“So Nilesh…before we get into all my back stuff, what’s up with the Tough Mudder thing,” I asked.
“Well…I’ve been invited to participate in the World’s Toughest Mudder competition in November in New Jersey. I don’t know if I’m going though, because I don’t think I’ll be able to drive anywhere when it’s over,” he said.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Tough Mudder races, it’s a patented competition offered in designated sites throughout the world and are hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by
British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. Nilesh had entered one this past summer and performed so well, he’d qualified to the finals. The finals though would be offer a completely different format. Competitors will have 24 hours to complete as many laps of the course as they can and the winner will be determined by how many laps they complete. The obstacles will remain a secret but are promised to a Tough Mudder course on steroids. Anyway, he’s my kind of doc.
“I’ll drive you there and bring you home again. I’ll take tons of pictures and write a story about it,” I offered enthusiastically.
He looked at me and quickly determined I was completely serious…and that his primary excuse had just disappeared. I finished him off by asking, “what would Lance do?” He knew the answer.
I went through a physical exam and then had some x-rays taken. We got back together to review the next step.
“Man, John…you’re back looks young. No sign of arthritis, great space between discs…this all looks really good,” he said while pointing to spots on the x-ray. “But you sure do have a lot of pain and we’ll handle that,” he said.
That was really good news to me. During the exam, he’d been saying things to lead me to believe that I had a disc issue. Instead, it was just some pissed-off muscles in my lower back trying to get back at me for all those miles I’d been riding on the bike. He prescribed prednisone to relieve the swelling and a muscle relaxant to relieve my brain. He didn’t say anything about exercise, which meant I’d figure it out...and was probably his only mistake. That, or he knew me well enough to know that I wouldn't be listening when he made suggestions.
I filled the prescription after work, went home and took the dosage of both, and hopped on the bike. The relaxant pill bottle advised against operating a motorized vehicle, but said nothing about human powered, so that made biking okay. I decided to repeat the course I’d done the day before with Kim, but faster. When I reached my first climb, I rose off the saddle tentatively and although there was mild discomfort, I stayed that way to the top.
Overall, the ride went well and I clocked it 8 minutes faster than I had the day before. I still had pain in the lower back but it had been subsiding throughout the day. With or without medication, I was mending. I was encouraged and began to feel like I’d turned the corner on these nagging injuries. I’ll know more in the morning.
Bike Duration: 82 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1200.
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