Losing a summer and tossing out a fall.

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
First of any sort of "training" blog for me but I figured I could maybe make it slightly interesting.

If anyone has followed along 7.5 weeks ago I crashed and broke my clavicle into 5 pieces. Surgery, big plate of metal, 12 screws and I'm slowly healing.

What this has meant is I've effectively lost a big chunk of prime summertime to riding outdoors. I'd hate to think what my loss of fitness is. I couldn't even really run out of concern for my shoulder. I was able to get some time on the trainer but really, how much can I ride the trainer when it's beautiful out without breaking into tears while staring out the window at the sunshine? Finally I've been (minimally) getting back on the bike and starting to do some runs.

A few things I've noticed:
1 - I have lost ALL interest in really doing much road riding this year. This wasn't post-accident but pre-accident. I did Hell of Hunterdon and enjoyed it and I *maybe* took my road bike out one other time after that. I crashed riding my cross bike on the road as I hadn't ridden it in awhile and #crossiscoming. I took a lazy road ride yesterday to see how I responded and was reminded how little interest I have in road riding.
2 - Slamming into the ground and breaking my clavicle has not deterred me from riding. If anything just the opposite. I'm dying to get some riding in but I'm highly concerned about crashing the mountain bike or over-doing it with pushing/pulling. Baby Steps. Baby Steps.
3 - Cross. I enjoy racing cross even if I'm slow as fuck. My plan pre-accident was to actually start turning up the intensity and start doing some skills practice and getting time on the cross bike. And then I crashed that bike and screwed everything up.

So now I'm in a weird position where I'm off the bike, I'm not sure how much I can get on the bike and I'm looking at signing up for a ton of cross races that I'm not even 100% sure I can do. There's the physical aspect along with the mental aspect of being deathly afraid of crashing into a partially healed bone. I road one mile with the cross bike on a XC running trail and was terrified of crashing the whole time. Also my doctor tells me 6 months recovery and to work out with 5lb weights...

So It's still completely up in the air on how I'm going to ramp up my riding.

SO BASICALLY TO SUM THIS UP:

This is to document a slow Cat 5 racer who had some half-assed plans of racing cross this year and riding the mountain bike more who got a bit derailed, and how that's going to change.

MY CURRENT PLAN (Depending entirely on safety of my bonez):

8/21/16 - Stewart Group Ride. I don't think I've ever crashed at Stewart. It'll be 9 weeks since crashing...
9/4/16 - Granogue. Really up in the air on this. I'd look forward to this race but my chances of wiping out are higher than usual on this course.
9/6/16 - Bubble Cross Tuesday Cross Clinic. Because it's awesome. I'd be willing to show up every week and even half ass this.
9/11/16 - NJ Gran Fondo. I fully plan on doing a longer ride and not paying because it's super expensive. I was also volunteered to run a booth at the expo. Anyone riding the Gran Fondo should stop by the Bike Walk Morristown tent and say hi.
9/17/16 - Nittany. I suck at this race. I mean I *really* suck at this race. And I would say it's the perfect place to not crash but then again I broke my bone on my parent's grassy front lawn so who knows.
9/18/16 - Girls Guts Glory. They're sexist and I can't do the race but I'll be there to support the girlfriend.
9/24/16 - HippoCross (Tentative) - Because how can I miss this?
10/2/16 - Caffeinated Cross. This may be so far away that I'll pass the General Lee. Debating it.
10/15/16 - Emmaus Cross race. Because I have never been to Emmaus.
10/23/16 - Marty CX. I have never made it into a Marty race. Something always happened and I was never really sad about it. Their course has never interested me but hopefully this year...
10/29/16 - HPCX. It's HPCX
10/30/16 - Mountain Man. Once again Joy is going to do this race and since they're not sexist I can sign up also and do this race. It's not cross but I really really enjoy the running/riding duathalons and wish there were more.
11/5/16 - Bubble Cross. Because this is the best cross race I've done. (Update. Reg'd including SS)
11/6/16 - Bubble Cross. Because I hate my legs. (Update, 3rd race in a weekend may suck)
11/13/16 - Giralda Farms 10k. Because I do this every year and enjoy it. I've been very minimal in the 5k/10k races I've been doing but I like to make this one each year. Technically I'm also part of the running club that puts on this race so I should support it. (Skipping Westwood for this)
11/19-20/16 - SuperCross. Because the directions there are "A left turn, drive an hour, a right turn park". Possible I do SussexCX on 11/20. Who knows.
12/10/16 - Solstice Cross. Because I lost my summer so I may as well push this as far as I can.
1/6/17 - Nationals. Because by then I should be duking it out with Power & Hyde. Amirite?



