Friends Don't Let Friends Ride WITHOUT a Helmet

I was shocked today at the number of people who asked about my eye and when told of the bike accident said something to the effect of "Gee, I guess I better go get a helmet". Seriously?
If this is what it takes to shake people up, then I think it's worth sharing.

This is what happened WITH a helmet. It's actually better today. It hurts to touch it even lightly.

The helmet took the brunt of the impact to my head. Without it who knows what would have happened.

Spread the word and feel free to use this awful photo if it helps.

Groundhog Day

Although I do not care to repeat this one anytime soon.
Thank you to John T, John and Nancy C, Helen and Brian, Lyn, Sammy for being there and taking care of me.

Running/walking group met for 10, 9 and 4 miles this morning at Valley Forge. Me, I managed 7. There were a few folks concerned about getting their t shirts and expressed concern that I wouldn't be back before they had to leave. So I did 5 first, came back for their t-shirts, and then went back out. I would have liked to make it to 9 but it wasn't to happen today. It was cooler than it's been but the humidity was heavy. My pace sucked and I was soaked within a mile. I don't think anyone had an ideal run or walk. It's all part of the training though. We can only hope it's better on our respective race days.

After everyone made it back to home base safely the two Johns, Helen & Brian, Lyn, Sammy and I headed out for a bike ride. About a mile in we saw a groundhog off to the left scurrying into his.... well whatever it is groundhogs live in. Another mile in there was one on the right hand side looking like he was going to cross the path. John T. wagged a finger at it and made a noise to try to scare it off I guess. John C did the same. Both times it made a move to cross then went retreated a step or two.

I guess I should have done the same. I had my eye on him (it had to be a him, sorry) and thought he was going to stay put but at the last second he decided to dart across my path. I'm still tyring to figure out what I could have done to avoid the collision. He had darted different directions twice already I just didn't know where he was going to go and it all happenend so fast. I know I hit him and rode over some part of him because I could feel the squish under my front tire just before going down.

THANK GOODNESS FOR BIKE HELMETS!!!

I felt and heard the helmet hit the pavement. I felt my right hand scrape the pavement but after that I'm not sure exactly how the fall progressed from there. That quick I was on the ground with my legs tangled up in the bike. Thinking back I have to say it's funny the things that go through your head. I was having trouble breathing. I was hyperventilating but didn't know that at the time. I've never experienced that before and I do not care to do it again thank you. All I could think was I need to breath to stay alive and my lungs aren't working and my legs are tangled in the bike dammit! Somebody got my leg out from the bike and Sammy told me to put my head down between my legs. Ahh that was better.

I sat for a bit and then decided to try to stand up. I couldn't do that. That pissed me off. Being somewhat of a control freak I did not like not being in control of my own body. Everytime I tried to get up I got dizzy and disoriented. Helen gave me some gatorade. I figured my electrolytes were messed up. I tried again and still dizzy. Now I was crying. And very pissed off. I couldn't stop that either...jeez! I was also a little scared.

Thank goodness for my friends. They were gentle but insistent that I stay put as long as I needed to. I am not a fan of being the center of attention or being cared for. These folks had their work cut out for them and they were and are awesome.

An EMT on a bike ride with his son came by and offered assistance. He ran me through the usual tests to see if I had a concussion or anything. Including asking me how old I was. I paused at that... not because I didn't want to tell him or anyone. I often have to think about it when asked. The pause made everyone laugh though. The EMT's name was Tom. I remember he introduced himself before he asked me my name. Anyway, Tom said the dizziness is caused by the blood pressure bottoming out and suggested we call 911. I insisted no. After going around on that for a minute or two Helen suggested they let me walk and the deal would be that if I got dizzy again they would call 911. Thanks for that, Helen. :)

So we walked maybe 1/2 mile (?) to the street. John T straightened out the bike handlebars which had been knocked crooked and then walked both his and my bike to the street. John C called Nancy to come over in the car. Lyn went knocking on doors for ice. Sammy walked with me and chatted me up. I told you these folks were awesome. And you know they wouldn't and didn't think twice about doing all that they did. They made me laugh when they formed a human sun blocker while I was on the ground.

While we waited for Nancy, Brian chatted me up about maybe it was time to start using air conditioning and was very solicitous trying to get me to sit down. Thanks Brian but I kind of wanted to move around I felt like I was going to stiffen up other wise. Plus I was feeeling sleepy and didn't like it. Moving around made that go away.

Officer Steve Morris (?) I think that was his last name waited with us and when he found out that I really did have a run in with a groundhog jokingly threatened to give me a ticket for abuse of wild animals. He was entertaining in his stories about people who don't clean up after their dogs (obviously a pet peeve of his ), about bike accidents on the trail and his own car accident recently.

Nancy arrived and we loaded my bike and John's bike on the back of her car. Then her car wouldn't start. Now it was just getting funny. Officer Morris gave her a jump and we were on our way. We stopped at Valley Forge Visitor Center to get my  car. John followed Nancy and I home to my house. I had thoughts about arguing with them about that but a) I don't think John was going to let me win that one and b) I was still feeling sleepy so I let them do that.

First thing was a shower to clean up and assess the damage. Dave, good sport that he is, took care of my bike and the Phillyfit coolers and other assorted junk I brought in with me. I took an Alleve, iced a variety of body parts, had a bowl of cereal and a short nap. I'm still feeling a bit tired/foggy. I don't think it's anything to be concerned about. Dave is doling out tons of TLC so I'm safe.

