Riding clean

While I often joke about the amounts of painkillers I use while out swim/bike/running, truth is, I'm not very fond of them.   Firstly, it feels like cheating, especially since reading Taylor Phinney's interview on the matter. Now, I'm pretty sure I don't agree with him 100%, especially as a recreational/enthusiast rider, but it's something to consider.  Regardless of philosophical considerations, there is the issue of physical cost.   For me, that is expressed either as headaches from Tramadol or a ripped up stomach from NSAIDs.   Neither is pleasant, and the cumulative impact just gets progressively less so.

That's why rides like I had Tuesday are such a joy.   Tuesdays are the local tri-group's mini-camps, where we go and play at being triathletes for a few hours (well, some folks are doing more than playing).   Basically, it amounts to a brick workout and it's quite a bit of fun, if you are into that sort of thing.   Since I'm still waiting for the weather to warm up, I tag along with my kayak on the swim leg, then get on my bike and running shoes for the rest.   This Tuesday was a rather damp and chilly day, but that didn't matter in the least because my back and knee were completely pain free and I was loving it.

Thing is, even with the pain meds, if I'm in pain my performance suffers.  It's logical, really; my back pain results from a mess of swollen tissue and inflamed joints, and no amount of pharmaceutical intervention can eliminate the reduced mobility.   To be able to ride without pain is a whole different experience for me, to the point that I think it would be interesting to have a power meter to be able to see the output difference between the rides.  Unfortunately, it's still a pretty rare experience, but that makes it all the sweeter.

Anyhow, Tuesday was one of those rare days, and it was glorious.   Hills were effortless, the flats were fast and even though I wasn't trying for a really fast ride, I posted one of my faster MPHs of the season.  I'm a little sad, to be honest, that I didn't go head down and pound it out, just to see what I could have done.   Hopefully this will become less of an exception as I continue to work on my low back issues, and I will have ample opportunity to see how fast my body is willing to take me.

As it stands, I got a good ride in, though by the time I started the run my window of opportunity had run out. I wanted to do three miles, just to say that I had, but it was not to be.   The upside, is that even though my back was unhappy at that point, it's back to more or less normal levels of complaint now, so it appears recovery is happening fairly quickly.   I've got a couple of rides coming up this holiday weekend -- fingers crossed!