Two things I've noticed after typing that all out...

1 - This looks expensive and time consuming. But then again I could have car payments or a cocaine addiction.
2 - I left off all the big races I wanted to do this year but probably won't. I wanted to do Glouchester (probably easier to get concert tickets) and DCCX. Really my schedule is filled up and not worth it in my condition.
 
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Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
FIRST.

With an update of my broken clavicle...
8-2-20160003.jpg
 

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
You should hang with @Mitch and @Carson for a bit and check in at Halloween. Sorry to be negative but ride until you are comfy again then race when confident.

Mt man maybe?

If I don't reach for the moon...

Mountain Man is a definite. It's trail running and biking in Lewis Morris. I can do that with a Walmart cruiser. Which is what most people bring to that race.
 

Magic

Formerly 1sh0t1b33r
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Is Westwood VeloCross or whatever not happening? That course was super fun.
 

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Is Westwood VeloCross or whatever not happening? That course was super fun.
Do I look like some cross expert? :)

Actually I couldn't find it last night when planning this all out. I was even drawing a blank on the name. SuperCross is in the same location but supposedly the course is different.

I really liked Westwood and it was one of my favorites. I can't even remember if I did it one or two times. I really liked the crazy stairs to run up. Then again I think I just like obstacles in general.

I'm going to insert a bitch right here about the cross season being too short. There's so many conflicts between races that you really need to pick and choose which ones you go to. I don't think this happens with Mountain biking racing as it's spread out further and you can ride your mtb whenever. If you aren't racing, the cross bike is less fun.

Magic, we should duke it out all season, slow down to my pace for a bit. :)
 

Magic

Formerly 1sh0t1b33r
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Do I look like some cross expert? :)

Actually I couldn't find it last night when planning this all out. I was even drawing a blank on the name. SuperCross is in the same location but supposedly the course is different.

I really liked Westwood and it was one of my favorites. I can't even remember if I did it one or two times. I really liked the crazy stairs to run up. Then again I think I just like obstacles in general.

I'm going to insert a bitch right here about the cross season being too short. There's so many conflicts between races that you really need to pick and choose which ones you go to. I don't think this happens with Mountain biking racing as it's spread out further and you can ride your mtb whenever. If you aren't racing, the cross bike is less fun.

Magic, we should duke it out all season, slow down to my pace for a bit. :)
Yeah, I think Supercross was a short few weeks after Velo with a different course on the same grounds.

Slow down? I'm pretty sure you beat me at every race last year. Then again, I've ridden more to date this year than last and you're disabled. Unless a cross bike materializes itself in my shed, I'll probably do a couple on my mountain bike this year.
 

Juggernaut

Master of the Metaphor
Glad you seem to be healing mentally and physically. Looking forward to "getting back on the horse" is a positive sign but when it comes to "ready" perception and reality are often very different things.

Please consider taking some time to build up the muscular support structure before you subject the area to the jarring effects of a rigid fork. Aside from swimming, light weights and maybe some yoga (with modifiers, to limit the stress on that area) should help with this.

I'd spend a tot of time riding with a suspension fork on "bike path" like surfaces to gently re-acclimate the region to the forces involved with cycling. You know, to give your legs something to do w/out jeopardizing recovery.

Pulling for ya,

D-
 

pooriggy

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
JRA. Don't do any racing until u stop thinking about crashing...which will probably be next year.
For now, get mojo back:)
 

Carson

Sport Bacon
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Hi Steve!

Yeah man. It's been a tough summer here. And looks to be a tough fall. Aside from my ongoing nerve issues, my fusion will be 80% healed in September, 90% healed by Christmas. That being said, even if this nerve pain disappears tomorrow, I think I have decided that I am off the mountain bike until the weather breaks in the spring. Unless we have a very mild winter, I know that mentally I'll be worried about ice on the trails and scared to go down. And when I do go down for the first time, I want to know that my body can handle it. I hope to get very acquainted with my road bike this fall. Hopefully.

