Thursday, October 25, 2012

Going out in a blaze of glory...

Well, Redman was about 4 weeks ago. Perfect conditions, great course, tough competition, this race had it all. Except that I didn't finish.

To make a long story short, I went over my handlebars at an aid station around mile 11. (I was probably going too fast, but I don't remember exactly what happened.) I woke up in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with a concussion and some intravetricular bleeding.

I had a few minor scrapes, but no other problems. My helmet was toast, but my bike and wheels were fine. Louis Garneau did give me a replacement helmet for free, which is surprising considering that the product is "meant" to be used. 

I am now allowed to do the following for exercise: 1) walk and 2) ride the trainer for no more than 30 minutes at a time. Quite a change from my previous training regimen. So I have lots of spare time on my hands now.

But it was the end of a very successful season, so I'm very thankful that I was generally OK and can give myself the time to recover. Big thanks to the Redman volunteers for their quick thinking!

(One side note on the Redman race itself: If you live anywhere near Oklahoma City and want a half or full IM event, you should consider this one. This was the first race I have done twice. Well run, but a lot less stress that the WTC events and you don't need to sign up a year in advance.)

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