As I mentioned last week, I planned on riding my century of the year in San Diego on March 7th. Well, that didn't go quite as planned.
Ed and I flew non-rev early Friday morning. We got on the flight to Denver without a problem. The second leg to San Diego almost didn't happen. We got pulled because the flight was oversold by 6 people. It didn't look good for us at all. The next open flight to San Diego wasn't until 9:15pm,a full 12 hours later. As Ed and I were making plans to spend the day in Boulder, the CSA found us the empty seats we needed to get back on the plane. We were on our way.
We landed in paradise at 11:30am. We had the rest of the day ahead of us. Awesome. Eric met us at baggage claim, from there we went to the hotel, got changed and Eric and Ed headed to Encinitas to get Eric's bike. I took a bus to La Jolla to get my bike from AJ's house. I rode up to Encinitas to meet them and we all rode back downtown to the hotel. By the time we got back into town it was way past dark, I got us a little lost, oops. I got in about 47 miles and Eric and Ed got in about 30 miles. Not a bad day of riding for spending most of it on an airplane.
Trying to stay on course with my fitness, I got up early for a little gym time. After a nice breakfast, we went to the Gran Fondo Expo to check out all the different vendors and to meet AJ, EJ and Melanie for a bike ride. We all had a great ride showing Eric and Ed the incredible sites in Mission and Pacific Beach. It was something like 25 miles. Just what we needed to keep our legs fresh for our 101 mile ride in the morning. We all met at 5pm for an amazing pasta dinner in Little Italy. AJ's idea for us to meet early for dinner was a great plan, we were able to get to bed early since the ride started at 7am in the morning. Ouch, even for us east coasters.
We woke up to threating skies, the promised rain was on it's way. Again after another great breakfast we rolled down the 3 blocks to the Gran Fond's start. Sometimes it is all about who you know, we lined up with the VIP's at the very front of all the 3000 other riders. There were past Olympians and past World Champions and many National Champions. There was Dave Letteri, Mari Holden, Kurt Stockton, John Howard, and Paolo Bettini. Even NBA star Bill Walton was riding. As we were waiting for the start the skies opened up with the hardest rain I've ever seen in California. We rolled out very cautiously because this was the first time AJ ever rode in the rain. Must be nice living in Southern California. Except today. The rain never let up.
After crossing Coronado Bridge, we went south down the strand, before going east to the hills. I was riding with AJ and EJ when Paolo Bettini and his entourage sped by. I had to take this opportunity to ride with a 2 time World Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist. I said see ya to AJ and EJ and jumped on the Italian train. Quickly we caught up to Ed, I yelled for Ed to jump in. He looked at me like this is way too early to be going this fast, then he saw who I was riding with, he jumped right in. Shortly I dropped back to ride with AJ. We rolled along though the rain, even passing Paolo with a mechanical, to the first rest stop. AJ and EJ kept on going and Eric and I grabbed some snacks. Paolo and company came in and I was able to get a picture of Eric with Paolo and Flat Stanly. Nice.
Eric and I were just riding along when he said Paolo should be passing us soon, and there he was. We jumped right in with the Italians for the next few miles. I could get use to riding with a World and Olympic Champion. We met everyone at the second rest stop. We were all freezing and soaked to the bone. I was trying to remember the last time I started a century in the poring rain. It was the Civil War Century in Gettysburg about 5 years ago. We did the 50 mile ride instead of the 100. We decided to do the same thing here. We were all good with this.
From here the ride changed from a 100 miles survival ride, to a 55 mile fun fast ride. Since we were heading back to San Diego, instead of doing another 70 miles over a mountain, we all rode freer and faster. EJ and I took off a couple times stretching our legs, fast. Lots of fun. The last 5 miles were on some pretty sketchy roads with lots of pot holes and a crazy amount of railroad crossings at all kinds of bad angles. We all stayed upright, thank goodness.
We got to the finish ate some great food and raced back to the hotel for the hottest shower I could stand and then came back to the Expo for some more food. Oh yea, we went for dinner for some more food that night. In spite of the rainy weather, we had the best time. I love riding with good friends in any weather. San Diego is awesome! I can't wait for next years Gran Fondo. In dry conditions :)
Since I've gotten back, I've ridden 3 days in a row. 25, 50 and 40 miles. Total for the week 240 miles. Not a bad week at all.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
It has been a very interesting month
Since I got back from San Diego, I've been trying to keep my fitness consistent. I had to work quite a bit to rebuild the bank account for my planned trips in February. I was able to stay consistent by, believe it or not, working out on my overnights and at home and even riding the trainer. I know. That is such a big step for me. The addition of a new TV and DVD player made the trainer bearable. I've been watching bike races from the 80's. Most of my overnights were in Denver with a very good workout room. Bonus.
