April 17th Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion C5-C6-C7
- Dr. Lee Warren
- East Alabama Medical Center; less than 24 hours in hospital
- RESULTS: Instant relief from all the pain and nerve pulses down my back and left arm
3 Week Check-up
- Everything progressing as planned
- "Green light" to start riding indoor trainer
6 Week Check-up
- Everything progressing as planned
- "Green light" to start running, swimming, golfing, etc
- Back to see him in July for x-rays to check on healing
THANK YOU for all of the the wonderful notes and encouragement along the way... I certainly could not have made it through the process without the love and support of my family and friends and for that I am forever grateful.
Alright... to satisfy my competitive nature and given I was only able to ride my indoor trainer since the surgery I decided to sign up for 2 local events... the Southeast Regional Series had a schedule stop in Montgomery for the 22nd and 23rd of June... a Criterium on Saturday and a Road Race on Sunday... so I signed Colby and I both up to compete... him in the Junior Category and me in the Cat 5 group.
WOW... all I can say is that those guys can ride... this would be a first in both events for Colby and I and we would quickly learn that guys that ride for competition are beasts on their bikes. The Crit was a 1.5 mile course on a closed section of downtown Montgomery with the start/finish line on the hill going up Dexter Ave towards the State Capitol... and then around the Capitol... back down Dexter...
The Juniors were up first and it was incredible to see the talent in 16-18 age group... Colby held his own for a little while but eventually fell off the pace... to his credit he did not quit and pressed on to finish the race under tough weather conditions and to say the least I was really proud of him for that alone!
The Cat 5 race was next... now... look at this photo... this is special... because this is closest I came to ever leading the race...
Much like Colby... I held on with the pack for a couple of laps but once I was dropped... I DROPPED... my individual effort remained consistent but the guys up front ramped up their pace and left me behind... despite the lackluster performance I can tell you that it was a win-win for both of us... it was something neither of us had ever done and the rush of going 40 mph on the downhill into a 90 degree turn was exhilirating!
It was an experience we will not soon forget!!! Later that day we went back out to watch the Pro/Cat 1 guys race... 70 started... 32 finished... one wreck and lots of dropouts due to the heat of the day and the hill... they raced for 75 minutes at a blistering pace... it was incredible to watch!!!
If you have never done a Crit race... don't be scared... ride within your own limits... hang on... and pedal like you are being chased!!!
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