On Saturday (the 13th) I started out with a big group of my training buddies from the Maryland Farms YMCA. People were going all different distances....I was going to go 92 with Rolf, Lisa, Kathleen, and Bert. The ride was fantastic. We went a route that I had never gone before which was rolling hills and several flat stretches of road. We ended up in Murfreesboro and then we headed back towards Nashville. At some point we got a little lost. We ended up going down a road named Gosey Hill Rd but we went the wrong direction so at the end we stopped at the bottom of the hill and talked to a farmer who was outside. After several minutes of conversation we knew our error and realized we needed to go back down Gosey Hill the way we had just come down.
When I turned my bike around to get started again I forgot that my gearing was in downhill gearing so when I clipped in and tried to go up the hill my feet wouldn't turn the pedals over. I couldn't get my feet out of my clips either so I pretty much fell over to my left and caught all 170 pounds of me and my bike on my outstretched left arm. I think at the time my pride hurt worse than my arm...but I did have a "moment of silence" while I was trying to figure out what I had done and if the pain in my arm was bad news. I knew I had done something to it but I really thought I had just jammed it hard. Nothing had popped or cracked and nothing was sticking out of the skin so I thought I was ok. I got back up on the bike (in the correct gearing this time) and we started down Gosey Hill Rd. I was ok for a while laying down in aero position but then I realized I couldn't squeeze my brakes or change my gears. When I tried to sit up on my bike I couldn't put any pressure down on my handlebars so the better position was down in aero position.
After about 8 miles or so we got to a major intersection where the light had turned red. I hopped off my bike, thankful for the rest, and then the light turned green. I went to hoist myself back up on my bike and pain shot through my arm that made me say some words that I won't type here. And that's when I cried. It hurt but I was also afraid of falling again. I had no control over the bike and braking was an issue. About 2 miles later we found ourselves at a Food Lion. I cried some more and then my training buddies took good care of me. Lisa was already on the phone to find me a ride...Kathleen was buying me water and calming me down...Bert was on ice duty....Rolf was on Advil duty. Liz Wilson came to my rescue and picked me up and took me to the Vanderbilt Walk-in Clinic. They all took great care of me when I needed it...not that I expected anything different....they are awesome people.
After 3 hours at the walk-in clinic I was told that I had cracked the head of my radius which is the biggest bone in your lower arm. The crack is basically in my elbow. The good thing is that I have very dense bones (thanks Mom) and the doctor said that had anyone else fallen like I did their arm probably would have snapped. I walked out of the walk-in clinic with a sling and a brace from my wrist to my shoulder...and to see Kathleen, Lisa, Bert, and Rolf waiting for me. We immediatley notified the masses via Facebook of my fall and the outcome which started the phone calls to stream in. Technology is amazing!
I went to Dr. Chris Stark yesterday at the Bone & Joint Clinic to get the verdict on my arm and training. Luckily I don't have to have a cast put on and i'll just be in a sling for a few weeks. I can ride my indoor trainer immediatley, I can run in 1 1/2 - 2 weeks, but I can't use my left arm to swim for 6 weeks....but I can use the rest of my body to swim so I'll figure that out. I've talked to all of my coaches and everyone thinks I'll be ok for Ironman Louisville in August. I'm a strong swimmer so I'm not worried about missing 6 weeks of practice. I could probably use the extra bike time anyways. I trust that my coaches and Dr. Stark (who is a fellow triathlete) will know what is best for me so I'm just going with what they say. The only other thing that hurts are the significant bruises on my inner thighs where I apparently squeezed my legs together as I was going down. When I hit the pavement my bike seat bruised the heck out of me. It looks like I have been pelted with softballs on my legs...very cute look if you ask me.
So that's that....I was complaining about not having much to blog about and this is what I get! We'll see how I settle into this modified training...just have to keep plugging along and hope for the best!
