This week I have also been acutely aware of all the little things I take for granted like being able to scratch my nose, get a glass of water, or turn a door knob. I hope I never take little things like that for granted ever again. Ever since her fall I keep thinking maybe I'm going to wake up in the morning and tell Mel "You will not believe the crazy dream I had last night! You fell and broke both your elbows!" I think I've finally admitted to myself that it isn't a dream.
Mel is improving. She can now feed herself and got herself dressed for the first time this morning. I felt like a proud parent. It was a big accomplishment!
I managed to get my sweat on a few times this week which was good.
Wednesday, March 30th 2011: 18 mile bike ride @ 15.1 mph average. This was the most wind I have ever rode in. I was going Superman speed on the way out, then Superslug speed on the way back.
Thursday, March 31st 2011: 3 mile run @ 10:40 minutes per mile pace. It was a beautiful run through the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve.
Friday, April 1st 2011: 31 mile bike ride @ 13.9 mph average. This was my longest ride ever. I did the Leeds loop which I had never done before. I passed Quail Lake which is surrounded by incredible layered red cliffs:
Then my bike started having wardrobe malfunctions. The stupid chain popped off the gears a bazillion times (bazillion = 4) which was aggravating.
Toward the end of the ride I reached a stretch of highway that had a very small shoulder and those huge divots on the side that thump-thump-thump when you drive on them. Apparently as I was cruising down a hill I swerved a little bit on the midget shoulder and hit the divots. I completely lost control and was swerving all over the place.
Keep in mind that cars and semi trucks are speeding by at 60mph roughly seven inches away from you. I got two honks from cars during this section. I figured they weren't giving a friendly Hows-It-Going honk. I felt like I was on the verge of becoming a hood ornament.
By the time I got home, I was FUMING from my near-death experience. I was livid. I vowed to never do the Leeds loop ever again and contemplated throwing my bike in the dumpster. (Don't worry, we are friends again. As long as the chain issue can get fixed.)
When I started biking I swore I would NEVER post a picture of me in my biking clothes. You have to be fairly comfortable with your body to even put this stuff on. But now I give in. Here is a picture of me after my death ride sporting my I'm-Really-Mad-But-I'll-Smile-Anyway smile (which is remarkably similar to my I'm-Really-Happy smile.)
On Saturday, April 2nd 2011 Jackson did his first triathlon which he has been looking forward to for a long time. The family had a blast watching his race:
The distance he chose was a 200 yard swim, 5 mile bike ride, and 1.5 mile run. He finished in 1 hour and 7 minutes and won his age division! And....he was the only one in the age 10 and under age division! It was funny to see him in the starters area amid a crowd of adults. When they announced his name as the winner of the age division, the announcer said "I give this kid mad props for being this young and doing this race!"
I am looking forward to having a much more awesome week starting tomorrow. Yea!
If you ever do decide to throw away your bike, please let me know what dumpster it is in so I can rescue it, I can use a good road bike. I did the sprint tri yesterday on my $100 target bike haha and I hate when my chain slips off, seems to happen once every couple of weeks such a pain luckily no such incidents during my race yesterday.
ReplyDeleteKudos on Jackson finishing the race, the bike portion was one big rolling hill as was the run portion. And he seems to be smiling on the bike, must have just finished that one hill that was like wheeeeeeeee until about half way down when you realized crap I am going to have to ride back up this thing in like 5 minutes. We left during the awards ceremony for the sprint just before 11am so we did see a few of the beginners come in.
I started tearing up when I read about Jackson! That is so amazing- make sure to tell him that he is an inspiration to those he doesn't even know (aka- your blogger friends)! And it says wonderful things about you and your wife- you set amazing examples!
ReplyDeleteDo you do tris?
Well done Jackson!!
ReplyDeleteWell done you!! You're fearless! I'm such a mess on the bike in traffic!
Way to go Jackson! First place in his age group in his first race! What a memory! Glad you didn't throw you bike in the dumpster, you probably would have regretted that later. But get that chain looked at before your next ride. That sounds dangerous. Beautiful pic though - what a cool place to ride.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a chain keeper on your bike? If not you need one. Is it a new bike? Usually after you ride it for a while you need a post break in tune up. They probably need to adjust the front derailer ASAP! Don't throw it away, but don't ride it again until you get it tuned up!
ReplyDeleteThis advice is from my dad (the one that rode his bike across the country) He says you need to cinch up your seat bag up under your saddle, you need a mirror so you can see cars coming behind you without turning around (either one on your handle bars or on your helmet) Oh, I just remembered I have 2 white ones that go on the end of the handle bars so they would match. I'll just give them to you! And the last piece of advice was to be picky about where you ride. Find some wider shoulders.
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