Hello, I know it has been a while…

Sorry for the absence, but one thing I refuse to do is write just for the sake of writing….

This last week has been an interesting time.  My wife, Alison (aka Racingtales) ran the Boston Marathon.  She called me after she finished (3:44) and collected her things.  She was feeling fine, but I really didn’t know what her plans were as she had a number of friends still on the course for whom she could have returned to the finish line to greet.  Within a few minutes of speaking with her, I got a phone call from a friend about the bombing.

A surreal feeling took over.  I called Alison immediately.  Fortunately she was safe in her hotel room two blocks away.  RELIEF…ENORMOUS RELIEF.  For the two hours afterwards, I ran a communications center at the house letting all of our friends and family know she was fine.  I was very touched by the amazing outpouring of concern.

My boys were aware of what happened and they knew their Mom was safe.  But I could visibly see the relief on my older son’s face when he spoke to his Mom.  Knowing that Alison was in Boston resulted in a rough night sleep as my mind played through scenarios of airport closures resulting in a need for me to drive to Boston to get Alison.  Fortunately, this never happened.  Alison called Tuesday morning as she headed to the airport.  Kudos to JetBlue for getting her on the next flight out with all fees waived.

I picked Alison up at National Airport and we got home in time to meet the kids on their way out of school.  Our older son dropped his backpack and ran to Alison as soon as he saw her.  Our younger son did the same a minute later. I hadn’t realized the extent to which they were impacted by the bomb.  Being able to hug their mother made everything seem OK.

Of course, everything is not OK.  We’ve been reminded once again about how precious life is and about how quickly it can be taken away.  I can’t imagine the pain of the Richards’ family whose live were changed forever as their son was killed and daughter severely injured.  This boy could have easily been my son had we traveled to Boston.

We’ve been reminded about how important it is for every single one of us to be vigilant and observant.  We hold the key to our safety by knowing what is going on around us.

We’ve been reminded about how brave and dedicated our law enforcement officers and first-responders are and that they risk their lives (and sometimes sacrifice their lives) for our safety.

We’ve been reminded about how trivial our differences are and how race, religion and even political affiliation become unimportant during times of crises.

Finally, we’ve been reminded about the resolve of our people… the residents of the US.  The people of Boston and the surrounding communities have endured a lot and are standing up to support the victims (as are many around this great country). Many runners, Alison included, have vowed to return to Boston and make next years’ marathon one to remember!

#BostonStrong (and that is not so hard for this Yankees fan to say at times like this).

Pictures…From the Inside

I’ll admit, I’m amazed by modern medicine.  The things that doctors do today, when compared to just a few years ago, are really mind-boggling.  As detailed in my last post, I had arthroscopic surgery a couple of weeks ago and was walking the next day.  Way back in the 1980s, when I was in college, a friend had surgery for a similar problem and was off his feet for a week and then had weeks of rehab due to the invasive nature of the procedure.

Arthroscopic surgery has come so far that the my doctor actually handed me photographs.  Without further delay, here is the inside of my knee:

Medial Meniscus Tear

Amazing how much discomfort that little bugger caused me!  Unfortunately, there is also trochlear arthritis which is inflammation beneath the patella. This is a wear injury and is also likely to be contributing to my pain.  My understanding is not much can be done to relieve this.

I’d have to think that years of playing catcher contributed to this.  All-in-all, the pictures show a knee that is not in bad shape.  The really good news was that my ACL looks great as does my lateral meniscus.

Rehab continues.  The only limitation the doctor gave me is to let pain be my guide plus a suggestion to keep the running distances down…not a problem for me

The Road Back

I got on the treadmill yesterday and walked for 25 minutes.  Then I did minimal weight, high rep leg presses, curls and extensions.  Then I stretched (really) and iced.  Major accomplishment but prior to the doctor’s official approval.  Doctor?  Yep, here is what happened.

In late November I ran with the South Riding Running Club (SRRC) for the very first time.  Even though wife is the past President, and served for 4 years, I never actually ran with the club.  It was a good run and a fast 5 miles for me.  The next day, my left knee hurt.  My knees have hurt before.  In fact, between the ages of 35 and 40 I had 3 arthroscopic procedures on my knees. I recognized the pain.

I wend to my trusted doctor, Dr. Thal, and he noted that I had similar discomfort 2 years prior but PT had helped.  Now, it was MRI time to check what was going on as I had the symptoms of a meniscus tear…..again.  According to Healthwise, as cited on Town Center Orthopaedic’s website:

“…The meniscus is a rubbery, C-shaped disc that cushions your knee….A meniscus tear is usually caused by twisting or turning quickly, often with the foot planted while the knee is bent. These tears can occur when you lift something heavy or play sports. As you get older, your meniscus gets worn. This can make it tear more easily.”

