Archive for July 2008
Bursae and Venom
The official thought is that I developed bursitis at the back of the heel. Given what’s tender and where I’m feeling the pain, it makes sense. PT has been interesting. The clinic I’m visiting is unquestionably geared toward athletes, and the mood at times is reminiscent of a locker room. Not bad, just interesting. The therapists are all playful and the banter between everyone can be quite amusing. Certainly makes the time go by faster.
However, the real amusement has been in the form of my body’s reaction to bee venom. Got stung just below the back of my right knee yesterday. Took some benedryl and settled in for the inevitable drowsiness/coma and swelling. I iced the sting most of last night, which keept the swelling down… however the lack of an ice pack throughout the night allowed the swelling to go to town. I’m now thinking that I might look into desensitization therapy, ’cause as much fun as it may sound, I’m not such a big fan of looking like the Elephant Man every time I get stung.
In any case, I’d been trying to take a “you don’t bother me, I don’t bother you” approach to the bee’s nest near my back porch. That might have to change now. Fuckers.
Shoes
L: Oh, man, I’ve bought almost 6 pairs of shoes in the past month.
D: That’s not right, I don’t even think I own that many pairs of shoes. I think I only wear 3 pairs.
Me: Same here, I only wear two different pairs of footwear. A pair of shoes and sandals, that’s it.
L: What about your bike shoes?
Me: So I wear 3 pairs of shoes.
Back in it
The plan is to ride tomorrow—the first time in weeks. Out of curiosity, I went for a quick two-mile spin a few moments ago. It was both perfect and humbling. 53×12 is a lot harder than it used to be. I’m still a little winded, even though the “sprint” wasn’t more than a quarter-mile. C’est la vie.
The night of the fourth, while protesting a parent’s declaration to call a cease fire to their bottle rocket wars, an eight year-old was heard saying: “Why? It’s Friday and we’re just trying to be kids ‘n shit!”
It’s summer. Time to be a kid ‘n shit.
June Roundup
- Miles ridden: ~100
- Miles driven: 424 (134,965)
Today, July 1, marks the precise half-way point of the year… I’ve been lucky enough to ride about 176 of the 183 days of this year thus far. I stopped recording my miles when it became apparent that I shouldn’t be riding until I could get things looked at. I now have to wait for a PT appointment.
Summer has arrived, and rather abruptly at that. The past month, I’ve been watching my conditioning slowly deteriorate. In a way, it’s heartbreaking… but in another, it’s oddly inspiring. I’ve been here before. I’ve started from scratch before, and I’ll be doing it again. True, it’s quite frustrating to see so many friends and strangers out riding in this glorious weather… especially when they ask why I’m not riding. The reality of using my car a lot more is also frustrating… but it is what it is. I won’t heal if I ride, it’s as simple as that. Besides, there are many more things that I could be dealing with that’d be a whole hell of a lot worse.
So, once I am healed, I’ll be starting from scratch. What was once easy will be difficult, and I’ll have to work my way back into condition one step at a time. In the meantime, I’m idly fiddling with my bikes and doing those things I’ve wanted to do… like tweaking a brake pad or overhauling a bb.
On a different note, I’m very pleased that Spain won the Euro. Watching the game made me want to get out on the pitch and knock the ball around again. I’m sure watching the Tour will offer the same result. To be honest, I don’t care who’s the favorite or about all the drama between the teams/riders… my attention is solely on Garmin-Chipotle. In a way, it’s more fun to watch the sport when you’re not constrained by the hopes that your team/athlete goes big. Of course I want them to do well, but like their modest goal of the TTT at the Giro, I’m only hoping that they ride their own rides and have a great time.
