Taking it easy

Yup, just like the song by the Eagles (and I'll admit to the fact that I had to do a google search to figure out exactly who sung it.. and it turns out the song is called "Take It Easy" but you get the gist!), I've been taking it easy the past week or so.

Last Sunday's crash left me with a few bruises here and there, a rather large one on my right leg just below the knee:


.. but the main thing that's been causing me grief is my ribs. Turns out going over the top of the bars and landing on your front isn't such a good idea. And while I have a fair bit of "cushioning" on top, it hasn't stopped my upper ribs/chest on my right side from hurting this past week.

It was a good thing that I was scheduled for an "easy" training week this week! I sure needed the break. Monday was a nice, easy spin on the windtrainer while I avoided the wind and rain outside. Tuesday was a day off. Wednesday was supposed to be run but Lisa wanted some company on her MTB ride so I tagged along. Probably not such a good idea! As soon as the trail pointed uphill and I started breathing a bit harder, my chest hurt. For a while I could put up with it but towards the end of the last climb, I really had to back off the intensity and try to control my breathing with slower breaths just so each intake of air didn't hurt so much. Owiee :(

That evening, I went for a walk/run down Deliverance as Scotty and a few of his mates were heading down there and I wanted to test out the video camera. Turns out Deliverence when wet is also quite difficult to run/walk! It might have actually been easier on the bike than it was in my running shoes (which upon closer inspection, had very little tread on the bottom).

So Wednesday night/Thursday morning saw me lying in bed in quite a bit of pain. I couldn't sleep on my side because it hurt, so I had to resort to sleeping on my back (something I never do). Any movement made me feel slightly nauseous with the chest ouchiness. Woe is me indeed.

I decided to take Thursday and Friday off the bike. Good move in hindsight I've decided. Saturday I headed out for a nice gentle MTB ride with Scotty. The uphills hurt my chest, but not as bad as Wednesday. The downhills were a bit skittery - I guess the crash has knocked my confidence a bit. I was on the Nomad because I felt like having a bit of fun, but it wasn't particularly enjoyable. On Sunday, I met a friend for a ride. That morning, Scotty had taken apart my Superlight to put new bearings in, only to find out that the bearing kit we received wasn't quite right - uh oh! Guess it's time to take the Nomad out for another ride. A couple of minor adjustments to the bike fit (changed seat position, put a bit more air in the tyres, took some air out of the forks), and the bike was riding a lot better. The uphills weren't too bad, and I was surprised at how climbable the Nomad was, even on the technical stuff that normally I struggle to get up on the Superlight sometimes! I had a lot more fun on the descents that day too - I guess sometimes it doesn't take as long to recover mentally from a crash than to physically recover!

So that brings us to this week. Yesterday I went for a road ride with the Capitelles womens road cycling group - a nice, social bunch of women to go riding with. Today I'm heading for an easy MTB ride once dinner settles. Another MTB ride on Wednesday, road ride on Thursday, day off Friday, MTB on Saturday, and then it's the Makara Peak Rally on Sunday. Fingers (and toes) crossed my ribs/chest will be feeling better by then!