Date: 2005-03-08
To: Stupid Broken Leg...Update
Miles today: 0.0

Well,I went to the Ortho yesterday for my one-month check up and I don't know why, but I was sort of mad about it at first. I actually got goods news, I guess, but I am tired of this broken appendage hanging from my torso with no purpose. It is like a parasite, and it is feeding on my hip. Whatever the case, a good nights rest,(almost 12 hours last night), and some more time this morning has made me feel better about the Doctor¢s words to me yesterday, and I¢m starting to perk up a little.When I walked in to the office yesterday afternoon, I was immediately x-rayed. From the x-ray room, I went into the exam room, and was quickly, as usual, seen by my Ortho Doctor. I think I was expecting him to say that the only reason my knee still felt like total crap was because the muscle has totally atrophied and that I can now take the brace off for good and that in a few days it would feel perfect and I could go back all my normal routines and activities, which aren¢t so normal and routine actually anymore, since I haven¢t had my leg in its ¢normal¢ state for over a month now. Well, his first words were, ¢The x-rays look great, the knee is healing much faster than I expected!¢ And I said, ¢What do you mean, ¢is healing¢? I thought the bone would be totally healed by now.¢ He replied, ¢Well there are great calcium deposits on the broken areas, and you are healing much faster than normal, but it isn¢t healed yet.¢ That is not what I wanted to hear. I guess it was stupid of me to hope that my leg would be totally fine, and that the only reason it still felt like garbage was due to the muscle atrophy.We talked further about my situation, such as going on the trail and I received some fantastic news. First though, he told me about my leg and hot it would feel while I am hiking, all about how it is going to swell up, and how it going to be excruciatingly painful, but it will be fine structurally. After the news about how my leg would feel on the trail, I really did get some great news. He told me that I could start weaning myself off of my leg brace, and that in a little while; I can get on my bike again. I am growing more and more elated at the thought of stepping onto my bike again. He said that on a bicycle like mine, since my feet are locked into the pedals, there isn¢t a lot of lateral movements in the leg, and so it would be fine when I feel comfortable, like in a week or so. Getting on a bike will be great for me. There is almost no better way to condition myself aerobically and get my quads and calves back in shape after their lack of use. I should be able to build a load of muscle back into my leg in the next three weeks, to hopefully prepare again for the start of my hike.I had previously told him, (my Ortho), that for a year, I have been cycling about 200 miles per week, and I wasn¢t thrilled with his response. He told me that my progress would be mostly lost, but I said that I would recover quicker than anyone he¢d ever seen, and I don¢t think he doubted me. I am going to the athletic club this afternoon to do my regular upper body lifting, and then later tonight I am going to Cherokee park to start building the muscle back in my leg to prepare myself for getting on my bike. I am going to do a few miles on foot at the park this evening and do a little bit of small hill climbing, since today is my first day without a brace and I need to take it easy. I will do the same routine tomorrow at the park, and then on Thursday, I am going to get on my bike, and whip my leg back into shape. It isn¢t going to be comfortable, but it is going to be fun, and it will be one hell of a quick comeback if I can make it happen. The doctor filled my head with visions of a leg that will swell up like a balloon, but we¢ll see about that, and he did say it was OK for me to do it. I don¢t know how many miles I¢ll be able to do on Thursday, but I am going to be pushing myself hard, and resting hard as well, to let my hard work heal itself up. I¢ll be eating a boatload of protein, carbs, and calcium over the next month; so hopefully, I can build this leg back up in three weeks to a useable condition for the trail. Regardless, I will start the trail on my planned date, but hopefully, I will be starting with adequate muscle back in my right leg, and the two broken spots, will be healed.Anyways,Here is something funny to finish this entry up with; Sunday was the first day that any type of professional cycling has been on TV since last year, and I obviously, was extremely excited about it. I subscribe to a special channel, specifically to get cycling races. Yes, I love cycling. The race is called, ¢Paris-Nice¢, and it is the first race of the Pro Tour this year.Most big races like this start off with a short time trial called a, ¢Prologue¢ which opens up the race and gets the yellow jersey on someone for bigger races the following days. The yellow jersey is what the overall leader wears to designate himself as such. Daily races are timed, and the best overall time after the multiple days of racing is the winner. Each daily race is usually around 125 miles or in cyclist terms, 200 Km.Last year, Lance Armstrong was attempting to win a historic sixth Tour De France, which no one had ever done before, and to start off, he went big in the prologue to deal a psychological blow to his opponents. He said it really mattered for him to do well. This race being held on Sunday really wasn¢t a big race that Lance wanted to win, he was just using this race as a warm up, and so he didn¢t want to blow himself out. However, the media can¢t understand that and so when he didn¢t blow away the competition on Sundays prologue, the media wanted to know why. Instead of telling them the truth, that the race didn¢t matter to him, and he was just using it to warm up, Lance blamed it on the cold, and the fact that it was the first race of the year. I am a big Lance fan, and so the following is only a joke, but I thought it was funny still¢¦. Lance Enters The RaceA poem by Troy ShellhamerLance enters the raceBraving cold wind against his faceThe other cyclists brave it tooBut don't make excuses like Lance will doCry me riverYou blew it todayDon¢t tell the mediaIt¢s my first race of my season today!You rode like a sissy On a big blue bikeEven though other CyclistDon't know what winning six is likeSo don't cry me a riverSaying you suck cause your shiverIf you can't ride and be number oneMaybe you and Sheryl can go, "Soak up the Sun"!Also, to clue some people in on the humor, ¢Soak up the Sun¢ is a song that Lances rock star girlfriend, Sheryl Crow, sings¢¦GO LANCE!