Game on!

Tomorrow will mark the 4 week anniversary to my crash.

Today I returned to the doctor.  It was kinda of comical in my opinion.  The radiologist remembered me and asked if  I was the one that had the bike crash, right?  She said they had not really seen the broken scapula from a bike crash before and went on to ask about if I had seen my Xray.  Guess I made an impression with that last one!

Then I went upstairs to see my ortho doc, Mr. Susan Joy with the Cleveland Clinic who I had picked when I broke my radius last year (mtb crash at Ray's MTB).  She has been great if anyone ever is looking for someone to go to as she specializes in women's sports injuries.

She had a couple other people shadowing her and pulled up my Xrays and asked what I had been doing activity wise.  I mentioned I was biking indoors, running and I could not take it anymore and rode my bike outside this weekend (I left out the fact that it was 149 miles of riding...more on that later).

I was shocked that my xray really did not look that different than before.  It was still very visibly apart on today's Xray but you could see some light shadowing where it must be healing.  They felt my shoulder blades and clearly you can still feel that the left had a bone still sticking out a bit.  Then she put me through some tests: both arms out, push my hands up as she held them down and similar other ones to see where I was at.  Those got a few comments like, "Wow, amazing", "Unbelievable," and "You're tough!".

She said obviously I was healing fast and that I could resume activities but of course told to listen to my body and probably would want to hold off weights and be careful with yoga type stuff like planks as that would load the area too much.

She also said I could start swimming again and in fact it would probably be good for it.  They also gave me exercises to use with a band to build those muscles around the scapula area.  Follow-up in 4-6 weeks to make sure healed properly.

So pretty good news there!  I was already thinking swimming was in the near future after playing around at my friend's place (pictured) below where I had taken some strokes without difficulty on Saturday.

So back to the biking...I RODE MY BIKE OUTSIDE THIS WEEKEND!!!  (Picture me doing cartwheels about that).  I had planned to wait until after today's Dr. visit but I could not wait any longer.

The plan was to do a test ride by myself to make sure I could ride with a group over the weekend.  It was not much of one as the storm decided to blow in right as I was clipping in but I decided I figured that I was ready!

Some local Bike Authority Fleet Feet teammates were all riding early Saturday and I really wanted to ride with my ole riding buddies so that was the plan.  Yes, this ride would be one of those "straight into the frying pan" days, being it was my first ride back and most of these people were in peak cycle but I did not care.  I just wanted to go!

I met ST out in Mantua just before 5AM.  I hooked up my lights but it was a bit darker (or shall I say, pretty much pitch black) when we started.  To be honest, it was slightly nerve-wracking not being able to clearly see the road, hoping to avoid any issues.  In the end it was fine, fresh pavement on 82 led to a nice smooth ride out to meet the rest of the gang.   Then the 5 of us made our way out towards Brunswick where ST and ES really started their hammerfest.  I hung on with some effort, so I was pleased that perhaps I did not lose too much over my little hiatus.  Over the course of the day, I mainly hung back trying to make sure I did not overdue it and was just content to get the miles in.  ST and I peeled off so we could make the way back to Mantua and before 9:30 am, we had rode 78 miles!  It was GOOD TO BE BACK!

My legs definitely felt a bit tired and heck I was tired from waking up at 4AM in the morning to ride that day but after a rather late Saturday, I was determined to ride again on Sunday with the Cleveland Touring Club.  The plan was 75 miles of hills but at a relatively conservative pace.  I really thought my alarm clock was playing a mean joke on me when I awoke, but I wearily got up and dragged my heavy sore legs down the stairs to head out for more biking fun!

A few definitely seemed shocked to see me there so soon.  We rode out of Mentor Memorial Middle School and I think we rode every single nasty hill around the greater Kirtland area.  It was a great morning to ride and I got to ride a lot of hills I have never rode, along with quite a few other hills I remembered altogether too well as they had left an impression on me before!  I really had no zip but I pushed through the miles, taking care not to overdue it and just trying to get in the miles.  As we made a stop at N Chagrin nature center where I was gulping down my favorite, First Endurance Fruit Punch EFS, I learned the route was 86 miles, not the 75 miles I thought.  So in the interest if time, GG and I split from the group and made our way back.  I wrapped up with 71 miles Sunday for my grand weekend total of 149 miles.  Not too shabby for my first outdoor biking weekend back!

I really need to get my garmin plugged in to see Sunday's elevation profile!  The biking did not bother my scapula to speak of, so that is good!  Now I just need to get back to full strength as I do feel a bit behind with the intensity of the workouts, but I'm trying to get my base back safely first and most importantly not overdue it.  Super stoked about all the progress!  I think to mark my official 4 week anniversary, I will have to head out with the Tuesday night group tomorrow night!

Last but not least, congratulations to all my Trakkers teammates on REV3 Portland finishes!  Sounded like an awesome race!