I have to be on the recumbent because my back is still in the brace, and I can’t/shouldn’t bend over in the regular bike position.  But, I hopped on and started pedaling and it didn’t feel to bad.  In fact, by the end of the 5 minutes (yes, I only did 5 measly minutes), my leg felt pretty good and I think it actually helped get the blood flowing and all that good stuff.

So, now I have PT twice a week and a massage from Aaron Gustafson at Transcend Body Work on Saturday.  I’ve worked with Aaron before and he’s phenomenal as well – so I’m pretty darn excited to be working with talented people to get me back on track for healing as quickly as possible.

What am I’m not excited about? Being cooped up in this plastic clam shell of a back brace for the warm months to come.  I’m going to have to build some sort of fan/circulation system, cause this thing is HOT!  (and not just hot cause it’s got boobs – but the uncomfortable kind of sweaty hot. )

This weekend was a blast as well – and I think good for healing my spirits and psyche.  Chris and I went over to Hood River and stayed in an amazing BnB called Lakecliff BnB.  It was amazing – the couple that run it were super nice, the place was nestled in a wooded area, the bed was ultra comfy and the food was amazing.  We also watched a lot of bike racing, which was both exciting and emotionally draining for me.  We arrived at the Mt Hood Cycling Classic Criterium in time to see the Cat 3 men go off and stayed to watch the Pro men and women.  It was a little hard for me to be there at first – watching everyone warming up, riding around, being nervous, all that good race stuff.  I mean, that was me last year and the year before – and not that I really really wanted to be suffering in a race as hard as MHCC, I really missed it.  I had a little bitterness in my mouth at first, but once the races started, it just reminded me of how amazing the sport of Cycling really is – and there are just risks involved, and that I think I could probably get back on my bike again – because the desire to be a competitive racer on my bike is just not going away.  :)  So, hopefully when the time comes to mount the horse again, I’ll be able to make the mental hurdles that I need to.

Speaking of hurdles – I had my 6 week anniversary today and went to my follow-up for the Ortho doc for my leg.  And well, I was hoping he said that I could start putting 50% weight on it (I have been non-weight-bearing this entire time).  But guess what he said?  100% weight bearing!!!!  He said, toss those crutches out.  And now that he said that I’m scared.  I want the crutches!  The crutches were easy!  I’ve tried walking around today and my leg is like spaghetti.  It just sort of buckles under me and doesn’t know what to do.  I know it will get better when I start PT and my body seems to adapt pretty quickly to things (hence my success in sports), but…still…today has made me realize that the hard part has just begun.  Bones heal on their own, but muscles – muscles take focus, time, woman power, and diligence to build – especially if I want to get back to where I was.  And, I know that the same thing is going to happen with my back once I get the brace off in August.

So, the long haul has begun.  I’m expecting there to be more ups and downs than in the past 6 months, but hopefully more progress and less of a stagnant state than I’ve been in, which will be great.  Good results take a lot of hard work – so now I get to start training.  Is there periodization in rehab?  Do I get rest weeks?   I wish In reality, I just got 6 weeks of rest and now I get to lay down the hammer.  Baby steps, baby steps – I’m excited and scared, but at least I’m on the path to recovery!

Anyway, this continued into Sunday and finally Monday afternoon I made my hubby drive me to the ER.  (Doc isn’t open on holiday).  So, after another CT scan of my brain to make sure I wasn’t bleeding (no big deal, right?) and some explanations of why doc’s can’t really figure out dizziness, I was sent home with glorified dramamine.  Honestly, i felt a little better that night and today I’m feeling almost 100% better. I think my balance sensors needed reset.  So, hopefully that doesn’t come back – cause I didn’t like it one bit.

Anyway, other than that, things are moving right a long about as fast as I can move along with my walker.  Still in limbo zone – have my follow-up appointments coming up next week.  That’s about it.  Spirits are still doing okay, despite a few setbacks – it is what it is, right?  Still very thankful for my toes and am starting to have a little more flexibility in my left leg, which is great!!!

I’ve decided that I’m a bit sadistic. I’m not sure if its cycling that I miss at this point, or just feeling the suffering and pain of anaerobic-cough and burning quads and body.  I watched this link the other day (cause I secretly want to be a pro XC skater) and started crying cause I can’t do that to myself.  And then I sat there laughing to myself because what normal person would really be desperate to feel that sort of suffering???   It also made me decide that since there are no cars on a ski track that I am going to devout a lot of time to this next winter.  Chris and I did some skating up at Mt Hood Meadows and Teacup last year and it’s a blast and such a great workout.  So, winter 2011 here I come!!!!

