FTO...

Hi Everyone. Well, once again I find myself in that place that every athlete, pro or amateur, dreads. Injured! About three months ago, I strained my lower right back while doing a big gear, low cadence workout on my trainer, and between racing and training, I haven't given it a chance to heal properly. Every morning I wake up, my back has been so stiff, I literally can't bend over to put my socks on! As most competitive athletes, I refused to take the necessary time off to let it heal, afraid to lose the fitness gains I had made through all the countless early morning intervals and long, hard weekend rides.

Well, this last weekend I found the straw that broke the proverbial camels back. I met a group of friends to ride to the summit of Mt. Baldy to watch the Tour of California. During the ride itself, as with all my training and racing rides, I didn't experience any pain, but later that night I paid dearly for my efforts. There was just no way I could get comfortable, the pain from my lower back and hips was just burning more then ever, and the next morning I could barely get out of bed! Enough was enough, it was time to face the fact that some forced time off was long overdue.

Needless to say, that's where I'm currently at. I'm taking a full week off the bike, which fortunately is timed perfectly for a work trip with my wife to Paso Robles this weekend. Although I'm really missing some saddle time, I'm really looking forward to this trip and some good solid bonding time with my best friend. You can never get enough of that.

As far as racing goes, I did cancel my registration for the State RR Championships, June 2nd. There's just not enough time to keep the fitness where it needs to be, and probably not enough time to let the back heal before that rolls around. The Death Valley Stage Race coming up June 23-24, is still on my calendar, but my back is going to determine whether or not I can make it. I have to keep my focus on the bigger picture, and the biggest race later in the year, the Everest Challenge.

That's all for now, I hope you're all well, until next time...