I've been too busy to blog. Either I've been at work, working around the house, walking or riding. When it's nice out and you spent the entirety of last summer inside, you go out as much as the weather allows. So let's catch up on a few things.
First - Chris Froome - ouch, damn. I can totally sympathize with the hip fracture, but that man is brutally injured. All these "experts" who say he will be "competing again in six months" are living a pipe dream. I realize he's a pro athlete with access to all sorts of rehab centers, trainers, physicians, drugs, supplements (yea those), etc; but fact remains he's a human with bad orthopedic trauma. I finally saw Carmichael Training post a realistic view that mentioned all the muscle atrophy, the loss of endurance, etc that one goes through when you're not able to perform normal routine things and train. It's a safe bet that Froomey will be back on a bike, but I wager to say he will never be the same rider he once was. Sad, really; but just goes to show how freak things happen. I wish him all the best.
Next - Graham. Last Saturday a friend of mine passed away while running an 8 mile (I think it was) run. He was 70 years old, but still toed the line to go do races. The man loved running - he had done many different distances over the years. I used to love sitting and talking to him about his adventures when we worked together years ago at LewisGale. Just a stellar person. He was one of the few folks who took time out of their day to visit me in the hospital last year. It was important to him because he too had endured a bad fall with resulting ortho injuries. He had rehabbed from that and he wanted me to know it was entirely possible and that he would support me. He frequently messaged me to see how I was doing. I went back and looked at my messages (thanks to Facebook for that capability) - he believed in me and was so supportive. I hadn't talked to him recently, but I'm going to miss him.
Hills... so let's see I live in a valley - in order to get out to the more scenic and peaceful places to ride, you've got to do hills. I have struggled with them constantly since my injury - walking or riding, each is hard. So I've begun to add some hills to my rides. It will be interesting to see how this progresses. Yesterday I did the same ride that I did last Sunday - this time I rode it faster (I attribute that to fat going down hill faster). I felt better on a couple of hills, but struggled on others. None were too steep nor too long, but I have to work up some more strength and cardio. I like this particular route, so it will become a regular thing to do. It needs a name! It is 21 miles, so it's very doable, but likely will stay on my weekend schedule since I have to pass UPS and FEDEX distribution centers and the trucks while mostly courteous are big.
I also lost my mind the other night and decided I wanted to see how well I could climb the biggest trail that's closest to my house.... I'd give myself a C-. I can't fuss too much as I still have flat pedals on my MTB, and we all know I'm lacking cardio. Here it is... Hollins Trail
Ok - time to hang the clothes out and get started on the day.
First - Chris Froome - ouch, damn. I can totally sympathize with the hip fracture, but that man is brutally injured. All these "experts" who say he will be "competing again in six months" are living a pipe dream. I realize he's a pro athlete with access to all sorts of rehab centers, trainers, physicians, drugs, supplements (yea those), etc; but fact remains he's a human with bad orthopedic trauma. I finally saw Carmichael Training post a realistic view that mentioned all the muscle atrophy, the loss of endurance, etc that one goes through when you're not able to perform normal routine things and train. It's a safe bet that Froomey will be back on a bike, but I wager to say he will never be the same rider he once was. Sad, really; but just goes to show how freak things happen. I wish him all the best.
Next - Graham. Last Saturday a friend of mine passed away while running an 8 mile (I think it was) run. He was 70 years old, but still toed the line to go do races. The man loved running - he had done many different distances over the years. I used to love sitting and talking to him about his adventures when we worked together years ago at LewisGale. Just a stellar person. He was one of the few folks who took time out of their day to visit me in the hospital last year. It was important to him because he too had endured a bad fall with resulting ortho injuries. He had rehabbed from that and he wanted me to know it was entirely possible and that he would support me. He frequently messaged me to see how I was doing. I went back and looked at my messages (thanks to Facebook for that capability) - he believed in me and was so supportive. I hadn't talked to him recently, but I'm going to miss him.
Hills... so let's see I live in a valley - in order to get out to the more scenic and peaceful places to ride, you've got to do hills. I have struggled with them constantly since my injury - walking or riding, each is hard. So I've begun to add some hills to my rides. It will be interesting to see how this progresses. Yesterday I did the same ride that I did last Sunday - this time I rode it faster (I attribute that to fat going down hill faster). I felt better on a couple of hills, but struggled on others. None were too steep nor too long, but I have to work up some more strength and cardio. I like this particular route, so it will become a regular thing to do. It needs a name! It is 21 miles, so it's very doable, but likely will stay on my weekend schedule since I have to pass UPS and FEDEX distribution centers and the trucks while mostly courteous are big.
I also lost my mind the other night and decided I wanted to see how well I could climb the biggest trail that's closest to my house.... I'd give myself a C-. I can't fuss too much as I still have flat pedals on my MTB, and we all know I'm lacking cardio. Here it is... Hollins Trail
Ok - time to hang the clothes out and get started on the day.
Comments
Post a Comment