Most days have been okay, though dealing with post trauma and some times some anger and all that healing stuff happens.  I’m usually still in pretty good spirits, but some days are hard.  I can’t decide right now whether I’m happy when it’s a gloomy rainy day or not.  Some times it makes me gloomier, but then it’s a little better than a sunny day when I can’t get out there and ride or really enjoy the sun – so yes, some times I’m glad that Portland has seen 2 days of “spring/summer” so far

I’m still trompin’ around in my brace – which after talking with the doc sounds like I should be able to try to take it off and see what happens (providing everything is stable) in 3 months – after which we’ll monitor for a few weeks and then see about starting some basic PT.  So, currently, I’m in limbo.  I can do baby range of motion PT for my leg and nothing for my back.  I’ve been trying keigel-style exercises for my abs  I just lie there and clench and unclench, making sure to not arch my back or anything.  It feels pretty cool and gives me something to think about while I’m lying on my recliner, watching Arrested Development.  (I already finished all seasons of Reno 911).  :)

I have come to a realization that I am thankful for many random things – like seeing the sky.  The blue sky was the first thing I saw after flipping through the air and landing on my back in the accident and it was  confirmation that I was alive (only milliseconds prior to feeling the agonizing pain in my left leg and back).  Also, I am thankful for my toes.  That was one of the next things I realized as I was lying there with my body trying to go into shock – that I could move my fingers and toes. – and man, I drop  A LOT of stuff around the house and my toes sure come in handy.  These are some things I have discovered that my grabber can’t pick up, but my toes can:

1. My iphone

2.  My ipad

3. A credit card or thin plastic item

4. A CD

5. A cord to a blow dryer

And that’s just a start.  So, yes, I’m thankful for my talented toes and that they still work 100%  And of course for the opportunity to increase their mobility and agility.  :)

So, that’s about it.  Just recovering.  Here’s a pic showing what my leg looked like in the hospital right after the accident and what it looks like right now.  A little gruesome, but it’s definitely getting better

The Top image is 1 month after the accident

Well, the morning of April 21st, I was doing just that – and upon coming to the intersection of NE 122nd, which is a T intersection, I saw that one car was stopped, headed opposite direction of me trying to turn left onto 122nd.  The other cars all stopped at the stop sign/light trying to turn onto Marine drive from 122nd.  I noted that the car turning left was complete stopped, and turned my attention to the guy who was edging out onto Marine drive, trying to turn right.  I made eye contact with him, noting that he saw me and wouldn’t turn in front of me.  Then, before I knew it I looked left again just in time to see the car turning left gunning it and there I was, on the hood, into the windshield, back down, bumping his front bumper and being pushed under the nose of a car who was stopped at the intersection.

Agony. Anger. Pain. You name it, I felt it.  All at once I was lying there feeling extremely angry that this had just happened to me.  ME!  Of all people!  I have over come so many obstacles this year with trying to ride and train and I was just getting back into fitness – and this happens.  Not that I would wish this on anyone, but seriously people!  So, I’m screaming hysterically in anger and in pain.  There were plenty of people on the scene, once guy in general who took charge – making sure 911 was called, that the guy didn’t flee the scene, making sure that I was still breathing and conscious.  The only thing that I remember about this guy (my care taker) was that he was leaning over me making sure I was okay with a half smoked stogie hanging on his lips. haha I just thought…if that thing falls on my face, I’m gonna lose it haha But, also just wanted to laugh because it was just amazing that he could talk and it was still hanging onto his lip.

Police arrived first.  Fire/Medics shortly there-after.  They took such good care of me.  Ironically enough, my team-mate Irene who rides cross with me was on the responding team.  What a relief to see her!  And a surprise of course. Everything was in pain, they got me on a stretcher after splinting/tractioning my leg and cutting my backpack off of  me  My bike went with Irene to the fire department, and I went in the ambulance.

Many Xrays and doc’s later (and morphine) I was told that I had a broken femur in 3 different places and it would need surgery and that I also had 2 fractured vertebrae.  Forget the leg, that’s easy – but my back????  That’s the last thing I wanted to hear.  So, the surgery was successful and I now have a rod and a few screws in my leg.  The back, luckily, does not need surgery as of now and I’m wearing a superwoman brace, complete with a place for my boobs (which I was really excited about when i first got my brace!!!)

This is what I get to wear for the next year 6 months of my life

My bike is trashed, my wheels are trashed.  They had to cut all my cycling clothes off of me.  They cut my bag off as well.  But, honestly, that’s the least of my worries.  Now the doc appointments start.  I was in the hospital 11 days.  Most days were good – a couple days really bad.

