The Back Is Back...Maybe.

I was getting VERY worried that my TGD team members (specifically Wil and Shelley) were fixin' to drum me out of the corp for bailing on Steelhead due to back problems, but after a bike re-fitting on Tuesday and rides yesterday and today things seem to be looking up...or at least sideways.

Thanks to Chris at the Glen Ellyn (IL) Bike Shop by the way. Great job Chris, even though together we could NOT get the Cateye computer to work! I may have to go buy a Litespeed Blade or some Cosmic Carbones from him as a comp. Or a new bike computer, any brand BUT Cateye.

The re-fitted Kestrel has a much different cockpit: seat is way farther forward, stem is 2 cm shorter, cleats are newly-adjusted, seat height is slightly lower and many other things are subtly different. So far, so good. The post-refitting rides have been easy, low stress and comfortable. Is the problem fixed? Are the knives permanently removed from my back? Time and next week's crack at the Steelhead bike course will tell.

I've added 20 minutes per-day of stretching to my routine along with a regular massage. I've never been a good or faithful stretcher and now I'm paying the price. And, I have NO idea if the massage helps the back in a clinical sense, but it feels great and that's more than enough for me.

This weekend, the Tri-wife is out of town and I'm riding herd on Tri-daughters #3 and #4. They're 18 and 17 respectively, gorgeous (if I do say so myself), poised, self-assured and INCREDIBLY tough on the Great Suburban Outback's young men...as well they should be. 18 year-old 'boys' are such transparent schmucks... And if you're the parent of said schmuck, spare me your abusive e-mail crap and put your time to better use. Teach him some manners for a change, maybe.

Tomorrow's schedule calls for a :45 swim and another 1:00 bike with ITP along for motivation. Sunday is a 10-mile race where I'd LOVE my pace to be somewhere between 8:00 and 8:20 per mile, but I'm learning that what I love and what loves me back are seldom the same. Stay tuned.

And Shelley, Wil, I'm STILL jumping off that pier with you on August 6th!