Monday, June 29, 2009

Road Rash

In the past year I have by far received the most emails from my post about Extensor tendonitis than just about any other post. So in order to further improve my hit rate I have arranged to obtain some “Road Rash” so that I can write about it :)
Ok so basically my grand training weekend up at Lake Placid was cut short by a small accident that caused me a concussion and some nice road rash. A concussion is basically any head trauma that causes you to black out or lose memory. In my case it was both. I cant actually remember the accident. Which is disturbing since there is no obvious sign of what exactly happened. Basically, I was riding behind holisticguru on a flat portion of the course. The roads were not unusually bad, they were not perfect but I have ridden over much worse. Next thing I know I am picking myself up off the ground with my bike underneath me.

According to the doc at the ER I did take a pretty significant shot to the head (blunted by another cracked helmet). That’s it. I suspect my tire got caught in some rut in the road. Once I got up HG insisted on waiting 5 minutes to clear my head. Then we rode back ( the bike was fine only some additional scratches). It was about 10 miles back to Lake Placid.

Though I felt fine, the others at the house(Rambonie, Jennwilltri) insisted I go to the hospital. So Rambonie was kind enough to take me to the ER. There I had Xrays done, and a CT scan to make sure there were no Hematomas or other crazy shit going on in my head. Well aside from the usual crazy shit.
All was clear. I was checked out 3 hrs later with instructions to do nothing for 48 hours. The concussion could cause me to faint. Also exercising could make it worse. Somehow, this prognosis did not change even after I begged that I needed to ride the course one more time! WTF!

Anyhow I was given instructions on what to do for the road rash, which at the moment is by far the most aggravating result from this accident. So here you go how to treat Road Rash:

-Remove old dressings daily and apply new ones
-If the bandage sticks to the wound apply some moisture to help it come of easier
-Keep injury clean and dry at all times
-Apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment 2-3 times daily to help it heal faster and avoid excessive scarring.

No medication was prescribed only Motrin (WTF! What about some good pain meds??!)
That’s it! Nothing special really. But here is some tidbit that is yet ANOTHER BLOW against the Male leg shavers out there!!
One reason I was given as to why cyclists and triathletes shave their legs is that it makes the healing of road rash go easier.

NOT TRUE per the ER doc, in fact it works the other way around. When you shave you expose the bacteria that resides at the roots of the hair. Therefore during an accident you are more likely to get an infection. MORE LIKELY! Take that you male shavers!

Anyhow that’s it. Aside from stating that the road rash is truly uncomfortable, and painful there is nothing more to add, about this.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Buying a used Bike?

I received an emailed question from someone in my home town about buying a used bike, Here was my response:

What is your goal for this triathlon? Are you just looking to have fun and experience a triathlon? or are you a competitive type and want to do really well. If you are looking for the experience only then see if you can borrow a bike, also you can do a tri in a hybrid. I personally prefer someone know what they want before spending any money on a bike. OK so you decide you want a bike.

Then, figure out your budget. Don't go looking for a bike and figure you will pay what you need too. Because you will end up possibly spending more than you want to or have to.
SECOND, go to a bike shop, ask them to tell you what size bike you will need. Bikes come in a variety of sizes. Getting the right size bike is KEY to having a bike properly fit for you. While there look around ask lots of questions, tell them your needs and heck even ask them if they have anything that fits your budget. Generally you can find a decent entry level road bike for about $800 and $1000. See if they have a new bike that fits your budget. I would definitely go with a road bike.

As for where to buy a used Bike, Craigslist, Ebay etc Unfortunately there are not too many bike shops that sell used bikes. At least not in Westchester.

If you go the used bike route, I know people who have had success getting a bike through Craigslist. That is because on Craiglist the ads are normally local and the buyer has been able to see the bike before buying.

Something to consider when you buy a bike used, there are other expenses you may not think about. for example It is recommended to get the bike fit for you. This is a process where the bike shop adjusts the bike for you ( ie handlebars, seat adjustments) so that you get most comfort and power from the bike.That will probably cost you somewhere between $1-200. You probably also have to get it tuned up, thats another $1-200. These costs are already included included when you buy a bike from a shop. That is why I suggest you figure out your budget before bike shopping. Because if you find a bike online for $500 its really going to cost you anywhere between 7-900 by the time you are ready. That is no deal unless you are buying a fantastic bike that would normally cost much more.

Finally, don't worry about aerobars, you wont need them. At least not now if you are a beginner.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

handheld posting

So I am experimenting with posting from my phone. Such is my life that I no longer have enough time to regularly update anything. however I do have 2 hours of a commute to and from work where I sit on a train sleeping, reading, dreaming. figured HEY theres more time I can fill with stuff!

However, the only web connection is through this phone. So hopefully this works.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Ridgefield Triathlon

Great race. Started off the day a bit tired and unmotivated. In fact I got there a bit late and barely had time to setup. I ran into Guru on the bathroom line while she was texting me " where the Freak are you?!" haha. As I said I was pretty nonchalant about the race. Very relaxed.

For breakfast I Had my normal peanut butter on wholewheat slices.

After setting up, Me and Guru went in and warmed up in the water prior to the first wave. I was in the second wave. The weather was perfect, the first wave went off and all looked good. This time for some reason I decided to mix it up with the goons in the mob. So I stuck myself in the middle near the front of the group. This was in fact a very stressful position to be in. Got smacked a few times and I am sure I kicked a few folks too. but I did not get caught up with going crazy at the start and allowed myself to be pulled by the draft. My sighting was Dead-on. I took the inner line and never left it. I literally hit the first bouey with my shoulder. Same with the second. I was steady in my pace and before reaching the first bouey I had past allot of the folks who bulldozed past me and was actually now hitting the first wave of swimmers. When I got out of the water I was in the middle of the previous wave. I think I finished like 9th or 10th in my wave. which was pretty good.

Went into the bike with no complications, and the bike was smooth. I felt great and because it was a sprint I figured to push as hard as I can. The Ridgefield course is slightly hilly but nothing too hard. Mostly Rolling. I was able to average about 18MPH.

I headed out to the run and was not feeling it. But much to my surprise, I managed to pull a 21:50 5k which is something like 7:20 min miles.

When all was said and done I had finished in the top 3rd of both my age group and my race. My buddies at the race did pretty damned goo too, Phil came in 4th in his age group, Pro and coach John Hirsch won the whole damned thing while breaking the course record. And My pal, and OpIron Athlete extraordinaire holisticguru, was in the lead in her age group when she Crashed on the bike. You can read all about it here. Good news is she walked out of it with a smile.