I always wondered what kind of a person I would be if I got seriously injured like this.  Honestly – it’s hard.  Harder than I expected.  I am blessed with good friends, family, co-workers and bosses that give me so much support and truly believe in me and take care of me.  It helps my spirits a lot, because I certainly couldn’t do this on my own.

So, all I can do right now is heal.  I’d like to think that my arms are getting buff from the wheel chair and the walker.  :)  But my legs are atrophied to pretty much nothing.  I’m still non-weight bearing for my broken femur, and probably will be for another 3 weeks.  I just want to get workin’ on it – but  I know it will take some time.  Currently I have no desire to get onto my bike – at least not on the road.  It scares the hell out of me.  We’ll see how that changes as I heal and time goes by – but it might be Mt Biking and track from here on out – we’ll see.  I know time heals a lot of wounds but the mind is also a powerful thing.

So, a thank you to everyone who helps me.  The fire department, the civilians that rushed to my aid, my coworkers, my friends, my family, my cycling community.  It’s amazing the support that everyone is willing to give.  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

Anyway, I never really like afternoon races.  You sit around all day trying to get other stuff done but really what you are thinking is – am I drinking enough water, do I have everything packed, checking last weeks results, riding your bike around once to make sure everything is working, wash dishes, check results again, ride your bike again, just in case something weird happened to it sitting there in the house for the last hour and then finally it’s time to pack the car and go.  Too much energy for me.

Anyway, today should be a good day for our team.  We’ll have 4 of us therein the 1/2/3 women’s field, which is awesome, and 1 gal in th Cat 4 field (her first race ever!!!).  So, a pretty big day for all of us.

Today also marked the first day of cleaning my bike since….well, I don’t know when – which is the problem in the first place.  Sad to say, I didn’t even mean to go about cleaning it – I just went to change my cassette and not only was it lodged into my hub, making it extremely difficult to get off, but also had about 2 inches of muck in it.  No wonder I have had a crappy time shifting as of the last 2 months!! So, away I went, scrubbing all my parts and literally scraping off piles of disgusting black stuff.  I feel so bad for my bike.  I’ve been neglecting it in hopes of getting my new one – but I suppose being mean to one bike doesn’t make the other one come any sooner.

So, off I go to Amity for some bike racing.  I’ll keep you posted on how brutally painful the experience is  I can’t wait!!!!

I’m so glad to be back on the bike.  No Knee pain for 2 weeks now.  I am jumpin’ for joy!  So, tomorrow the Therapeutic Associates Women are headed up to WA to do a recon ride for Piece of Cake Road Race that is going down next weekend.  We will probably do a little wine tasting just for the sake of it.  Who couldn’t use a little wine tasting, after all?

Overall, the year has started out pretty crappy for me (training-wise), but….my team is doing FABUOUSLY!!!!  (apparently that’s not a word because the spell check has highlighted it with a squiggly red line).  Anyway, The TAI women’s Cycling team is going to be as strong as ever this year and I am super excited!!!  We pulled on a couple new Cat 3′s and 2′s and have started working on our development team by pulling on a couple Cat 4′s.  See our complete roster here!

Anyway, outside of work and traveling for work and being sick and being injured, I have found a little bit of time to ride my bike. Actually a little bit of time is an overstatement. I think in the last 2 months, I have been on my bike a total of about 10 times, which is pretty sad and devastating to my overall cycling goals this season…. that being said, my AMAZING coach is helping me keep my head on straight and I know that she will do a fantastic job helping me to regain my fitness and be back on the horse in no time.

I’ve been dealing with sever knee pains for the past few months – well, past year, actually. Currently, I’m doing everything that I can to fix it – and I’ve had some pretty good results thus far.  It’s taken a while to figure out what was wrong with me, but I think I’m dialing it in.  I went to UEF and got a fit from Russell, which really helped, and completely solved my right knee pains.  I also have been doing pilates for the past couple months, which has been a phenomenal experience and huge eye opener and rehab for my body.  I also put in my new Super Feet insoles into my cycling shoes and my left knee has been a ton better when riding.  On top of that, Aaron Gustafson has been the best masseuse ever and is correcting so much stuff I didn’t even know was out of whack!!!  So, with more focus on stretching and strengthening, I am on the mend and will continue to hopefully be able to ride my bike A LOT and ride it FAST!

Racing season has begun, but my plan is to not race until Piece of Cake Road Race on March 26.  I may get coerced by teammates to race at Banana Belt tomorrow – but not quite sure how my legs will hold up due to all the work that Aaron did yesterday – so I’ll keep you posted.

Overall, let’s just say that the last couple months have been a true test of patience and personal growth and development – which i hope will make me a stronger person and racer in the long run – and that’s all that matters, right?

