Pure Pain

Two weeks ago I took a crash at Fountainhead and tore up my left forearm and left leg fairly well.  The crash ended up being in a patch of poison ivy.  Not very pleasant, but at this point it has mostly healed.  The unfortunate part is the pain isn't done.

Doc says I may have cellulitis in my forearm now which is infinitely more painful than the poison ivy.  A little cephalexin here, prednisone there, topped off with hydrocodon is hopefully the winning combination.  Today is the first full pain day, but it started last night.  This could very well be the most continuous pain I've felt in my life. Last night I slept for exactly 0 minutes.  That was the first time in a long time that I stayed awake all night.  I'm sure if the pain would subside, I'd take a really long nap right now.

Yesterday was a pretty good day.  I was feeling pretty fatigued from the get-go when I had a tennis match in the am.  Michelle and I got creamed by Rob and Brooke.  After that, we came home because the pool was closed. We hung out and had a good day.  Around 5:20pm I was able to get on my bike and spend 3.5 hours pedaling around Wakefield/Accotink.

I first went through Wakefield on the maintained trail, past the dam and up the off-road trails.  It was a good ride to the end, and then back around to Pickett Road.  Up the big hill at Picket and I had a new idea  .... let's take this a few more times.  So I pedaled up and zoomed down 5x.  Then for the first time, I took the trail back to Wakefield Park and spent some time off-road.  Then back to the dam and the Accotink off-road trails and eventually back home. 

That was an aggressive 3.5 hours, but it is still only 1/3 of the way of the Wilderness 101.  That ride is in a mere 19 days and my health is not helping me.  I'm hoping to get a few more long rides if I can.  Then we will simply tough that ride out as best I can.  I need some good luck.

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First Blood - Fountain Head

This afternoon I set out for more training for the Wilderness 101.  My goal was 3 laps around the Fountainhead mountain bike trail.  I've ridden this trail 3x previous with pretty good success.  I have even renamed the ominous Shock-O-Billy Hill to Speed-O-Billy because I just haul down it.  OK, a little caution on the first half, then it's off the brakes.

The trail is about 8 miles and just beats the tar out of you from beginning to end.  I have to say that I'm pretty tired of riding over roots at this point.  The first lap was just getting my legs under me and warming up.  The 2nd lap I really picked it up.  One of the longer straightaways I honestly took a little too fast.  I think it was either my front or back bike tire that was hitting the trail every 5 feet.  It was one bouncy affair.  I'd like to name this section Nutcracker Run.

I took a bypass that a dude told me about on the first lap.  It's a short section that brings you to Woodpecker Hill.  This hill got me as it's REALLY steep but short.  I didn't make it up, but I got even on the 2nd lap as I smoked this hill.  

The third lap started to get me a bit fatigued.  Cardiac Hill got me on this loop as I was indecisive on my line up the hill and a root caused me to get thrown to the right.  I never thought about it before, but my Camelbak acts like a cushion when falling on one's back.  Fortunately, the ravine on the right wasn't too steep so I only slid a little with my bike on top of me.  Those shoe clips really work.

Later on there are boardwalks designed to test one's riding skill.  Fountainhead has raised platforms about 3 feet high.  The boardwalk comes at the top of a hill and I decided to give it a go.  I was quite pleased with myself with making the entrance ramp onto the boardwalk given that it's at the top of a hill and kinda steep.  I rode around the length of one, then rode up another one.  I was at the end of the second boardwalk and feeling quite happy with myself.  

My 3rd lap and I just completed two boardwalks that really kinda scared me.  I distracted myself with my "King of the Universe" thoughts and took the exit ramp for granted.  Holey Crow that is steep.  I was not paying attention.  I had too much speed and did a nose dive straight into the dirt.  Unfortunately, my speed kept me skidding as I rolled to my left.  I remember grinding my left elbow and left leg along the dirt and rocks.  

Boardwalk Example

Pain is an interesting phenomenon.  All my fatigue, sore hands, sore neck and everything else took a complete back-seat to the pain that emanating from my elbow.  You don't feel the pain immediately, as I laid on the ground wishing this hadn't happened.  I picked myself up, looked around to see if anyone had seen me, but there wasn't another sole on the entire trail.  I started riding again and then the wave came.  Oh man, it really hurt.  Not just because I ripped up myself, but the sweat and salt was in the abrasions.  I was ready for this ride to be over.  I rode really fast for the remainder of the ride.

I've got a couple photos below of the boo-boo's.  Believe me, the elbow hurts a lot more than it may look.  My leg is more scraped up than shown, but I'd like to keep this PG-13.  Despite the advertising on the Bactine bottle, it really DOES STING!!!

It has a lot more ooze now.

Scraped pretty good, but not a lot of pain.

Update July 15:  Turns out that fall wasn't just into dirt.  It was a patch of poison ivy.  Half of my left forearm was covered in it.  It was pretty painful, but I toughed it out with some Gold Bond.  What I couldn't predict was the infection that would occur 1 week after the poison ivy was pretty much healed.  This felt like a blow torch on my forearm.  An ER visit later I got some vicodin, prednisone and cephalex to heal that up.  That episode was incredibly painful but I'm pretty good now.

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Elbow pain

Just a note to say the latest issue is the right elbow. It hurts playing tennis, or even putting on my belt sometimes. This year has been a little rough with injuries, including stabbing myself in the hand and cutting a bifurcated tendon.

Although, my feet are feeling much better. I don't have to wear shoes in the house to prevent discomfort. Getting 41 is hard, and playing tennis with Adam on the court doesn't make me feel any younger.

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