Entries by Josh

It's been, like, a long time since I've gone for a run. Nancy said something about 5 miles of hill training and I figured WHAT COULD GO WRONG.

We took off right after I got home, sweaty from racing some dude up Cole's Creek Rd on my bike commute home (unbeknownst to him). I should have been drinking more water throughout the day, but I somehow did not die as we ran up and down the hills of Superior Rd. Heck of a climb for an after-work jog though.

Oh, while I'm at it here, I did visit the orthopedist back on the 28th. No x-ray snapshot to share with you this time, but the doctor said that there's definitely bone filling in the fracture gaps, which is great news as it proves that it's healing as it should. Or in his terms, there's "radiological evidence of bone regeneration".

So I don't have to come see him again unless something unusual happens or my shoulder starts hurting. The plate can come out a year from my surgery if all goes well (and I end up wanting it out) but until then I'm SECRET TITANIUM MAN.

I survived the Surgeon 100.

I did the metric race, which was "100" kilometers through the Ottawa National Forest including plenty of climbing in and out of the Sturgeon River Gorge. My (unofficial) time was 5:24:31, which seems like long time to be on a bike riding through the woods, but honestly didn't feel too bad. That time put me somewhere around 5th out of 14 for the metric, depending on how you count the guys from Minnesota who started in the wrong time zone (heh). Which was pretty amazing to me, as my goal was just to finish before the course cut-off.

This photo was at the roll-out on Forest Highway 16. I just eked ahead of the second pack of riders at about Mile 5, and that was my position for the rest of the race. Kinda lonely, but then nobody else had to endure me singing the many ass-soreness-themed songs I came up with.

My ride was a 2010 Redline Conquest cyclocross bike, and it made the trip with no complaining. The gearing was a bit steep for me on this course (36-27 is my low gear), but I made it only having to walk for a big sandy area. Hills were a serious challenge though, and a few rocky sections had me wishing for a mountain bike. At least I was faster than this guy:

Besides being hilly, the course ranged from sandy to rocky to loose gravel. The cyclocross bike made the best of the gravel rollers, and before my enthusiasm for being in the woods could pass through bordeom to utter contempt, I was making the turn back onto the pavement for the final five miles.

I was cheered at the finish area, and was promptly administered a delicious pulled pork sandwich by Dr. Jen. A few beers and some stretching had me feeling pretty good, and I enjoyed hanging out and listening to the war stories of fellow racers.

Thanks to James and Heather - this was a great race. Thanks also to Nancy, who calmed my pre-race nerves and cheerled for me at the half-way checkpoint. I'll definitely be back next year!

Between work, home projects, and bike commuting 16-25 miles a day, running has fallen a bit on the priority list.

Hey neat, for as horrible as Endomondo's website is, I can get a nice SVG out of it. This is my bike commuting mileage since I started keeping track:

Anyway, I'm trying to stay on the local leaderboard for the National Bike Challenge 2013. Exhausting.

Nancy ran the Journeys Half Marathon in 2:08:27, which was awesome.

I ran the Journeys 5K in 28.38, which was hilarious but acceptable given zero training.

I have photos somewhere.

Thank you for your attention. 

Today was my last scheduled appointment with my orthopedic surgeon, though I think I'll schedule one more since they're apparently free with the purchase of $20,000 worth of surgery. My clavicle isn't completely healed yet, but it's progressing as expected. In another month I should be as normal as I ever was.

I totally forgot to do this:

"So, doc, can I do cartwheels now?"

"Sure."

"Holy shit, I've never been able to do cartwheels!"

This was slightly more exciting than it looks.

Oh yeah, my shoulder. Kinda forgot about this whole thing because moving has completely taken over my brain.

I had my last PT appointment today, and I'm officially done! My progress has been good, and I've earned the Small Flashlight of Completion:

So, back to normal activity short of swinging things like splitting wood or pounding stakes. That puts my Lumberjack World Championship training on pause, but means I no longer have a good excuse for not doing most of my chores.

Meeting with my doctor next week, when hopefully I'll have some shiny new x-rays to share.

I thought my chest looked more ample than before.

So now I know what the going rate is for a chunk of surgical titanium and some screws.