Ego Override

Ego Override!!

A lot has happened since the last time I shared my thoughts so I will get on with it and not waste any time or words!   On August 6, after completing my lifetime effort of completing my 392nd triathlon in 35 years I took a big bicycle crash on a training ride the day after!.  This crash just came out of the blue and was not caused by anything on the road or my bicycle handling error! So what caused this to happen to a seasoned experienced cyclist?  For the record, over the last 35 years of riding the bike I have crashed exactly 5 times and only once in an actual race.  So all of these crashes were on training rides, one was caused after being attacked by a large dog at 30 mph, two, I going down the back hill at 40 mph and hit  the steel grating cover, three, during a race because of a freeze up on the chain system, while the other two just happened because of the fact sometimes you just don’t have control of the road or obstacles in the road.  Regardless, I could pin point every crash and cause except this serious crash on August 6, 2017.  As I took care of the road rash and other bumps and bruises I just could not put my finger on what caused this to happen.  My training partner for 25 years, John Harris was comfortably behind me and said he noticed my handle bars taking a quick pull to the left and then I went down.  While I did not go to the ER or Doctor the day of the crash I did go the next day and left my docs office with bandages for my road rash and a bad headache.  So, at that time my doctor felt that I had a mild concussion, which I agreed with.  So a followup in 3 days verified this diagnosis and we agreed I should get an MRI to see if there was something there the human eye was not getting. Turns out the MRI had a lot on its’ gruesome(this is the first MRI for my head, so I didn’t realize just how dreadful this gadget could be)  But, after seeing the results we found out what the damage was and what caused the actual crash.  Turns out I had s stroke on the downhill and my left hand pulled the left brake way too hard and the front brake flipped me over the handle bars.  So, then the question is why did I(Mr. Healthy, athlete have a stroke and why at this time).  Well it turns out(unknown to me) that I suffered from a condition called A Fib, atrial fibrillation,which I had never heard of before now!  So, what to do about?  1.  Go on blood thinner, have a heart monitor installed in my chest, and the hardest part--limit my activity.  When I ask the doctor if I had just retired from triathlon he said no, he felt I could be treated and would be able to return to swim, bike and run in 2-3 moths.  I am on limited exercise now that almost amounts to nothing compared to the past, but I am following the docs orders.  The next question I ask concerns my age and did that really cause this and the answer was no, I just happened to be a very active healthy 78 year old.  So, I do go through a little depression feeling during the day but I get over it as fast as possible. The back story is that the actual crash could have been much more serious that what happened and I may be lucky I actually was able to walk away from it.  So, some days, weeks, and hours and following the docs orders will get me back to almost where I was.  Since my big goal is to reach 400 triathlons by the time I am 80 on December 16, 2018, I must re-hab back to the point I can finish(I do not have to win them) 8 official triathlons by the above date. The good news is I have many strong triathletes that have set a tremendous example of facing accidents or illness, my friend in Dallas Darrel Neal, had a terrible accident after the World Championships in Australia and returned the next year just due to hard work and determination.  My friend Joanna Zeiger had a bad bicycle accident at the World Championship and after numerous surgeries is still setting the perfect example of sticking with it and overcoming adversity.   Bottom line, I will re-hab and re-write some of my life goals and be thankful I can even write this blog!!!  In my life goals I will address a psychological problem that came to light as a result of this condition.  I think over the years that my ego has pushed me to an uncomfortable situation in life where I need to listen. to my body more and not let the ego gain control  Example, in my quest for 400 triathlons I had done 11 triathlons in 3 months while driving 3300 miles.  So, I did go into this crash with a lot of fatigue and that escalated some of my damage to the brain and body.  Regardless, I know that now and I acknowledge it and will script that out of my life!!

Movie Reviews:  Since the movies being made now are so bad I am going to limit my reviews to just the star designation, for example:  1 * bad waste of money, ** a little better ***I would recommend it if you read the synopsis of it if available, **** very good and I recommend it(not many in this category for some reason), ***** a must see with no negatives.

War For the Planet of the Apes--**, not near like the originals

Spider Man **

The House *

47 Meters Down  *

Wonder Woman ***

***The Hero-only gets the extra star because of Sam Elliott

Dunkirk *

Hitman Body Guard *, waste of Ryan Reynolds, and Samuel L. Jackson(who only knows how to say the MF, MG words over and over!)

Books now in reading progress:

Lies and Legends, Civil War, Bill O’Reilly

It is Our Fight--Elizabeth Warren

greerman

EA, SH.............:)