A very close call...

Thursday, October 06, 2011
Every now and again I have an experience that confirms my belief in a greater power. I was driving on County Line Road making my way to Patterson’s Fruit Farm and approaching a stop sign. I depressed my brake pedal, which went completely to the floor without having any slowing effect on the vehicle. I looked ahead and could see that there were no cars approaching the stop sign and so cruised through it a 30 mph. I was on an uphill grade, so I steered the car to the side of the road as it gently came to a complete stop. I sat there and considered how lucky I had been. In a few short miles, I would have been driving down Wilson Mills Hill, a road so steep that it allows me to exceed 50 mph…on my bike. A car, of course, would gather even more speed and I can only imagine the results…none of which could have been positive. Instead…I cruised through an open intersection and came to stop…hurting no one. Yes…for me there is a God.

I had the car towed to Dan’s place and was lucky enough to reach Mimi for a ride home. I was feeling pretty jazzed and needed to work off some steam so I returned to the Metropark and attacked the Survival Workout. I managed more pr’s in one day since the first day I did the workout. I managed new highs in push-ups, doing 70 in my first set and a three-set pr of 181. I also broke my 3-set dip record with a new high of 106. I felt stronger in every lift I did and was doing more reps than I ever had with the biceps and rowing rock lifts. Every lifter has these days and they become something to build on…new heights to try and achieve. I don’t know if it was related to the car incident or not, but that’s what happened.

I returned home with enough time to put in a bike ride and figured it was time to see if the dizziness was just a freak occurrence related to the head cold…which has cleared. I rode my Waite Hill course and had little trouble maintaining a hard pace throughout, finishing in 1:45…only 2 minutes slower than the fastest time I’ve ever ridden it and feeling like I could have ridden another hour.

I continued to play in my head the possible scenario’s that could have unfolded when my brakes went out for the remainder of the evening. I could only conclude that it simply wasn’t my time and that there are still things I need to accomplish. Thanks for the opportunity to enjoy another day…I hope to make the best of each and every one of them.

Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes. Bike workout: one hour 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm for SW and 130 for bike.
Calories burned during workout: 600 for SW and 1,450 for bike.