I guess I'm giving up!

I don't know if I have documented adequately the problems I've been having with my training for the MS-150. The entire thing can be paraphrased in one sentence; I have not been able to get on my bike since April 26th.

I may have mentioned pain in my left ankle, knee, hip and lower back in a previous post or two. Well it got so bad I couldn't even ride on my indoor trainer for more than 15 or 20 minutes!

I went to the guy who did my Lumbar Fusion in 2003. He thinks I have inflammation and possibly nerve damage in my Sacrum. He tells me that when the spine is fused as mine is at the lower Lumbar area it can no longer move in relation to the Sacrum as intended. He said even small changes in a persons gait can over time lead to inflammation and other damage. That could make sense. When I ride I usually ride at a cadence of 90 rpm. That means that in one 60 minute ride my legs revolve 5400 times.

Anyway I'm doing physical therapy now, taking anti inflammatory and using plenty of heat and ice. The bottom line though is I cannot get on my bike and I can only walk about 20 minutes per day. That is NOT where I needed to be by now in my training. I was shooting for 10 hours per week on my bike.

Facts are facts, I just have to accept the ones that tell me this is not going to be the victory I thought it was going to be in my recovery. As it turns out this is something else to recover from.

Training for the MS-150

Or maybe this post should be titled 'Lack of Training for the MS-150'. 

I have not been able to get on my bike since April 26th.  On that day I began getting what can only be described as excruciating pain in my left ankle, knee, hip and my lower back while riding.  It was so bad I could only pedal for a couple minutes then I would have to get off my bike or if I could coast unclip my left foot and let it hang.

I went to my Doctor and had x-rays of my lower back to make sure my fusion was still intact.  Those were OK.  I then had a bike fit done at the shop where I bought my bike.  Even after that I still couldn't ride.  So... I now have an appointment at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine with the famous Andy Pruitt.  It is a medical evaluation but I can't get in until May 30th.  That does not leave me a lot of time to get ready for the MS-150 on July 7 and 8.

Stay tuned....

Intermediate Goals

I'm beginning to seriously think of intermediate goals that I would like to meet on the way to my July 7-8 MS-150 attempt.

I first started on an indoor trainer 15 minutes per day, three days per week. When I started with CTS roughly 10 weeks ago I started training 4 days per week. I had to do all my rides on the indoor trainer as I wasn't conditioned enough to ride on the road. Then I began to ride the first "portion" of my rides outside and finished them up inside on the trainer. I gradually increased the amount of time outside and decreased the amount of time inside. My very first goal became to be able to ride outside 4 full workouts in one week.

This week I achieved that goal, or at least I expect to. It is only Thursday and I have 3 days left to get my 4th ride of the week in. So with that in mind I've come up with the following intermediate goals.

W/E Apr 1	4 rides 4.5 hours	Achieved
W/E Apr 8	4 rides, 4.5 hours	Stay here while I get used to new bike and gearing, I went from a triple to double chain ring.
W/E Apr 15	5 rides, 5 hours
W/E Apr 22	6 rides 5.5 hours
W/E Apr 29	6 rides 6 hours

This leaves me with the entire months of May and June to increase the number of hours that I ride each week using a 6 ride per week plan. As I've noted before, my goal is to be fit enough to finish the ride and enjoy the entire thing. I have more lofty goals in mind after this one.

MS 150

I took the step today. I actually registered for the MS 150. There's no turning back now. My best friend took me golfing. He is going to ride it with me. What a guy. He is teaching me to golf and he said he would train with me; no matter the length or speed.

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