Monday, July 26, 2010

DFL > DNF

the good: i rode my bike. i rode my mountain bike on mountain bike trails. i rode my mountain bike on mountain bike trails for 18 miles. i "raced" my bike for 18 miles. i finished the race. i can still walk. the knee doesn't seem to be swelling up in a debilitating manner.

the bad: i finished d.f.l. the ego is slightly bruised. my fitness is nowhere close to what it was 3 months ago. i have a long, long way to go. my body hurts like it hasn't for a while, back and shoulders especially.

the conclusion: trying to stay positive that i was finally able to ride again. i was able to push my knee through the climbing at 7 oaks without reaggravating it. pretty disappointed with how out of shape i felt and trying to accept how long its going to take me just to get back to where i was. gravel worlds is now unfortunately a pretty big uncertainty. 150 miles of gravels just seems a bit much with how i feel but i'll wait a little longer to make that decision. going to focus training on being in good enough shape to ride dakota 5-0 somewhat comfortably understanding i still won't be as competitive as i would like. then see how i feel by the time adam's party goes down. the day definitely went better than it could have gone...just wasn't quite ready to accept how much i've lost.

2 comments:

Charlie Farrow said...

This is great news!!! The fitness will come!!! The key is to have a solid knee!!!
Hugs,
C

Guitar Ted said...

Charlie is right, Ben. Bring it on slow and easy, and next year you'll be glad you worked on it that way.

Glad to hear you are back on a bicycle! That is awesome news to read.