From Fit to Fat in Less Than 6 Easy Weeks

July 1st - Well, we'll see if that title is accurate.   It's been over 5 weeks since I started this episode of down time.  No riding, no walks, no runs, no nuthin'.  (Not even a real shower!)  Foot surgery can really slow you down.  Well, I did get into pushups and situps a bit.  (400-500 each per day, but 'd rather be riding!)

It's funny how one can adapt and start to put up with almost anything.  When I first started this downtime, I think I was pretty darn fit.  Almost 3000 miles in the first 5 months of the year.  Plenty of long rides and able to deal with it.  I knew had the foot issue, so got it (reluctantly) taken care of.  But the time off seemed to be something harder to deal with.  I do want to return to my past state of fitness, but at the same time, see how someone could easily drop into fatness.  If you can't, you don't.  And if you don't, you get used to it.  And get out of shape.  ~too easily~  I just hope when I start riding again, I don't find that I'm too far "off the back", as the blog says.  I want to feel anxious to be out there and get into it again!  It's summer, with long evenings and (mostly, except when it's foggy) nice weather!  It's not the time to be sitting around!  I do get real jealous of many friends who are in Europe this summer riding, seemingly all at the same time!  Dave, Eric, Ana-Sophia, Dan, Lauren, Jeff....all taking these great trips with lot of riding!   The Alps, the Dordogne, the Dolomites, the Pyrenees, Tuscany, Switzerland.  Arghhh....I want to be there too.  What a temptation!  Well, with the stitches coming out, let's get better  And then I'm up for the challenge!!!!

I have learned to respect my feet a bit more.  They are tender, but necessary instruments.  They take the pounding, but can't heal like a simple cut on a finger.  Depend on them, we certainly do.  So take care of them.  From picking to poking to cutting to real surgery, it's been a slow evolution of foot repair progress for me.  Hopefully, the time off will now pay off and I'll be able to get back into shape real quickly.  More later..........


July 15 - There's a chronology below, but I'm back!  Got the stitches out over a week ago, starting riding a few days later and have hit the hills again a bit too.  I'm ready for more!

