I have to say… since I arrived home from Florida, it feels like Spring training has been turned up to 11. That week ended up being a 17 hour training week, punctuated by a power test on Sunday. That went well, and, after a single recovery day, was followed up with some 10 minute intervals that were way better than anything I’d done this year and a 4 hour mountain bike ride the following day, during which my best hour was the last.
I know I said not long ago that I felt out of shape… I think I was just cold.
The one lingering issue I’ve got is the ongoing hamstring pain/foot numbness on my left side. If you remember from my last post about it, the doctor ordered an MRI of my back to check for a disc issue that could be putting pressure on the sciatic nerve. That wasn’t the case, so he wanted to try physical therapy to the hamstring at the origin of the pain. Therapy included electrical stimulation, ultrasound, nerve glides, and, at first, seemed as though it may have worked.
Unfortunately, in Florida, the pain came back. So, the doctor ordered another round of diagnostics, including an arterial Doppler and another MRI- this time of the pelvis. (He actually requested pelvis and hamstring, but my insurance will only approve one area at a time… you know, because they obviously know more about this problem than my doctor does. Maybe I need to be seeing the “expert” at my insurance company instead.)
It’s a little discouraging, especially since I feel pretty strong right now. However, I trust the expertise of Dr. Martinez and Kevin the PT, and I think they’re both highly motivated to help me succeed.
Health issues aside, I’m super excited for the first race of the season this weekend- Iron Mountain. It’s “only” 42 miles, so I don’t foresee having too much of a problem with my leg/foot. Matt and I plan on driving down to Arkadelphia tomorrow morning in order to leave plenty of time for a little pre-riding and settling in (Ryan is staying in town to attend a Homebrew Competition).
Today is bike checkover and recovery day. Technically, yesterday was a recovery day as well, though I ended up starting and ending the day at UFK with their weight training class followed by MMA class in the evening, and staying really busy in between. My schedule today is much more laid back. I’ll basically tinker with my bike a little, run to the grocery store, go for an easy ride, do some laundry, and generally relax and build excitement to get the season kicked off on Sunday.