Okay, over and out.

I am looking forward to another season with the Therapeutic Associates Women’s Team.  We are trying to bring some new women on and think it’ll be an exciting season!  We’re having a “meet the team” ride on December 4th, so hopefully we’ll be able to meet a few more women and get a feel for who might be looking this late in the season.  Due to some other plans falling through, we’re a little late to catch the recruitment boat – but hopefully something works out!

I’m just starting my training cycle and so far it has included a few weights, a lot of running and a lot of jumping around.  I’ve signed up for a couple months of Bikram Yoga, so I’m counting on that to increase my flexibility and to really jumpstart my body into getting slim and toned – cause I’ve already started putting on those holiday pounds.  I did a few cross rides and races, but nothing too serious – just to keep a little fitness and now I’m only on the bike occasionally – which has been a nice and much needed break.  I’ve started to commute to work again, so that’ll put a few miles on my legs and then I’ll start seriously riding again after the Thanksgiving break.

It’s looking like a record cold/icy winter for Portland – so that’ll put one more strain on my training – cause the trainer and I don’t get a long too well.  Sort of a hate-hate relationship if you ask me, but it looks like we might be stuck together for quite a bit of time this winter season.  I am looking forward to some good skating up on the mountain this year – skate skiing is an excellent cross-training tool for cycling and Chris and I thoroughly enjoy it, so that’ll be fun and refreshing to get outside and get our workout on.

That’s about it!  Training training and recruiting.  Contact me if you are in the Willamette Valley/Portland area and interested in joining a women’s cycling team for the 2011 season! (karey.miles at gmail dot com).   We’d love to hear from you.  Also, check out our team website @ www.taicycling.com.

Well, let’s see – a little recap for y’all…I got through day 1.  Day 2 consisted of staging for Canon Falls Road Race and being right at the front for call ups, while standing next to Meredith Miller and getting my picture taken a lot….and then…nothing.  The race was cancelled due to tornado warnings and a weather system which was said to have 60 mph winds and golfball-sized hail.  Now, why wouldn’t we any one want to race in that?  So, we ended up taking a few laps around the circuit and headed home.  Big let down, but hey, what’dya do?  I surely didn’t want to get swept up by a tornado or crack my helmet due to golfball-sized hail.

Stage 4 was the Uptown Crit which was AWESOME!!!!  This crit went MUCH better for me than the previous crit.  I think maybe I placed the same, but I stayed in much longer, rode pretty aggressively, and felt pretty comfortable.  It was about 85 degrees and 60% humidity – neither of which I was used to at all, and about 10 laps in to the race, I ran out of the 1/2 bottle of water that I brought along with me.  About 12 laps in I couldn’t breath, and even worse, couldn’t swallow – which eventually made me sort of panic.  Eventually it caught up with me and with about 8 laps to go a few of us got gapped off and I just couldn’t chase any more.  We eventually got pulled, but made it quite a ways, so that was exciting!  After I got done I immediately proceeded to have a major coughing fit, due to my chest cold, but was able to eventually breath and appreciate how long I had lasted in that Fast-as-hell crit.

Stage 5 was the Menomonie Road Race.  I woke up feeling pretty darn nasty.  What was left of my head cold had moved all the way to my chest and I felt like I had a smokestack in my lungs.  I couldn’t even take a deep breath without coughing.  Usually I never race or even do workouts if I’m sick, but I had come all this way and come this far and wasn’t going to Not race.  So, we started the road race.  I don’t think there was a flat section on this course.  Up, down, up down, up down.  And the ups aren’t long, but they are kickers.  At about 200 meters to the QOH I was pretty out of breath, and started coughing a little bit.  Before I knew it I was off my bike wheezing, hyperventilating, and basically having an asthma attack.  I don’t really remember the process of getting off my bike, but there I was with my head between my knees trying to figure out how to breathe.  Eventually my car got to me at about the same time that medic did nd we go my calmed down enough to try to take some deep breaths.  By that time, the caravan and everyone had gone by me and I knew I was done.  There was no way that I could ride fast enough with those lungs to even make the time cut.  I spent the next 40 miles or so in my team car still coughing my guts out.

So, that was the end of my NVGP racing experience.  A little disappointing, but it was a great experience while it lasted!  And I got to cheer my team mates on at the Stillwater Crit…and after watching everyone go up that hill, I was starting to think that my lungs knew what was coming for me and they saved me from ALOT of pain.  Looking forward to next year though!!!

It was soooo much fun riding with Cara and all the GP-Bianchi ladies.  We had a blast and it was an amazing experience for all of us!!!!