The AgOnY of DeFeEt - Chronology

MDR, May 2013.....hotspots on ball of foot on hot days....bought footpads for bike shoes to relieve stress
Summer, Fall 2013 - bearable....no real problems
Winter 2014 - removing "warts" on occasion with "sharp implements", but the problem was brewing below the surface (bursitis)
March 2014 - More pain in FLA when it got hot, but bearable
April 2014 - used wart remover (liquid) - opened up scar.  It's like it drilled a crater in the ball of my foot and it's not healing!  This can't be good.
April 27 - Wildflower Century - 40 miles in the rain, cold - the beginning of the end (infection?)
April 29 - Tuesday night GPC ride.....can't deal with the pain anymore.  I stopped riding and called Kaiser for an appointment.
May 2 - Kaiser minor surgery (bursal sack drained).  One week off.  Boot, crutches, no showers.
May 10 - Back on bike (earlier than suggested), back to showers, but cleaned it 2x/day.  Ramping up for MDR...still some pain, increasing swelling, and still weeping open sore.
From May 10 to MDR - About 350 miles, with Sacto bike trail (some pain), Diablo day (very painful end of ride when warm), but I need to be persistent and ready for MDR!  (Consider dropping out?? Never!!)
MDR - May 22-25 - 4 days of riding....289 miles....progressively more painful....to the point where I had to quit with 40 miles to go into Santa Barbara.  Every bump on the road was painful.  Even walking after was somewhat painful and foot swelled.
May 30 - Kaiser check - more liquid squeezed out, but no infection.  "Keep off it".  This time I listened.  No more riding.  Tried a couple of short walks.  Still painful.  Still swelling.  Still weeping.  This ain't right.....
June 12 - Kaiser visit.....not good....come in tomorrow for surgery.  Uh-oh.
June 13 - Kaiser surgery.  Boot, cast, crutches, no showers, work at home, conference cancelled, work-at-home for next 2-3 weeks.
June 26 - Kaiser checkup.  Cast off, big bandage off.  Looking good, but one more week for stitches.  Keep off it and keep the small bandage on.  Still no showers.
June 30 - Back to work on this Monday with boot, crutches.
July 3 -Got the stitches out today.  Yeah!  Seems like a big step.  The doc said "still take it easy for a couple of days.  Wait until the scab heals."  I thought.....what?  I'm good now!  Why wait??!?!
July 4 - We went to Sonoma and I took my bike thinking I might now be able to get a ride, but things still hurt.  So I was good...no rides.  No pool.  Only beer drinking.
July 6 - Still in Sonoma, I went for a 10 minute walk....the first steps still hurt.  The scar tissue was kind of uneven on the ball of my foot and the top of my foot felt very weak...I couldn't stand on my right foot with tip toes, as it was too painful.  Hmmmm...ok, a few more days.  I got home and decided to give it a go with a short ride.....my first in 6 weeks!  I just went down to the Richmond Marina, but it felt pretty good to pedal.  Standing on the pedals (for hills) was another story.  That also hurt like it did standing on my toes.  Not the ball of the foot - that seemed to be healing - but the top of the foot.  Maybe it atrophied?  Not sure, but I figured as long as the incision is healing and not painful, I wasn't damaging anything and it was just a matter of time.
July 7-13 - More rides, with eventually some hills on Saturday (July 12) and very little pain...only from the still slightly swelled foot.  I ended up riding 7 out of 8 days for about 130 miles.  Yeah!  The pain was less, the swelling less, the scab almost gone and I'm feeling better all the time.  I even had a nice ride with some folks who hadn't done the MDR in14 years and that was fun getting back together!  It's now July 14th (Bastille Day!) and I'm taking a break, but feeling like I'm on my way, thanks goodness!

Mike, Sherry, Travis and Mark on Sherry's boat after my first hilly riding weekend in 7 weeks.

Travis, Mark and Mike

Grrrrr.....

When getting together with an old friend for the first time in years (many years!), one is always curious about whether you'll actually be able to spot each other.  I had that opportunity the other day and said to her:  "Just look for the guy with crutches".  Her response:  "Great....I''m sure you'll have a good story to tell!"  Ughhh....that's just the beginning of the story because the foot wasn't getting better.

Long story short.....I had surgery on the darn thing.  Whether it was traumatized from my stubborn refusal to let it heal, or if the doctor's earlier work was incomplete doesn't really matter at this point.  I'm down for at least another couple of weeks.  No walking or biking or showers.  I'm even working at home, since the darn thing can't have any pressure, even with crutuches.  Public transit would be a real challenge.

But I'm trying to be optimistic and looking forward to this being the final fix for this setback!  Let it heal and then let me get back to action!  Another friend gave me a nice card the other day.  Here it is with the message from the inside.  I hope it is right!

Not me, but a scene from the Tour de France, 2002

The Agony of DeFeet

The title says it all.  After a fairly tough time with my foot during the MDR, I guess I got my comeuppance.  It just wasn't healing from the bursitis surgery four weeks prior, so I saw the doctor again a week ago and she gave me the news....."You need to stay off of it for 3 weeks".  Doh!  I'm at the peak of my annual cycling fitness after the MDR ride and I have to stay put?  Not even a walk??  Or an erg?  Ughhh.  Well, patience doesn't come easy to me.  But this isn't what I expected!  Looking back, I guess it makes sense.  I probably shouldn't have cycled at all for a couple of weeks after the initial procedure, but I did.  And now I'm paying for it.  No walking.  No riding.  For three weeks.  I can't even take a regular shower, as I need to avoid getting it wet.  Grrrr.  Here are a few things that keep going through my stubborn head.