So I started off February with three days of reserve with the idea being to not get used and be home to work on remodeling my basement and working out. I had great plans for lots of work and lots of play. The goal was to go back to San Diego for 4 more days of riding then fly to Seattle for a quick trip up to Canada to watch the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Well it didn't play out quite as planned.
On the 3rd I rode my trainer for an hour and was going to lift weights afterwards. When I got off the trainer I had a tightness in my lower abdomen. I picked up the weights and thought 'not today'. I retired to the couch to watch TV and play with the computer. During the next few hours my stomach started to feel more tender. I was thinking it was something I eat or just a muscle strain. I don't remember what I was watching but one of the characters had a pain and was said to have appendicitis. A light bulb went off and I said "Crap I have appendicitis!". Of course, I Googled it. Pain lower right quadrant- Yes, reduced appetite- Yes, nausea- No, vomiting- No, and a low-grade fever- No. Well 2 out of 5 and the pain wasn't really that bad anyway. So I am just going to hang out on the couch. I kept thinking of my moms appendicitis from last year and how bad it can get. And that I was home alone. At 9:30pm I went to the ER at York Hospital.
There were only a few people in the ER when I arrived. They took me in right away when I said I think I might have appendicitis. They drew blood to check if my white cell count was elevated. It was not. The next step was to have a CAT scan. I was very reluctant to have another CAT scan after having so many CAT scans just three months ago. If I was not willing to have the CAT scan the doctor all we could do was wait. I said I can wait at home. So I went home at 2am with instructions to return if the pain got worst or if any other symptoms occurred.
I crawled into bed at 2:30am. At 5:30am I woke up stuck to the ceiling like a cat, the pain was so bad. And now I was feeling nauseous. There is your second symptom. Back to the ER I go. I walk into the ER and the same doctor looks at me and says " How about that CAT scan now?" I smile and agree. Now it is time to hang out waiting for the results from the CAT scan.
Emergency room's are a great place to hang out if you really went to hear how the other half lives. The guy in the bed next to me talked non stop about his drunken lifestyle. How he had drank myself out of a job, a relationship and into homelessness. Then I realized he was talking to the guard who was escorting him. He was in handcuffs.
The test came back positive, I have appendicitis. Now what? I have a big month planned. I have a century on March 7th in San Diego. I am trying to get into shape. Am I going to be side lined for 6 weeks after an operation? Am I going to lose all the fitness I've worked for?
The surgical resident came in to explain the surgery, she told me about the nice 4 inch incision and the weeks of rest I will need. I told her about the big month I had planned and above all I was going to the Olympics. I asked if this could be done laparoscopically. Less invasive. She said the doctor on call didn't do laparoscopic surgeries. I thought for a couple minutes and told her I was going to go to my parents house and have the surgery done at her hospital. I might as well said I was going to do the surgery myself. She told me not to go anywhere.
She came back an hour later and told me she found a surgeon to do the surgery laparoscopically. Dr. Scott came in and said he had heard I had big things coming up. I said I sure did. He said no problem with going to the Olympics and the century should be a go. I liked this guy.
I had the surgery at 3pm on the 4th. The surgery was suppose to be one hour, three and half hours later I was in recovery. Dr. Scott told me my appendix was a lot worst then first thought. He said I probable had it for two weeks or more. Wow. I guess I didn't have gas the week before.
I spent the night in the hospital and was leased before the big snow at 3pm on the 5th. My parents came out to take me home and to hang out with me for a few days. We got well over 2 feet of snow over night. Sadly I was not allowed to go outside to shovel snow. I love to shovel snow. If I would have made a move toward the door I believe my parents would have tackled me. Despite having surgery I was feeling pretty darn good. The only thing keeping me from feeling great was the plastic tube sticking out of my stomach with a vacuum bulb hanging from the end that I have to drain every four hours. So we just hung out for the weekend watching the snow.
On Monday I had my post-surgery doctors appointment. I finally got this dam tube removed. When he pulled the tube out the doctor told me to take a deep breath and exhale. He pulled out a tube that I thought was all the down to my toes. It was at least a foot long. I asked about my planned trips. He hold me to do whatever I felt good doing. And don't lift over 30 pounds. Wow. Cool! Open hall pass.
As you may know, I don't sit well. during the first week I x-c skied twice, went snow shoeing twice and shoveled my driveway. The second week I took two yoga classes, telemark skied, riding my trainer twice and gone to the Olympics. Now I am back into the full swing of things, riding, lifting, working, whatever I feel like doing. I leave for San Diego tomorrow for a 101 mile bike ride. All is good.
