The Fat Guy is depressed, part II

So it seems I might have a damaged disk in my back. Great. All these years of dealing with tendon problems, I finally get past them (with the help of the greatest chiropractor/massage therapist/ART practitioner in the world), and now my lower back is damaged, permanently. I really don't know how I'm going to deal with this...I mean, I've worked hard, and spent a lot of time saving money to buy these ridiculously expensive bicycles, and now I have lower back pain if I ride more than ten miles. At about 15.5 mph.

I had been planning to slow down, anyways...I have/had this plan to just do LSD (long slow distance) rides, for the rest of the year. My goal was to not exceed a 15 mph average for the rest of the year, solely working on getting used to a higher constant cadence, in the 90-100 rpm range, and developing the soft/connective tissue in my knees and ankles, which I've had many problems with in the past. Then, hit the weights in the winter, while riding the rollers when it's too cold to go out, then start doing serious intervals, hill repeats, etc, next spring.

Why do I think I have a disk problem, you ask? Well, it started a couple months ago...my back just started hurting a little, down low, right at the top of my pelvis, so I found a good chiropractor, who understands the stresses a cyclist goes through, and made an appointment. Saw him twice, my back felt great, off I went. Couple months later, my back is bothering me again, but not badly, so I ignore it. Then, one morning I woke up, and my back was mangled. My girl later told me I was sleeping in a weird position (thanks for not giving me a shove, hon!), and it must have been a bizarre one, cause I've been twisted ever since. It mainly seems to bother me when I drive...which is unfortunate, cause I drive a ton. I get out of the car, and I'm bent over like an old man for 5-10 minutes. So I go see the chiro again, he breaks up some scar tissue in the muscle in my lower back, cracks me up, and off I go (planning to see him a week later). That was on a wednesday. The following friday, I went for a ride, in the Atlantic Highlands. If you look at the link, you'll see it was a slow average speed ride, but that's because there were lots and lots of 18-20% grades. On one of these grades my back went out on me a little, and I felt a pain shooting down into my leg. When I told the good doctor about it, he said that sounded symptomatic of a disk problem. Which, as you might imagine, is absolutely the last thing I wanted to hear. That was last wednesday, it's now Sunday, and my lower back is sore, but it's more soreness in the muscle, where he worked on me...which he told me to expect. Outside of that, no shooting pains, or anything.

My one real hope is, I've also been dealing with a groin injury...and the shooting pain might actually have been that. I'm not fooling myself here, it really was that area that was giving me trouble the rest of the day. Not a lot to hang my hat on, I know, but...I gotta have a little hope. But I figure about a 75% chance that I do have a disk issue. Of course, I'm a pessimist.

Next stop - MRI-ville!

Ouch

Ok, yeah, haven't been posting much, but real life has intervened quite a bit, and let's face it - I really have nothing to say anyways.

Nonetheless, I feel compelled to write now and again, and so here it is. I've pretty much lost all the fitness I gained while training last spring...put back on 10 disgusting pounds...and even more fun, I've managed to mangle myself. I don't know how, exactly, but I'm definitely hurting. My left achillies tendon, my right knee, and worst of all, my back. My lower back. Shooting pains down into my right leg. Now, my chiropractor, who's by far the best in the world, has assured me that it's just a little compression, and a couple of adjustments and some appropriate home-based exersise will fix me right up. And, that cycling won't make it worse. So I went for a ride yesterday, with a couple guys from my LBS.

The ride took place in the Atlantic Highlands region of NJ, and was actually a very cool ride, except for the pain. Oh yeah, pain. Back pain, plus 10 extra pounds, plus...20% grades (!), equals pain. And Rog slowing up the group. Yikes...all of a sudden, 10% grades seemed like nothing. I'm starting to think, though, that it's important for me to be on the bike A LOT more, and for a purpose - to make next year much more enjoyable. So I think the rest of the year is going to be spent spinning, at ridiculously slow speeds. I'm setting a goal of not averaging more than 15 mph for the rest of the year, and hopefully get in at least 150 mile per week. That won't be easy, as I just joined yet another band, but hey, without a goal to not live up to, I'd have no reason to have my own blog.

And that right there, is enough for me.