I'm Injured After All

It seems I did not complete the WaterTribe Ultimate Challenge unscathed. I've just been diagnosed with a pelvic stress fracture, attributed to the portage section of the Challenge.

I had a really hard time during the portage. When practicing taking my bike apart and putting it back together, I did not realize there was one little part that the gear cable needed to pass through (it was always in place). During the packing and unpacking in Florida, the cable must have come out. When I got the bike put together for the portage, I had a problem. I not only couldn't change gears, the bike was stuck in the hardest gear.

I both walked (pushing the bike and boat) and biked in the dark for 8 miles, till I gave up in frustration and pulled over for the night, wanting to wait till morning when I could see and try and fix the problem I jury rigged a fix that at least gave me the next lowest gear, though not the granny gear I needed to comfortably tow the load. I still did not understanding the real problem. I completed the remaining 38 miles of the portage by alternating biking 1-2 miles and walking a couple 100 yds (this to let the burn out of my thighs).

The first video in the Challenge Viewer of the WaterTibe website, titled "Chief - The Three Amigos do the Portage....", really gives you a sense of my frustration and difficulties. After the portage I complained a bit about a sore hip, no big surprise, pushing all that weight. I gave it a month to heal, thinking it more a muscle or tendinitis, and finally went for some x-rays. Diagnosis: Pelvic Stress Fracture on Right.

Nothing to be done but wait for it to heal. I'll have to limit my weight bearing activities, but I'm okay to swim, bike, and paddle. Pretty good since this is all I want to do anyway.

The Doc said "just let pain be your guide". Ha! he doesn't know me very well. I have a very high tolerance for pain, which is what gets me into this kind of trouble in the first place. This is not my first overuse stress fracture. A previous runner and triathlete, I now have titanium rods the length of both my tibia's from stress fractures brought on by distance running.

Then there was the time I ............