You may be very surprised to learn that the week following my Ironman crash last year was one of the most pleasant of my life. And yes I was on vacation in the RV with 3 of my favourite people, but while that certainly helped offset the feelings of anger and frustration I was experiencing, it was not the sole reason.
You see I had drugs! While I didn't whine to the doctor about the level of physical pain I was experiencing, he must have had a pretty good idea, because he gave me 10 days supply of the mother of all painkillers, oxycontin!!
So while I avoided taking them during the day when we were travelling, once we settled in somewhere I would immediately head to my little bottle of magic. Not just did it make my specific, injury related pain go away, it also immediately alleviated every other little ache and pain that my old body routinely experiences. No more hip pain! No more radiation related, mouth and throat pain! No more eye strain, etc etc. Just blissful, relaxed, groginess. It's no wonder it's addictive.
But that's not half of the story!
I don't know how or why this is, but the real serious impact of the drug was not on my body, but rather on my mind. Within a half hour of taking those 2 little candies all my cares and troubles would simply evaporate. No worrying about children, money, health etc. Just plain magic! It's no wonder it's addictive.
Fortunately I am blessed with a personal situation that would make getting more of the shit a difficult task, other wise I may have considered it. The primary aspect of that situation is of course my wife, who once before caught me trying to get hooked on something....that time it was primarily hydromorphone. I suspect my own bit of drug phobia may play into that a little as well, so I'll take some credit too.....
Anyway, I survived all that happiness in a bottle, and here I am, almost a year later. Of course my throat hurts like it does every day, but I also know it's the lesser of 2 evils.
And speaking of today, I wish to tell you about my workout. Since the skies were looking very troubled I decided to start out in the basement. I chose a moderately hard ride, since I expected to still be a bit tired from my 34 kms, and it worked out well Just tough enough to tax me, without going over the edge. Then of course I still needed to do my little transition run outside, which is always the toughest part of these double workouts.
But out I went, slow as molasses, not too motivated, staring at the ground. My first km took almost 6 minutes, but the worst of it was that my achilles started acting up right away. Immediately all the alarm bells went off.
" I need to stop right away"
"There is no way I will be able to do hills tomorrow"
"What about my 8K transition run on Saturday?"
"That's the end of long runs again!"
But I didn't stop, and the next km was a wee bit faster, and a wee bit less painful.
Then by km 3, I was suddenly straightened up, going a bit faster again, and lo and behold my heel was getting way better, not worse.
Kilometer 4 was completely pain free!
And for all of kilometer 5 I just experienced the pure, unadulterated joy of running. No worrying about children, money, health etc. And after I got back home and had a shower I had trouble staying awake. All I felt was a kind of blissful, relaxed, groginess. It's no wonder it's addictive.
And while I don't pretend for a second that exercise provides the same kind of short term euphoria that a good chemical can give, there are of course some other advantages. Funny enough though, drugs and exercise share one common side effect, in that in both cases you build up a physical and mental tolerance. For the first that means you need more of it, and for the other it means you can do more of it!! I love it!
No wonder it's addictive!
And this knowledge is what keeps me doing it, and doing it, and doing it! And will keep me doing it, for as long as I can do it!!
Here's my splits by the way.
5:51
5:33
4:58
4:43
4:25
basement ride 75 mins, transition run 5kms
...I like this...
"Beware of addictive medicines. Everything in moderation. This applies particularly to the Internet and your sofa. The physical world is ultimately the source of all inspiration. Which is to say, if all else fails: take a bike ride."---Aaron Koblin
You see I had drugs! While I didn't whine to the doctor about the level of physical pain I was experiencing, he must have had a pretty good idea, because he gave me 10 days supply of the mother of all painkillers, oxycontin!!
So while I avoided taking them during the day when we were travelling, once we settled in somewhere I would immediately head to my little bottle of magic. Not just did it make my specific, injury related pain go away, it also immediately alleviated every other little ache and pain that my old body routinely experiences. No more hip pain! No more radiation related, mouth and throat pain! No more eye strain, etc etc. Just blissful, relaxed, groginess. It's no wonder it's addictive.
But that's not half of the story!
I don't know how or why this is, but the real serious impact of the drug was not on my body, but rather on my mind. Within a half hour of taking those 2 little candies all my cares and troubles would simply evaporate. No worrying about children, money, health etc. Just plain magic! It's no wonder it's addictive.
Fortunately I am blessed with a personal situation that would make getting more of the shit a difficult task, other wise I may have considered it. The primary aspect of that situation is of course my wife, who once before caught me trying to get hooked on something....that time it was primarily hydromorphone. I suspect my own bit of drug phobia may play into that a little as well, so I'll take some credit too.....
Anyway, I survived all that happiness in a bottle, and here I am, almost a year later. Of course my throat hurts like it does every day, but I also know it's the lesser of 2 evils.
And speaking of today, I wish to tell you about my workout. Since the skies were looking very troubled I decided to start out in the basement. I chose a moderately hard ride, since I expected to still be a bit tired from my 34 kms, and it worked out well Just tough enough to tax me, without going over the edge. Then of course I still needed to do my little transition run outside, which is always the toughest part of these double workouts.
But out I went, slow as molasses, not too motivated, staring at the ground. My first km took almost 6 minutes, but the worst of it was that my achilles started acting up right away. Immediately all the alarm bells went off.
" I need to stop right away"
"There is no way I will be able to do hills tomorrow"
"What about my 8K transition run on Saturday?"
"That's the end of long runs again!"
But I didn't stop, and the next km was a wee bit faster, and a wee bit less painful.
Then by km 3, I was suddenly straightened up, going a bit faster again, and lo and behold my heel was getting way better, not worse.
Kilometer 4 was completely pain free!
And for all of kilometer 5 I just experienced the pure, unadulterated joy of running. No worrying about children, money, health etc. And after I got back home and had a shower I had trouble staying awake. All I felt was a kind of blissful, relaxed, groginess. It's no wonder it's addictive.
And while I don't pretend for a second that exercise provides the same kind of short term euphoria that a good chemical can give, there are of course some other advantages. Funny enough though, drugs and exercise share one common side effect, in that in both cases you build up a physical and mental tolerance. For the first that means you need more of it, and for the other it means you can do more of it!! I love it!
No wonder it's addictive!
And this knowledge is what keeps me doing it, and doing it, and doing it! And will keep me doing it, for as long as I can do it!!
Here's my splits by the way.
5:51
5:33
4:58
4:43
4:25
basement ride 75 mins, transition run 5kms
...I like this...
"Beware of addictive medicines. Everything in moderation. This applies particularly to the Internet and your sofa. The physical world is ultimately the source of all inspiration. Which is to say, if all else fails: take a bike ride."---Aaron Koblin
Love
Peter
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