Dennis B Murphy
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Blog: Thoughts and Commentary
August 2008
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8.25.08 Last week was a frustrating and not as productive as I would have liked. I spent the week in Chihuahua for my job. I flew down Monday morning and arrived at the plant mid-day. I was there with a couple colleagues. Karen was simply visiting to get familiar with the operation and Bob had GM in for a launch review. I was supposed to get some parts shipped to work on their failure modes with Javier but they did not arrive during the whole week. To make matters worse, I got sick for the first time while visiting, though I cannot say if it was simply a random virus or if the cause was rooted in water or food there. I don't drink out of the tap, always using bottled water, though in one instance I poured the bottled water onto ice. In any event, I didn't really feel any discomfort until Thursday morning. My symptoms really didn't have any gastro-intestinal related nature, but essentially I had a fever and chills and was simply extremely tired. I ended up going back to the hotel and went to bed about 230pm. At one point I was concerned enough hat at 730pm I got dressed and went to the lobby. I asked the hotel desk attendant to call the local CIMA hospital to see if they accepted my insurance, but got no answer as the people on the other end of the line could not say...(I intend to correct this gap in knowledge well in advance of any future trip). So back bed, piling on extra blankets and sweating out the fever. I awoke off and on over the course of time to watch a little television only to fall back to sleep. The net result was that after going to bed at 230pm and getting up at 630am the next day, I'd been out of commission about 16 hours, but felt much better, albeit with no appetite. I stayed with water
for the rest of the day and finally felt like eating by the time I got
to Dallas, eating at an airport Bennigans. Even as late as Sunday evening
my appetite is still much reduced, though my weigh hasn't been much affected.
I felt much better today, so after the domestic chores- grocery shopping- I loaded the bike and headed out for some riding. I didn't really decide until I was on the highway, but opted for Yankee over Custer as it was closer and more challening. I took lights in case I really rode a marathond, but stopped at three laps (35 mile total approximately with a couple thousand feet of climbing). I considered a fourth lap- I felt good enough to do it- but opted not to. I hadn't told anyone where I was riding and if the odd crash occurred and I was unconcious, I could be out there for hours before anyone realized or found me. I like riding at night but will save my practice night rides for Cannonsburg Game Area since if I was hurt, Joni and Brenden could easily find me due to location, their familiarity with the trail and the multiple exit points.
8.13.08 Ore to Shore GPS image below from my race
8.11.08 Ore to Shore Update- the attendance seemed quite a bit less this year and I heard comments of about a 20% drop in registrations. The day started in the rain with fairly cold rainy downpour. I dropped Joni and Brenden at their start line along Teal Lake (Negaunee, MI), giving Joni my team jacket because she didn't have any other way to ride and stay warm or dry. Their event started at 900am in the rain. Joni ended up finishing with less than three hours for her 28 mile race despite a nasty crash eight miles from the finish which banged & cut up both knees and her nose. (specific finish details will be added to her race resume later once they are posted online by O2S). Brenden blistered the 28 mile course with 1hour/50minutes to arrive in 13th place out of 21 singlespeed racers. He was very satisfied with his performance and looks forward to racing the 28 mile event next year to improve his time (specific finish details will be added to his race resume later once they are posted online by O2S). I put on a base layer in the rain, leaving the car at the start of the 28 mile event and rode my bike the couple miles into downtown Negaunee where the 48 mile race started. By the time I got there the rain stopped. The gun went off at 945am and the 400+ racers rolled out onto the course. I was pacing myself for the first few miles on pavement to get warmed up and watching my heart rate data on the Garmin. I then put on some speed as we hit dirt and moved steadily past numerous riders. About eight miles in I suffered a chain jump which necessitated stopping and yanking the chain by hand from where it was stuck between the crank and big ring which meant now passing all the same people again. I was averaging about 14 miles per hour and on track to easily beat last years 3:53 time - perhaps even get close to 3-1/2 hours.... but... 18-20 miles in I felt a tightness on the outside of my left leg. By the time I hit the "22 miles remaining" sign (26 miles into the race) the stabbing pain and inability to put any pedal pressure on with my left leg had returned. By mile 33, I was stalling on climbs and falling sideways onto the ground. The rain had made the course muddy with some deep puddles in spots- this clogged my clips making unclipping difficult, causing me to fall when I tried to dismount the bike. The last time, I caught my left hand on my handlebars sending pain shooting up my hand from a previous injury that wasn't quite healed (I think I have a small broken bone in my hand). The last fifteen miles of the race were simply miserable. Every downhill bump, rock and root causing me to grit due to the pain in my hand. Nearly every steep climb meant walking due to the pain in my left leg. I finished, unbelievably, at 4-1/2 hours, which was 37 minutes behind my 2007 finish (specific finish details will be added to my race resume later once they are posted online by O2S). It felt like I was out there for over five hours, so in hindsight, I must have been moving along really well the first 25 miles of the event. I will need to do some more research to combat this particular injury as well as contact the ART therapist I'd been seeing. I won't race any more this year until I am sure I have truly healed. We had a great visit Saturday and Sunday with Pam & Wayne in Mass City. Our traditional travel plans for O2S is to race the event, then go the 2-1/2 hours west to visit them on their 40 acre farm. I bring Founders beer and Pam makes homemade pizza on Saturday evening (homemade scones on Sunday morning). They provided us with some of their organic garden's produce to bring home as well. All in all, while disappointing for me personally with regards to the race, it was a good weekend. 8.03.08 I am recovering well from the Iliotibial band injury. I rode 35 miles Sat (Aug 2) and another 30 today. I've ridden Cannonsburg Game Area three times since the 12 Hrs of Ithaca - and each time my hand is in severe pain after the ride. I am fairly convinced I broke a bone in it during the lap 14 crash at Ithaca, rather than a sprain. I rode one lap at the game area on Thur July 31 with Joni and decided no more trails until Ore2Shore on Aug 9. I will do a few more road rides, ice on the hand and ibuprofen to attempt to mostly heal the hand by next Saturday though I don't expect it to be fully healed. What I do expect is to minimize my starting problems at O2S, grit it out during the 48 miles, then ice and ibuprofen it in the evening- with a dose of Founder's for good measure! |
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