Progress Report

I just realized that I haven't written about any progress lately, so I'm here to change that!

Bike: the doctor told me I couldn't go upstairs or ride a bike at the end of March. Not long after that, I got mad. Had a bit of a temper tantrum, thinking it was dumb not to do something I really loved just because one part didn't work (since switching from the cane to crutches, I find that my "good" leg does pretty well.. almost normal!). So, knowing many MacGyver-like people, I posted as such on Facebook and asked if anyone thought they could take off the left pedal and make some kind of perch for that foot. I did have such a person, who immediately spoke excitedly to me about what he was planning. It was really great to be able to share that kind of excitement about something... I'm not saying I entirely understood it all, but I caught enough details to figure out what the rest meant ;) It's still getting some finishing touches, but I should get Raptor back soon! For my part, I decided to make my own foot strap for the remaining pedal. I was at the store getting more paracord for my many projects (shameless plug: etsy.com/shop/somethingaboutdesign) and came across a bright green paracord called Dragonfly... and it would just so happen to match Raptor quite nicely. I needed this paracord for many reasons! Anyway.. I am lucky enough to be borrowing another bike that I was able to craft the pedal strap on and be able to rest my foot on the frame to test it out. The first ride was supposed to be a couple miles, but turned into 5.5.. and felt like 20. I know, I know, I haven't ridden in a while, I'm using only one leg, and I'm now using the whole freakin' leg, but holy crap I didn't feel that tired the first time I made it to 40 miles! So now I can ride to the kayak place rather than drive. And I've been on a few rides already (I just made the strap on Thursday).


Kayak: There's a kayak rental in my new neighborhood. It's $15 an hour. I can handle that once or twice a week! I've gone a couple times and they just let you loose in the lake, so it's fun to wander around discovering new things. There's a shipwreck, lots of wetland areas, and last week I discovered a tank sticking up out of the water in the middle of one part of the lake. I've only gone by myself for an hour at a time so far, but I can see staying out there longer if someone joins me in the future.


Crutches: I touched on this earlier, so I figure I should give a few more details. A few months ago, I realized my "good" leg was getting worse and the cane didn't provide enough support. After talking to a couple people about forearm crutches, I decided it was worth a shot. After using them for just a month, my "good" leg improved immensely and confirmed my suspicion that it was just tired of pulling more than its own weight. Unfortunately, I'm still using the most basic crutches available.... my mom made them a bit more comfortable, but I'm still dreaming of some new ones that I can't quite afford at the moment. Someday I will have some pretty purple crutches! Or purple and orange.. or blue... I kind of want all three colors so I can mix and match my days.


Tsunami: Not much to report here. I finally wrote up my training schedule for the upcoming races, including next year's Dopey. And then the rubber on the right rim started to come off during a run. While I was trying to figure out how to get that fixed, in a completely unrelated accident, I sprained some fingers. Coincidentally on the same side as the problem rim. It made the rim thing a bit less maddening, but also took away pretty much everything else I do (I found some fun new projects though!). But before all that happened, I was able to get in some speed work and had some consistent 7 minute miles. Hopefully with all the cross training I've had to do (I'm afraid of the hitting part still) I'll come back even stronger when I finally get back to it.


Medi-Cal: In more exciting news, I'm finally insured again and will be able start up my fight for diagnosis and treatment again. Hopefully with someone that actually wants to help me this time!