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Food! It’s tasty and gives us energy to move our bodies, allows us to explore into the depths of the forest and reach mountain tops. The curious question tho, what should we eat while we’re out on our adventures? What should we eat when we’re doing that really hard workout? What should I eat after I ride? How do I fuel so I can wake up tomorrow and do it again?
With temperatures increasing, the day light longer, we’re seeing more and more longer days on the bike. Longer days requires more supplies and a better preparedness if something goes wrong.
There’s no denying I love riding my bike, and having a plethora and variety of bikes to choose from, I can take my adventure in any direction (except west) I want. Feeling up for a road adventure? Sure! Gravel, mountain bike? Anything I want I can do and I’m lucky to live in an area that allows me to do such things straight from my doorstep.
Last year I reflected on my nearly 1 year post-op hip surgery. This second time around has been such a different experience all together. Without as many unknowns, I haven’t found myself celebrating the little things that make up the entire journey. I don’t know if it’s because a “been there done that” type of thing, if it’s me putting my head down telling myself no one really cares, or if it’s me trying not to think about everything I’ve been through with surgeries and recoveries the last 2 years, but it still doesn’t mean I shouldn’t take the time to reflect on the last year.
I’m not okay.
I thought I would be okay.
But I’m not okay.
I’m a positive person, I can find the good and the positive in every situation, but I’m struggling to be positive, and that’s when I know, I’m not okay.
Two years ago I wrote a blog about life being like a chapter book. Each segment of life is a chapter, and when one ends, a new one starts. I originally wrote about my stepping out of the fitness industry (with full intentions of coming back), closing that chapter while I open a new one. One filled with a bike racing journey full of highs and lows, a journey where I could focus 100% of my time on racing, just to see how far I could go. How far can I push my body? What are my limits?
Anyone who has been through a hip arthroscopy surgery knows, it's really not nice, but I did do it twice. Some people like to ask me if I'm glad I went through with surgery (again).
February 9th 2017 I went into surgery to repair a torn labrum, and correct the FAI in my right hip. You can read my back story in a previous blogpost found here. Unfortunately for me...I ended up having the same surgery on my left hip Feb. 8th 2018, so I kind of feel like I'm becoming a pro at this whole "recovery thing".
I'm 1.5 weeks from my 1 year post op date (Feb. 9th). It's really hard to believe it's almost been a year since Chris and I woke up at 4am for me to head into surgery. The scariest part (to me) is I'll be turning around and doing it again on Feb. 8th for my left side.
Whoops, I haven't blogged since the end of September, and as we're past nationals, I thought it would be the perfect time to post!
First off, can I say "Happy New Year" to my readers!
When I finished the first day of Jingle Cross, I burst into tears. Not from pain or discomfort, but from sheer joy.
8 months ago when I had surgery, I believed I was super human. I believed I could heal faster than anyone out there. I believed I would get back out on my bike and start racing by late Spring, early Summer.
I have two scars on my right upper lateral thigh, at one point they allowed access to my hip capsule. Like every scar on my body, they have their own tale. These scars don't tell the tale of flipping over my handle bars on the mountain bike. They don't tell the tale of that one crash in that one race.
If someone told you having surgery was like jumping into the never ending rabbit hole in Alice and Wonderland, would you go in? Is ignorance truly bliss?
This couldn't have popped into my life at a better moment. Scrolling through Instagram this morning, I found this quote on my friends recent photo. The funny thing was, I already started this blog post over the weekend, regarding this exact same thing. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and this my friends, speaks to me at the perfect time of my life.
Being an athlete can be very isolating if you let it, and believe me...I let it. I train 90% of the time alone, I miss out on outings with friends because..well...I don't have that many friends in Bellingham, and when we get together, we're being active in the day time, riding bikes, going on hikes, walking, running, etc.
To put it bluntly, surgery + recovery is fucking hard. Sorry for the swear word, but I'll be real. This isn't for the faint of heart, and I can see how people wouldn't recover well from surgery because they're so down on themselves, their body can't heal.
I'm not sure if I'm writing this post for my readers, or for me (for reassurance of my choice). Hip arthroscopy is an elective surgery, as in, it's not really something you HAVE to do, I chose this. I chose my ultimate destiny
The first thing that comes to mind when I tell people I had hip surgery is "oh a hip replacement"? A hip replacement is the most common hip surgery that people know of, so their mind goes straight there. I didn't have a hip replacement, I'm 31 (going on 32), my cartilage looks good, and I'm not anywhere close to needing a hip replacement! I wrote a blog last April/May about what was going on, but I'll repeat it here.
I've been wanting to blog about the end of my season, but then I was sick and tired when I got home, then I had surgery and they drugged me up and I'm pretty sure whatever I wrote, should not be published. So instead lets hear it for what I've learned 6 days post-op.
I've really gone away from writing race reports. After racing the same courses year after year, I find the typical race report boring for all involved. This one, though, this one is different, this one deserves a mentioning, this one, this one race, I would actually call it a break through ride. You hear Dave Towle say it anytime I'm having a good day, but this day...this day was a serious mental and physical break through for me.
It's been awhile since I blogged/updated about my hip, mostly because I knew what was going on, I had a plan, and I had a cyclocross season to attend to. The start of the season was a heavy one.
Cross Vegas is the race that started it all. It was my first big CX race, 2012, I had no expectations, I just wanted to race my cross bike against the countries best. I went from last row to 13th by the finish.
Life is a series of chapters, one era closing, while a new era opens. Each chapter should have a smooth transition, one to the next, something that distinguishes each part from the previous and the upcoming chapter.
Leave the intervals, the watches, and all sense of urgency at home and enter island time.
I’ve lived in the Western part of Washington State all my life and I have never taken the time to explore MANY parts of the state I call home, but when I tell people I’ve never explored the San Juan Islands, I usually get a funny face. The ferry terminal to the Island’s is an easy hour drive from my house. Taking the island in by bike, we parked the car, loaded up some additional belongings onto the bikes (like a change of clothes, swim suit, and beach towel) and pedaled our way to the boarding area.