You have me beat on screw count, by the way.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
...I know that mentally I'll be worried about ice on the trails and scared to go down.

Holy hell, last night at LM I was riding so defensively and trying not to fall on this forearm that I banged up Saturday. In comparison this is a minor/nothing injury. But the slick roots at LM got in my head and it was all I could do not to crash in many spots. So I slow down which makes it all worse. Given that LM is close to you Steve, I would be damn careful about riding there. The slower you go the more difficult that rooty park becomes.
 

seanrunnette

Brain Damaged Ray Romano
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Mebbe choose the cx races based on terrain? Emmaus is purty smooth. HPCX, while flowy, also has ROOTS. Don't do Westwood. Just. Don't. Mebbe see how things are progressing with some time at Dan's Otto's Farm practice, or Holster?
Also, reconsider Nittany. While you may not crash, it's a great place to be crashed-out by someone else. A lot of super-excited folks over-cook everything there. If you do it, race conservatively.
 
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Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I think I'm in a weird spot in that as much as I destroyed my collarbone, I feel pretty good. So I'm not basing what I can do on how I feel as I can't trust a couple of drywall screws. I've lost almost no mobility probably because I wasn't always in a sling so I probably feel way better than I actually am. Above X-ray is harder to read than tea leaves but it's still a broken bone.

Sean/Norm, the terrain is a huge aspect, which is why I may be thinking Nittany and not Granogue and a few other changes. I was actually planning on riding 6-mile on Tuesday after work, bike in the car and everything. Bailed out out of precaution and took the road bike out on the paved trails by me just to feel my body out a bit more. Baby steps...

If it wasn't for the rain I'd make a trip to some "easier" park that's totally flat and not too rooty.

I appreciate the advise. The above calendar is FAR from being written in stone and the whole thing may be tossed outside of the 10k, who knows. But I'd rather set up some goals and have to move them around a bit than sit in the bleachers. I have a lot of figuring out what I'm even capable of and am looking to just slowly ramp up and feel things out in the next 3 weeks.
 

Pearl

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
I'm in for this, I've never had to come back from an injury like that but man, cross would not be the first thing I'd like to test it out on!

Nittany last year was a mudfest and a pretty tricky course for our race, just hope it doesn't rain; still trying to swing the Sunday race!
 

UtahJoe

Team Workhorse
Team MTBNJ Halter's
What if I design a roll cage for your bike?

I think you should forget about cross and move straight to downhilling.

I know your injury was stupid and random...which is how most of them are anyway. But this is why I stay away from road racing and downhilling...I have lost 2 complete summers of my life to broken bones and FUCK was it terrible.
 

pixychick

JORBA: Ringwood
JORBA.ORG
Wow, I love your enthusiasm! Good luck and all, but like fidodie said, make sure your body is ready for racing. Just for the record, Art did not brake his hip twice riding a mountain bike at Ringwood. He broke his hip riding at Stewart, and then again racing CX. People fall down a lot in cross.
 

seanrunnette

Brain Damaged Ray Romano
Team MTBNJ Halter's
But I'd rather set up some goals and have to move them around a bit than sit in the bleachers.
Sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on this. Don't disparage the bleachers, tho! That's one of the beautiful things about cx. Hanging out can be the best thing about it.
Keep those goals moving like curling stones. Or cats.
 

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The point about the accidents being stupid and unplanned is a great one. I crashed into my parent's front lawn. It's why I was so fearful while riding 1 mile on the XC course the other day. It's not the concern so much about the fall from the 3 foot drop that bothers me as much as the wet root that I've ridden 10,000 times before at Lewis Morris or whatnot. You guys are doing a good job of talking me out of this. :)

Pearl: Cat 5 Bro. Nittany was dry for me last year, I raced in the morning and I think left before the rain even came. Just like how I've done Westwood and never saw mud. It's all about the timing...

I also need to learn to fall on my LEFT side. Not so much of a joke as much as I've crashed predominately on my right side. It's my dominate side and over the last 10 years in the times I've gone OTB, I can't recall ever falling on my left.
 
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