So I started off February with three days of reserve with the idea being to not get used and be home to work on remodeling my basement and working out. I had great plans for lots of work and lots of play. The goal was to go back to San Diego for 4 more days of riding then fly to Seattle for a quick trip up to Canada to watch the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Well it didn't play out quite as planned.
On the 3rd I rode my trainer for an hour and was going to lift weights afterwards. When I got off the trainer I had a tightness in my lower abdomen. I picked up the weights and thought 'not today'. I retired to the couch to watch TV and play with the computer. During the next few hours my stomach started to feel more tender. I was thinking it was something I eat or just a muscle strain. I don't remember what I was watching but one of the characters had a pain and was said to have appendicitis. A light bulb went off and I said "Crap I have appendicitis!". Of course, I Googled it. Pain lower right quadrant- Yes, reduced appetite- Yes, nausea- No, vomiting- No, and a low-grade fever- No. Well 2 out of 5 and the pain wasn't really that bad anyway. So I am just going to hang out on the couch. I kept thinking of my moms appendicitis from last year and how bad it can get. And that I was home alone. At 9:30pm I went to the ER at York Hospital.
There were only a few people in the ER when I arrived. They took me in right away when I said I think I might have appendicitis. They drew blood to check if my white cell count was elevated. It was not. The next step was to have a CAT scan. I was very reluctant to have another CAT scan after having so many CAT scans just three months ago. If I was not willing to have the CAT scan the doctor all we could do was wait. I said I can wait at home. So I went home at 2am with instructions to return if the pain got worst or if any other symptoms occurred.
I crawled into bed at 2:30am. At 5:30am I woke up stuck to the ceiling like a cat, the pain was so bad. And now I was feeling nauseous. There is your second symptom. Back to the ER I go. I walk into the ER and the same doctor looks at me and says " How about that CAT scan now?" I smile and agree. Now it is time to hang out waiting for the results from the CAT scan.
Emergency room's are a great place to hang out if you really went to hear how the other half lives. The guy in the bed next to me talked non stop about his drunken lifestyle. How he had drank myself out of a job, a relationship and into homelessness. Then I realized he was talking to the guard who was escorting him. He was in handcuffs.
The test came back positive, I have appendicitis. Now what? I have a big month planned. I have a century on March 7th in San Diego. I am trying to get into shape. Am I going to be side lined for 6 weeks after an operation? Am I going to lose all the fitness I've worked for?
The surgical resident came in to explain the surgery, she told me about the nice 4 inch incision and the weeks of rest I will need. I told her about the big month I had planned and above all I was going to the Olympics. I asked if this could be done laparoscopically. Less invasive. She said the doctor on call didn't do laparoscopic surgeries. I thought for a couple minutes and told her I was going to go to my parents house and have the surgery done at her hospital. I might as well said I was going to do the surgery myself. She told me not to go anywhere.
She came back an hour later and told me she found a surgeon to do the surgery laparoscopically. Dr. Scott came in and said he had heard I had big things coming up. I said I sure did. He said no problem with going to the Olympics and the century should be a go. I liked this guy.
I had the surgery at 3pm on the 4th. The surgery was suppose to be one hour, three and half hours later I was in recovery. Dr. Scott told me my appendix was a lot worst then first thought. He said I probable had it for two weeks or more. Wow. I guess I didn't have gas the week before.
I spent the night in the hospital and was leased before the big snow at 3pm on the 5th. My parents came out to take me home and to hang out with me for a few days. We got well over 2 feet of snow over night. Sadly I was not allowed to go outside to shovel snow. I love to shovel snow. If I would have made a move toward the door I believe my parents would have tackled me. Despite having surgery I was feeling pretty darn good. The only thing keeping me from feeling great was the plastic tube sticking out of my stomach with a vacuum bulb hanging from the end that I have to drain every four hours. So we just hung out for the weekend watching the snow.
On Monday I had my post-surgery doctors appointment. I finally got this dam tube removed. When he pulled the tube out the doctor told me to take a deep breath and exhale. He pulled out a tube that I thought was all the down to my toes. It was at least a foot long. I asked about my planned trips. He hold me to do whatever I felt good doing. And don't lift over 30 pounds. Wow. Cool! Open hall pass.
As you may know, I don't sit well. during the first week I x-c skied twice, went snow shoeing twice and shoveled my driveway. The second week I took two yoga classes, telemark skied, riding my trainer twice and gone to the Olympics. Now I am back into the full swing of things, riding, lifting, working, whatever I feel like doing. I leave for San Diego tomorrow for a 101 mile bike ride. All is good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
