Motivation.

I just bought a bikini online for our trip to Miami at the end of February. Nothing's more motivating than a swimsuit ready deadline. The one thing that kills the motivation? Knee pain. I think I'm ready to officially kill any fall marathon goals. It just isn't in the cards this year. I don't want to push myself too much and end up being in pain for a few months of training. I'd much rather figure out a way to safely manage my pain without having to pop pain killers regularly. I've hardly taken any pain meds since surgery and don't want to start now. I also want to figure out a way to work out regularly and not be in pain afterwards and a solid schedule of running doesn't seem to be the right thing. So, I'm going to keep working on building back up my running base, focusing on 5k's, and cross train with cycling and swimming. I think the key will be balancing impact with non-impact cardio. I also wonder if once the winter passes if I'll still be experiencing knee pain. I ran a 5K early November, before it got cold, without any issues. Now, I seem to be lingering in a stiff/sore stage since winter hit. Makes me want to re-locate to a warmer climate. Or, perhaps just a long weekend in Miami will make it all better.

Crash.

Last Thursday I embarked on an adventure of learning to ride a motorcycle. Harley-Davidson has a new rider course to learn in. Its two nights of in class teaching and then two days of on the bike training. By the end, if you pass, you are endorsed to get your motorcycle license. I was excited about the course, but not so excited to give up my Thursday and Friday nights and all day Saturday and Sunday. But I was excited at the opportunity to learn to ride a motorcycle. That excitement didn't last long.

On Saturday, I started out doing well. I got the basics of riding and was having a good time. Just before lunch I was starting to struggle and ended up tipping the bike- the bike landing on my leg. Of course, that jilted me a little. Its hard to get back on when you've just had a motorcycle fall on you and your leg is throbbing. I spent the lunch break trying to build back up my confidence. Again, that didn't last long.

Not long after lunch, I crashed. Not just a tumble off the bike, but a crash. I was going faster than I wanted heading into a curve (the whole course taking place in a parking lot, so we were just riding around in circles). I had a vision of myself tipping the bike around the curve and myself sliding across the pavement. Not a good vision. But I had a vision I was going to crash, so, in essence I made it happen. I tried to stop, but did the one maneuver that we are told NOT to do- I grabbed the front break. In another attempt to avoid the pavement, I steered myself into a ditch.

The physical crash is hazy for me. I tipped the bike onto the right side, but somehow ended up sliding across the dirt on my left side. Hurting my right hand and left knee in the process. I'm banged up and bruised, but that's all. Nothing broken and hopefully nothing too serious (I'm still waiting to see how bad my knee is).

But I hurt. I thought I had a pretty high pain tolerance, but the way I'm throwing back vicodin leads me to believe otherwise.

Will I attempt to drive a motorcycle again? No. I don't trust myself and if I can crash in a motorcycle safety course, I shouldn't be on the road. Will I ride one again? Maybe. I don't trust myself to drive one, but I'm not opposed to someone else.

Here's a picture of the bike post crash. (Note the dirt in the head light and exposed wires).



Here's a picture of me post crash. (Note the knee brace and arm wrap).