Update

So I figure I would give an update to how things are going.
A couple of days ago I got on my trainer for the first time since the accident. I felt horrible. I had a major headache and my shoulder hurt a lot. My legs were very flat and it took all I had to just put in an easy spin for 45min.
Then on Friday I tried again to ride the trainer after work. I felt a lot better and was able to ride for an hour and went a little harder than the day before.
Saturday I felt pretty good. My legs felt good so I rode for 1.5 hrs. I did a couple of hard efforts and was able to hang on to the handle bars. The first day I rode I wasn't able to hang on to the bars at all. It was very difficult to ride with one hand. At least now I can hold on with two hands but I'm still unable to really use my right arm yet.
The past couple of days it has been really nice out. The sun is shining and the temps have been well into the 80's and I've been stuck riding inside on a trainer. How much does that suck? Today it's supposed to even warmer and on Monday it's supposed to hit 90. All I know is it's going to be very hot in my apartment while I ride on the trainer and look out the window at the nice weather. Hopefully I will be able to go outside soon.

Here is a photo of my current setup which I will be spending my time for the next few weeks. I don't have much space in my apartment so I've had to put my trainer right up against a wall. It works for now but I really want to ride outside. Maybe I'll put the trainer outside in the parking lot so that I can get some sun. It's so depressing to ride inside when it's so nice out.

AC Shoulder Separation

So I went to the doc the other day to check out my shoulder that I injured during the bike race in Sunapee, NH. I found out that I have a Grade 3 AC joint separation. See the photo below.

A grade 3 separation is a complete separation of the joint. The acromioclavicular ligament, the coracoclavicular ligaments, and the capsule surrounding the joint are torn. Without any ligament support, the shoulder falls under the weight of the arm and the clavicle is pushed up, causing a bump on the shoulder which was very obvious in my x-rays that I had taken at the doc office. At this point they don't recommend surgery but just rest and some mobility exercises. It has been really painful especially when I try to eat, take a shower, or get dressed. I've been on some pretty good pain killers but should try to get off of them as soon as possible. The doctor said that I have to wear a sling for a few weeks and will not be able to put any weight on that arm for at least a month. This means I will not be riding my bike outside for a while. He did say I can ride the trainer inside as long as I don't put to much force on that shoulder. I also asked him when he thought I could race again and he said probably not till August. I'm really upset and depressed. I worked hard all spring to be in the best shape to do well and now that the season is just getting underway I'm decommissioned. It's really frustrating and I'm really upset about it. I put in months of hard training to just have it all be worth nothing. Hopefully I will recover soon and I will be able to do some late summer/fall races.

I tried taking a picture of my shoulder last night but wasn't very successful. Here is the best one that I was able to get but it's not great. I might try again but it's pretty hard taking a picture of yourself.

Gambit's Last Photo

This photo was taken on Mother's Day 05-14-06. It was the last time that I saw my loving dog. On Thursday, May 18, 2005, Gambit had some sort of a stroke or seizure and lost control of his body. He was unable to walk or be himself. He was taken to the town vet where he was laid to rest. He had been struggling for a while and had battled cancer but had lived through it. He was a puppy right up to the weeks before he started to get sick again. He would run and run and loved being at our camp. He kept my grandmother and grandfather company during the day while we worked. He was really old when he passed away but lived a great life. He is going to be missed so much. He was loved dearly and he would show his love back for everyone he knew. It's hard to think that he is gone and I'm going to miss him so much. Hopefully he is at peace wherever he is and I hope he is still running like he used too.

Race From Hell

This past weekend I headed to Sunapee, NH for the Relative hilly road race. I was heading to the race with my buddy, Tom Gosslin. He was picking me up at 5am for the 3 hr journey. I had set my alarm for 4 am and headed to bed all packed and pretty much ready to go. The next morning is where the day started off bad and I should have figured it would end worse, but I was hopeful. I awoke that morning, not to my alarm but to the sound of Tom's truck in my parking lot. Not good. My alarm never went off and it was already 5 am. I ran around my apartment, getting dressed and filling my bottles with water. Luckily I was mostly ready to go. We were able to get on the road 10 min later which wasn't bad at all. After a few pit stops we made our way to Sunapee. The weather looked good. It was partly cloudy but windy with a few nasty looking clouds in the area. It never did rain, which was sweet. I was doing another Cat4 race with 100 registered racers. My race started off fairly easy. There was a group of 4-5 racers that broke away right at the start but we never let them out of site. I moved around the pack for awhile. On the hills I would move to the front and stay there for a while then I would end up at the back again where I would hang out and eat. We caught the break on the back side of the lake on the hilly section of the course. After one lap the pace was steady, not ballistic but fast enough to keep the group together and to drop a few who couldn't stay on on the hills. The second lap was a bit faster and we went a little harder up the hills. On one of the large hills I made my way to the front third of the group and wanted to stay there as we made our way back to the finish. Somewhere on 103A is were the race ended for me. We had just fished a climb and was heading down a hill at over 30mph when there was a crash right in front of me which at least 15-20 racers went down. I don't know what happened but I had no time to slow down. I did have a choice of either running straight into the crashed racers or veer left and try and avoid the carnage. I went left but ended up leaving the road and hitting a very soft gravel shoulder. I ended up going straight over my handle bars and hitting my shoulder first then my head. I was able to get right up and I got my bike and tried to continue the race but realized my front wheel was all messed up and wouldn't turn. I then tried to pick up the front of my bike to get a new wheel but couldn't pick it up or move my right arm at all. At that point I started to realize something was wrong and I started to get really dizzy and feel really sick. Then the pain started. A spectator helped me over to the follow vehicle and they called an ambulance. I didn't really want one but they insisted. Once the EMT's got there they checked me out, put me on a stretcher, and brought me to the hospital. They said that my right shoulder was out by at least 3-4 inches and might be broken. The ambulance ride was short but I got some good pain killers on the way. They didn't last long though. At the hospital the doc pulled on my arm and I felt a big pop. They did some x-rays and found nothing broken but I’m unable to move my arm at all. They told me that I probably tore all the tendons and ligaments in my shoulder. By now it had been a few hours and I was starving plus I figured Tom was wondering where I was. The hospital got me a lunch tray which was disgusting and Tom finally found out where I was and made his way to the hospital. Well after I ate the sherbet and a piece of chicken they finally said I could go home. They gave me some pain killers, which was a big hassle to obtain. Tom was very helpful. He got all my gear and bike which was just sitting in the hospital lobby and we made our way back to Maine. After a stop at subway to get some food so I could take some pain killers and forget about my shoulder for a while. We finally got home around 4:30pm. I was all drugged up and exhausted. After a very painful shower I passed out on my couch just wishing it was all a dream but as a awoke the next morning I realized that it did in fact happen and my arm is all messed up. Even today I am unable to move my right arm and I’m in more pain than I have ever been in my life. I'm really frustrated and I hope I will be back on the bike soon but think its going to a long hard struggle.