Thursday, April 08, 2010

Steak in Front of a Starving Dog

With all of the injuries the past few years, diversifying my training seems more and more like a good idea. I've really had my eye on mountain biking lately. I'll be buying my own soon, but until then, my buddy Jim loaned me his.

I picked up said bike yesterday, but told myself I wouldn't ride it until this weekend. I've been wearing the walking boot all week, and it's definitely making a difference and I'd like to start weening myself off of it soon. I wondered if the biking would aggravate the foot, and thought by this weekend I'd be more comfortable at giving it a try and finding out.

However, staring at that bike yesterday and this morning before work was too much and I totally caved. I got home, changed, and took the bike out. The plan was to stick to the easier trails and fire roads in the woods behind my house. I did just that, however, a few sections were much more technical than I had anticipated. I quickly learned that technical trails that are relatively easy to run on are much harder when on a bike.

Before one such section I brought the bike to a stop, forgetting my feet were in the clips and tumbled sideways and fell right into a huge mud puddle. I was prepared for the fall though, so aside from getting muddy and wet, no harm done.

And the rest of the ride was great. It took some getting used to having to shift gears and all of that jazz, but that'll come back to me in time. I really enjoyed it.

All in all, I don't think it'll aggravate my foot as long as I don't hammer on the uphills. I just got off and walked the steeper sections to avoid doing that today, and it seemed to go well. I'm hesitant to say it went totally fine, as the pain sometimes isn't felt until several hours later. But, if this can continue pain free, I'll be able to keep my sanity until I can run again. But I definitely plan on doing quite a bit of mountain biking still even when I heal up.

Mountain biked 6.5 miles @ 8.5 mph/avg (20.5 mph/max)
Fire roads and technical snowmobile trails.
Very hilly.
Lower 50s, overcast.
Shorts, windbreaker (shed halfway through), short sleeved shirt.

2 comments:

EJReagan said...

Dude! I'm in the same boat with an adductor injury that has been lingering for a few months. Although a runner first I've been on the mountain bike since january and the road bike since last month, although I prefer the trails. Falling is part of the game as are a lot of cuts and scratches. Have fun staying in shape.

Laurel said...

The first time I rode some really technical single track, the rider I was with was hopping over fallen trees and jumping off stumps and riding over narrow boards and logs, without ever putting a foot down. Since I was following I tried to do the same. Once in a while I'd make it and he'd say, "wow I can't believe you did that." Most of the time I landed on the ground in a bloody heap. I still have the scars. But what fun. I am completely addicted to mountain biking now. Oh...and that expert rider I took my first ride with...I've agreed to marry him.