Just-in-Time Fitness

Tomorrow will mark seventeen-and-a-half weeks since my frightening bike crash on the way home from work on May 2nd. During the ambulance ride to Rockyview Hospital, I figured out that I had just enough time recover, then rebuild my fitness to a point where I could toe the start line at Ironman Canada on August 26th. What kind of race shape was a big question mark, but I was determined to be as fit as possible, given whatever limitations were imposed by my injuries.

The Crash

I was cycle-commuting home from work on the bike paths, in a suburban park used to access the off-leash dog park across the river. Off to my right, a fellow had stopped, I was assumed to leash his dog. I rang my bell, made eye contact, and kept riding. Then I heard him calling his dog, and the next thing I knew the dog was right at my front wheel.

I didn’t even get a chance to hit the brakes, and went over the bars hard, skidding down the asphalt on my helmet and left shoulder. Luckily my backpack stopped me from breaking my neck. My helmet was cracked, my shirt ripped open, and I had several abrasions on my left arm, hip and leg. My left clavicle was about an inch higher than it should have been, and I couldn’t get my breath. In a state of shock, I got up as if to prepare to finish the ride home, then I decided I had better just lay down for a while.

Fortunately a couple of other cyclists I know came along, and called the ambulance for me. The damage: A punctured left lung, grade-three AC joint separation, severely bruised ribs and a dozen abrasions. (The lung was punctured on impact, not by a broken rib). The lung sounds like the worst of the injuries, but a couple of nights hooked to a chest tube purged the chest cavity and allowed the lung to re-inflate and heal. The shoulder looked terrible, and I had very limited mobility for several days. But the worst limiter of all was the bruised ribs. For a few weeks there was no comfortable position to sleep, and coughing and sneezing were new adventures in pain.

The Recovery

After one week I started spinning easy again on my indoor trainer, and walking as briskly as possible on the treadmill. In addition, I started an aggressive regime of chiropractic, acupuncture and massage therapy at Calgary Sports Therapy. Mobility slowly returned to my injured shoulder, and at twenty days I was back in the pool, swimming a tentative 500m. I gradually increased the distance every swim, three days per week, and on June 8th, just over five weeks after the crash, I swam 3100m.

In the meantime, my cycling and running volume were increasing to the levels they would have been at, had the crash not happened. Still, I thought I needed a fitness boost, so I did the training camp in July, with races at the beginning and end of the camp. It worked; after a few days of easy recovery training that followed, my fitness was at a new level, just in time for the final build to Ironman Canada. Some 3500 km of cycling, 500 km of running and 100,000 metres of swimming since May 2nd, I feel as race-fit as I have since I started Ironman racing five years ago.

My thanks go out to my coach Kevin Cutjar, who crafted another awesome program on a tight schedule; and at Calgary Sports Therapy: Drs. Rich Robinson and Billy McKay, and angels Deb, Cheryl and Gwen, for their positive attitudes and thoughtful treatment.

On Thursday night at the carbo load dinner, announcer Steve King said those of us who have overcome injury to compete at the 25th anniversary of Ironman Canada, know how fortunate we are to have the opportunity.

No matter what happens tomorrow, I feel like I have already won!