Getting older…check; play sports…check; hurt when twisted…check.  Well guess what the MRI showed? Yep, the MRI confirmed the tear and existence of a flap plus some other wear.  Solution: Surgery to remove the flap and smooth any rough edges.

I waited until after the holidays and for a good time at work to schedule the surgery. The best date was 6 FEB. My prior experience told me that I’d need to be off my leg for 2 or 3 days and then should be able fairly mobile. Wednesday surgery, work from home on Friday and back on Monday.

The surgery went well.  Reston Surgery Center treated me well.  IV in, hydrated, wheeled into OR, anesthesia connected, oxygen mask on….waking up, surgery over.  If you’ve never had surgery, the time from the operating room to recovery felt like it took as long as it did for you to read the last sentence.  Three hours after surgery started I was on my way home.

I slept on and off Wednesday afternoon and iced and elevated my knee.  When my kids got home from school I told them about the surgery.  I didn’t want them to worry.  There really was never pain in my knee from the surgery but the anesthesia effects seemed to linger.  I was sluggish on Thursday and had a low-grade fever.  I started to feel better Friday morning and put in a pretty full day working from home.  On Sunday I started exercising my core and upper body with activities that did not stress my knee.  By Wednesday I was feeling pretty good but squatted to tie something and OUCH.  Not ready for that yet. More ice.

As I’ve not been sleeping well for a variety of reasons (work, knee for a few days, and work) I got up around 4:30 on Thursday, went down to trainer and got on my bike for a short, minimal resistance spin.  It felt pretty good.  That led me to finally consider the treadmill. The knee felt OK, but I still iced it as there is some soreness.  Today I helped out  with my son’s baseball team and squatted again without thinking about it (I was a catcher for a long time) and felt pain again.  More ice.

Overall I think it is doing pretty well.  Tomorrow I see the doctor to get the stitches out and make sure I didn’t screw anything up my doing too much too soon.  I think it will be a good day and am hoping for clearance to swim and continue building up to running.

Message to SRRC: I will be back as I really enjoyed the camaraderie of the run. Thanks!

Lance-a-Liar Chump

Did you watch the Oprah interview with the disgraced cyclist and triathlete?   I watched enough (about an hour over the 2 nights) to get a good feel for the interview.  Here is my amateur analysis and predictions:

• Lance thinks we are still suckers that will believe anything he says
  • NOTE: I was a believer and have read both of his books
• Lance is incapable of showing emotion
• Lance does not really care about how he negatively impacted the lives of others (see Emma O’Reilly, LeMond, Andreau)
• Lance’s responses were thought out as he clearly has a goal of getting back into the public light, making money, and competing again
• Lance is denying doping more recently than 2005 to get back to racing sooner
• Lance has a weird external view of himself.  For example, he rarely demonstrated that he internalized responsibility for his actions by using the first person “I”.  Rather “_____ was hurt by the events” or referring to himself in the person “that person” or “he”.
• Oprah did a good job asking questions
• OWN network will not survive even with this ratings boost.

Bottom line is that Lance Armstrong is now paying for his win at all costs, take no prisoners egotistical attitude.  He is basically a bad person who has done some good (LiveStrong) along the way.

What do you think?

PS  Search YouTube for Lancelot Link Secret Chimp, if you don’t get the title reference (which means you are likely under age 45)

I’m a Private Person, but If Sharing Can Help, I Guess it is OK

In general, I’m a private person.  I really am.  I’ve tried to blog about somethings, but found that I’m not a prolific blogger and try not to fill cyberspace with more trash. I’m not sure if I succeed.  However, over the last 3 months unexpected things have happened to people I know, knew, and hadn’t met that should be mentioned.

Person I know – My friend Janis was bitten by a Tse Tse fly while traveling in Africa in October.  She got back to the states and took herself to the hospital when she didn’t feel well.  After 55 days in intensive care fighting for her life, Janis has been moved to a rehabilitation facility.  She has a long road ahead as African Sleeping Sickness has robbed her of her hands and feet.  I’m just hoping and praying that she can regain her spirit that makes her one of the most wonderful people I know.

Person I knew – My friend Blair, whom I knew since graduate school, passed away unexpectedly 2 weeks ago.  He was a very positive person who touched many lives.  Especially those of his wife of 19 years and his two children, who at 12 and 9 now have to grow up without a father who loved them a lot.  They have a tough road ahead.

