up the healing process.  She did not…6 weeks. I needed to allow myself enough time to heal.  I did however talk her into allowing me on a stationary bike where you don’t need to put pressure on your arms and the risk of falling again was pretty minimal.

At this point, I was never reaching 3,000 miles, let alone winning any bets.  However, I had yet to rule out the chances at My Second Century.  There was one big problem; the Tour de Chocolate Town was only 6 weeks after my fall (you do the math).  I was riding a stationary bike a few times a week, trying to stay in some kind of shape.  But even that was limited as I was still having issues with my pinched nerve.  I was even going to physical therapy twice a week.  They did not like me riding the stationary bike, something about not giving myself enough time to heal.  I tried to explain to them that I was an avid cyclist and that I was currently in training.  Again, I thought perhaps, just maybe, they would show me some secret recovery method to speed up the healing process.  Like my doctor, they did not.

To Be Continued…