Every half hour or so it seems some other body part starts to talk to me. At the moment here is the damage report.

Right side of face around my eye is scraped up and lumpy. Not affecting my vision but I imagine it's going to hurt for a few days and look really hard core by tomorrow.

Right hand; scraped all four knuckles and inisde of wrist.

My back and neck are sore

There is a ring of soreness around my right thigh at an angle just above the knee and just in the last half hour I can see the bruise coming through. That's going to be pretty ugly by tomorrow.

Front Right shoulder is raw and sore

Left knee the same.

Left ankle is a little wonky but not swollen.

So there you have it. I fell, I survived and although it won't be tomorrow I'll be back riding again soon.

Now it's time for some more ice and another nap.

The Definition of Temporary is Directly Proportional to the Degree of our Stubbornness

Email from a running friend ....

So my knee hurts and my achilles hurt down by my heel - as I got up off the couch, I ask myself "why the am doing this (running)?" Not sure I know the answer but there is something primal about this running thing and I need to do it. I know I need to go to the PT but am almost afraid to do it since they may tell me to stop running. I know you understand all this - you find this amazing thing and don't want to lose it. I know you don't have the answers but you're one of the few people who gets what I'm feeling. ......I just hate going to Dr.'s and therapists.

My reply....

I do know how you feel.

I also know what it feels like when you ignore the body signals and keep going. You end up not being able to run and barely able to walk for almost two months and in the middle of it all cheering for a whole pack of running friends at a race you really wanted to run yourself. Trust me that was depressing. As much as I enjoyed seeing you all, on the mental stability scale it pretty much sucked.

So go to the doctor and find out what's going on. If doc says don't run it should be temporary (although the length of temporary is directly proportional to how long we let our stubborness keep us away from the doc). If doc says don't run make doc tell you why until the reasons and the treatment make sense to you. If doc won't do that OR if doc does tell you shouldn't run at all ever again ---- get a new doc.

And -as much as I know this is tough to think about - if by chance you have gone too far - there will be other races. You my friend are addicted. You have plenty of running years ahead of you. You will be back. 

So I've been mulling this over today. Why do we refuse to stop when we know it's the right thing to do? Why do we push ourselves through pain or fatigue? Intellectually we know that both are messages that we need to back off or stop.

For me - thinking back on my Lehigh Valley experience - it was a combination of things. But mostly I didn't want to appear lazy and I didn't want to fail. What an ego, huh? Nobody is paying that much attention to me that they are going to judge me as lazy. And if on the off chance someone is doing just that... well they haven't got the right and I'd be stupid to care what they think anyway.

As far as failing goes. Well in the end I did fail. I didn't make it to the start line. I didn't do what I should have done early enough to prevent that failure. It's a tough lesson to learn. I can only hope I've actually learned it. :)

Why do you think we do this to ourselves?

Bob Potts is Calling Me

Not the man himself. He is dead and although I do believe in ghosts I don’t think his is haunting me.

The Bob Potts Marathon keeps popping up on my radar. I’d considered running it in 2011 but ended up at the Gettysburg Marathon instead. I bounced on the idea again for this year (2012) but after a dismal fall training season in 2011 (due in large part to the hip flexor injury I didn’t know I was nursing at the time) I decided to stick to half marathons in 2012 to try to rebuild my confidence. And now once again I find myself thinking about Bob Potts for the Spring of 2013.

There are a pros and cons and one coincidence. The coincidence is that it would be my 5^th Marathon and the 2013 edition will be the 5^th running of the Bob Potts Marathon. That alone makes me really want to do it. And should everything else come out equal I’ll probably use that to push me over the edge. Truth be told, I’ve probably already made up my mind but I have to analyze it anyway. It’s what I do. So here are the things to consider (as of today):

Vacation Countdown

Three weeks from today we leave for vacation. :)

We will take the Auto Train to Florida; spend a day with my sister KT and her husband Jean-Laurent (JL); the four of us will go to the Phillies - Marlins game on Aug 14. Dave will be able to check the Marlins off his list and of course get the hat to show for it. Dave and I will continue from there on to Key West. I booked our rooms this afternoon at the Grand Guest House. I've never been to Key West. Dave was there a long time ago. We will cover route 1 between Orlando and Key West on this trip. We had hoped to take route 1 all the way home but gas prices have put that out of reach this time. We'll take the auto train back home again after spending another day or two with KT and JL. I'm grateful for their generosity in letting us stop there and also for their flexibility. Family is good :)

Today I biked 15 miles. I bailed on my original plan and stuck closer to home. My legs actually felt good. I attribute that in large part to frequent stretching sessions yesterday and use of the foam roller. I don't know how I managed this long without one. The difference the next day is amazing. Still I decided the original route was too ambitious for now. Maybe in a few weeks.

Today's miles took me in and around Media. I went up and down moderate to easy hills. Just enough to keep my legs pumping but not enough to discourage me. I explored dead end streets that I wouldn't go down in a car. It was a pleasant ride. Today was a bit more humid but still cooler than it's been.

Tomorrow is a planned day off. Earlier in the week I thought I might go out for 10 to make up for this coming Wednesday's workout that I will have to miss. I'm pretty sure though that the rest day is a better idea. My legs do feel good but rest days are important and hopefully I'll be stronger in speed workout on Tuesday if I take the day off.