People I didn’t meet – The wonderful children, teachers and staff at Sandy Hook.  This is a true tragedy that has rocked many of us, including my wife, as we all like to believe our children are safe at school.  In reality, they are “reasonably safe” but there are weak links in any security procedure.

Our society has a number of weak links including assault weapons being freely available and the lack of awareness and treatment for children and adults with mental illness.  I saw an email notification that my wife posted a story about our son and I cringed.  What was she thinking?!?  This is our issue that we are dealing with!!  We have had many meetings with schools and fought to prevent him from being labeled as a “bad kid” as this would disadvantage a child who is truly intelligent and athletically gifted (Note: biased proud Dad here, but school results, first place ribbons in a swim meet this weekend and playing travel baseball are supporting evidence).  Why would she post this?

But Alison addressed the issue appropriately at racingtales.   We have our hands full and we know it.  If one person reads her blog, or this one, and takes a positive action than it was worthwhile.

For a person who questioned ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder, I am now a strong believer in proper diagnosis and treatment. I am not the father of Adam L. I am the father of Joshua and Daniel and hope that other children with mental disabilities have the insurance and means to support their children, but many don’t.

We all should mourn such a tragedy AND work on ways to prevent this from happening again.

Maybe Things Happen for a Reason (FELT B2 vs B12)

Earlier this year I mentioned that, after much deliberation, I purchased a brand new FELT B12 with Shimano Dura-Ace components.  I was reluctant to spend the money and wondered if there really was a performance difference.  I purchased this bike from my trusted bike shop, Bicycle Outfitters, in Leesburg, VA.  I was very happy with the bike and raced it 3 times.  It genuinely seemed faster than the old FELT S32 I replaced.

B12 Racked for USAT Sprint Nationals, 2012

However, I noticed that at speeds around 30+ MPH the bike wobbled once or twice.  I could replicate the wobble by shaking the bars and assumed it was a characteristic of the carbon bike.  I am also a large rider, riding a 58 and checking in at 205 lbs.  During USAT Spring Nationals I wrecked (yes, I was “that guy”).  The bike had no apparent damage (literally not a scratch as we landed on grass) but I still took it to the bike shop for an inspection.  They confirmed no damage.  Unfortunately a few weeks later the bike fell when it had been leaning against my garage door, scraped bricks on the way down and somehow resulted in damaged carbon.

The guys at Bicycle Outfitters confirmed my fears.  My options: ship to Calfee for repairs or replace the frame.  I contacted Calfee, sent them pictures and received a quote.  Being it was the end of my season, I told Rick at Bicycle Outfitters that I was not in a rush and wanted to see what he could turn up with FELT.  TREK has a published crash replacement policy which includes a discount on the replacement frame purchase but FELT had no published policy.  After about 6 weeks of persistence  Rick finally got a positive response from FELT.  They had two 2012 frame options for me that they would discount due to the circumstances…the bike was only about 6 weeks old.

My options were to pay about the same price as the repair for a duplicate frame or for a few hundred more upgrade to the B2 frame.  The B2 frame differed in that it had stiffer carbon and an integrated front end.  Rick assured me that I’d notice the stiffer ride and would not experience the wobble I had on the B12.  Done!  B2 please (I also figured that as I had to spend additional funds, the B2 frame would have greater value).

Justin at Bicycle Outfitters built the B2 for me by transferring all of the components from the B12.

B2 – Better for the Big Rider

After putting about 100 miles on the FELT B2, I have to say that Rick was right.  This bike with the integrated front bayonet is much stiffer and more stable as I’ve had no wobble nor can I replicate it.  So, did this whole experience happen for a reason?  The way I look at it, I’m riding a safer bike and have significantly reduced the risk of a high-speed accident.

Thanks for working with me Bicycle Outfitters and FELT.

What do you think?

PS  I’m pleased to announce that I’m now sponsored by ICEdot.  Check out their line of safety products.

(Note: As with all of my posts, the opinions expressed here are my own and I did not receive compensation for this post.)

Emotions…YES!!

Last weekend I was reminded about why we should compete in sport: the emotions that sports elicit. As Jim Valvano once said “To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh…. Number two is think… Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. “

I watched my son’s 8U travel baseball team compete on Saturday and Sunday in their season ending tournament. This fantastic group of kids was into every minute of every game. As the championship game ended (on a double play) and they became Champions, they piled onto each other with unadulterated smiles and sheer happiness in their souls. Nothing else mattered. It was an amazing sight.

So when I compete, I try to find just a small piece of that absolute happiness that we all, hopefully, once shared as kids when we had no other worries or concerns.