Damn, it's been 6 months since my last confession. I promised myself when I began a blog I wouldn't post a few times and then loose interest...and then I became THAT guy. To my three followers I apologize. LOL
This winter was pretty much a wash. The Sheep Mountain race I tried to squeeze in before hip surgery didn't go well. Lots of pushing led to an early withdraw at the 50 mile checkpoint.
Surgery, however, went great. Not only did the surgeon repair the torn labrum but he also corrected my femur to reduce the possibility of a future labrum injury. It was difficult to be restricted to crutches and it was horrible to carry an ice machine around. It was like being in a halfway house - I couldn't leave that damn machine for more than a few hours at a time.
In hindsight, the surgery was hilarious and I discovered I don't handle pain meds well. Apparently, I told the nurse if they put 2-Pac or Snoop Dog over the surgery room sound system I'd take my own life. After I approved Dave Matthews Band I began taking bets on how high this stud could count before unconsciousness. "12 is the record!" shouted one of the assistants, "and it was from a 250 pound Samoan."
"Shit, watch this," I said. "1...2..."
Andrea and I had a post-surgery plan that had us back to the Anchorage condo around 7pm so we could get rested before our morning flight to Ketchikan for Christmas break. Needless to say we never made our flight.
In the surgery recovery room I asked the nurse for more pain meds around 6pm. I looked at the clock and it was 11:30pm - where the hell did the last 5 hours go? The first thought I had was of how my wife was going to crucify me - she had an irritable 18 month old 4 hours past her bed time and wreaking havoc on the late-night silence of the hospital halls. I felt, and looked, like an 107-year-old with an STD trying to get myself into and out of the car. We rescheduled to the following morning's flight and brought the crutches, ice machine, continuous motion machine, 18-month old daughter, hung-over dad, over-worked mother, and anyone else who wanted to join the circus to Ketchikan.
My wife had a huge role in my recovery. She'd deliver me lunch while I was home from work sprawled pant less on the floor and plugged into that damn ice machine. She'd slow me down when I tried to increase my activity too fast. She'd chase Olivia around the house without help from me. She was a soldier during this time.
As for riding, I've been back on the bike for a while and now feeling like I'm picking up where I left off last fall. I spent this winter dialing in my nutrition and building a new bike - the Titanflex.
Stay tuned, my next post is scheduled for October 2011.
EC