1.  I'm sure if I asked the doctor if I could go on the ride, she'd have said no.  It's one of the highlights of the riding year, so can you blame me?  ;-)
2.  I had a great May for mileage....about 650 miles!  June will be sh*t.
3.  I don't like to sit still, but better now than before or during the MDR.
4.  I asked the doctor when I would know if it was better.  She said the swelling will decrease, it'll stop hurting and will stop draining.  Another doh!  Maybe I should be in medicine?!  Maybe not.
5.  I'm sure riding didn't help it, but maybe showers actually contributed more to its slow healing than anything else?  I thought after a few days, it would be ok to shower.  But maybe not.  This time, I'm following directions (sponge baths, baby!) and hope that makes the difference.
6.  I've been wearing the boot and using crutches for a week now.  What a pain in the ass.  I hope it pays off.  I've even changed my commute and I'm taking the bus as it's a shorter walk.
7.  While it's also a pain to explain my problem time after time, even people who never talk to me seem to be friendly and inquiring.  And I get a good seat on the bus!
8.  I want to ride, so please get better!  qUiCkLy!

25th Annual MDR

The MDR...the 4 day Memorial Day Ride from San Jose to Santa Barbara.  I did it!  Again!  Well, most of it.  It's a fabulous annual ride and now that it's complete, that 25 years worth in the books.  (A mere 15 for me......I started in '98, but missed a couple along the way.)

The 25th MDR gang at the start

How was it??  Well.....the damn foot did act up.  I can't believe it's still not healed, 4 weeks since the minor surgery.  But I have to look at the bright side.  I plugged along for much of the ride, doing 289 out of the total of 350 miles.  Admirable, but I was hoping for the whole thing!  Instead, I did my duty of driving a 25 leg out of Carmel.  But that wasn't my only down time.  It warmed up on day 4 and I had some pain during the 3rd leg, so I packed it in at mile 68.  Too bad....I didn't even get to descend down to Gaviota Pass!  It really did hurt.  And as much as I wanted to continue, when I saw one of our cars stop for someone else, I hopped in too.  A little bit like sticking up your hand for the Team car in a race.  The ego hurt, but the foot hurt more.  I know.....I should have had it checked before the trip.  But you know how it is!  If you have something like this trip planned, you don't want to ask someone who might tell you to sit the whole thing out.  No f*ckin' way!  I will get it checked again, but really wanted to go on this ride too. 

In any case, it was a lot of fun!  Riding great roads, eating good food, drinking tasty beers, being with fun friends.  And repeating 4 times!  Here are some more fave pics so far.  If I see anymore, I'll post them too.

Bixby Bridge, 13 miles south of Carmel

At the "Quad C" - the Central Coast Coasting Competition on Turri Rd.

Mike on Big Sur

Mike and Jeff nearing SLO

Mike on Hwy 1 south of Carmel

Mike bike on Turri Rd.

The beginning of the Gaviota Pass drop to Hwy 101 (2 miles @ 7%)

Tour de France!  (Cheese store in SLO)

MDR group south of Carmel

Bixby Bridge

South of Lucia on Hwy 1 through new avalanche protection tunnel

The Best and "Not So Best" of Times? We'll See......

Well, maybe the title sounds worse than it really is...but what does that all mean?  Simply, I'm in pretty good riding shape, but having trouble riding!  Huh?  Yeah, I've had a great year for mileage (almost 3K miles) and looking forward to this year's ride to Santa Barbara, the annual Memorial Day Ride (MDR - just days away).  But foot issues are slowing me down!

I had some minor surgery a few weeks ago to get rid of some bursitus, which is like a callus under the skin that can hit a nerve or bone.  Right on the ball of my right foot!  Eek.  It's probably from old cycling shoes (rub rub rub...) and I've had it for well over a year.  But until recently, it's been very manageable.   Then, about a month ago, it starting getting inflamed and then during a particularly cold and wet ride up in Chico (the Wildflower century), it really started to flare up.  To the point where I couldn't deal with the pain and thought maybe it was getting infected.  It was almost like stepping on a nail.  Yikes!

So, off to the hospital I went May 2nd for the surgery...but even now (2.5 weeks later), it STILL is not fully healed.  I wore a "boot" to keep the pressure off (no fun), did nothing for 5 days (no rides, no walks, no showers).  The after about a week, I slowly got back into walking and some short rides...dealing with things, thinking it would get better.  And I suppose it has, but way too slowly.  The doctor never said it would last this long!

The post-op bandage

The "boot"

 Last weekend, I may have pushed it too much.  We went to Sacramento for a crew race, and I rode 62 miles on the bike path, thinking no climbing wouldn't bother it.  The good news is that I saw many of the Tour of California (TOC) pros out there training....yes, on the bike path!!  Double pace lines, passing grannies and kids on bikes.  WOW!  That was unexpected!  But also unexpected was the pain...it really hadn't gotten much better yet.  I really pushed it three days later by going up Diablo to watch another stage of the TOC.  It was an exciting stage (!) and I had no real pain going out there.  But returning was pretty damn painful. 

 

"Sir" Bradley Wiggins leading up Diablo (He ended up winning the whole race!)

Turned out to be an 80 mile ride.  40 miles out ok and 40 miles back in pain.  Ouch.  Not from the miles, but from the damn foot.  But looking at the bright side, the race was cool!  Here are my pics and 4 videos from that stage....TOC Stage 3 up Mt. Diablo.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=112371152910629742937&target=ALBUM&id=6014258831752019921&authkey=Gv1sRgCKCPhfrk3aD1wQE&feat=email

The high temps (90-100) that day probably made things worse....expanding feet, etc.  I thought it through and said WTF...new shoes must be part of the answer.  So, off I went and found a pretty good price on the same type of shoes (Sidi Dominator 5) and crossed my fingers that they would be better.  So far, it seems to have worked.  I suffer a bit after riding from my foot expanding a bit, but not like earlier.  I rode two 40 milers (Sat/Sun) and didn't do too bad.  With three days until the big MDR....I'm hoping we are there.  If I keep the incision clean and take it fairly easy, maybe I can do it.  I'll report back....hopefully with good news and not a need for another hospital visit.  ;-)  Because the big event of the year, the MDR, starts Thursday, May 22nd and I don't want to miss it!!

What's in a (Bike Ride) Name?

Our rides these days seems to need a name.  With strava and everyone posting their rides, you want to show everyone how fun your ride was, but it seems you need a catchy name too.  Well, I guess I've fallen into the trap.  Here are some recent ride names I've come up with since the beginning of this year....they all have some "inner meaning" and I'm sure you can figure some of them out.  Sorry if they are too esoteric!  You can find them all at my strava page (http://www.strava.com/athletes/77170).  I hope it's more than "a ride is just a ride is just a ride"!

Goin' Loopy

LimBo Rockin' with the Sistas

A Mile for Each Year? ;-) (some with Lou Q)

Port, Parks and The Peak (Urban Exploring)

Noodling up Grizzly and Environs

Flats sans flats

Still perfecting my rain predicting skills (with Amy)

That close to a Century and you stopped?? (Ride to Davis - back on Amtrak)

Back on the Chain Gang (with JM and Jeff)

Triathlon (Walk/Fly/Ride).....back to only the ride....

"Da Bears", Pig Farm and Happy Valley (with Jean-Marie and Mark G)

Highlands Cyclists Breakfast Club Ride (sans breakfast!)

Lou Reed Ride (Such a perfect day!)

Feeling Flat...like the road

Bumps, but no bruises (small climbs that is) - Butters, Skyline, Charing Cross

Wildcat-Wilder-Snap! (Broke my chain and had to call the team car - Caryn - for a lift home)

New Year's Eve Champagne Ride on a Beer Budget (Great weather in Marin/Sonoma with Jared)

Ride Update....Busy!

Hi!  Sorry for the lack of reports lately.  Here is a picture from our train ride back after riding from Berkeley to Davis last weekend (April 5).  Great day for a ride!  More updates later.....been too busy riding to report!