Passing of the kidney boulder...

Thursday, August 27, 2015

I’d made it through Wednesday evening with the help of good pharmaceuticals and a dinner from my friend, Nancy.  I was feeling very little pain as I’d headed off to bed and somewhere in the night, I’d woken because I had to pee.  I took my screen with me into the bathroom and was quite pleased when a huge boulder came splashing into the interceptor with the wonderful message that the stone had passed.  I rinsed it off and put it in a baggie so I could bring it to my Urologist at a later date and went back to bed.  When I woke in the morning, I was groggy from medication and sore from having gone ten rounds with a kidney stone.  I don’t know about others, but for me the days after feel like I’ve been in a prizefight and was the recipient of many illegal kidney blows.  I elected to stay home and rest some more.

I was up around nine and decided since I was burning a day off, I had to do it with some style.  I dressed and drove to Kleifelds for breakfast and brought along my Adirondack log to update and read over trying to find some places I’d like to return.  I was planning a trip for Labor Day weekend, but still unsure about going.  Still…better to have a plan.

I returned home feeling about 90% and thinking that meant I should ride my bike.  Kathy was in Idaho and kicking butt on the Coeur d'Alene bike trail and it was really making me antsy to ride.  I headed out on the tougher of my two favorite trails, which meant I’d be riding up Old Mill Road in Gates Mills.

I arrived at the bottom of the hill feeling a little out of sorts and with some pain in the area of my right kidney.  Hmmm.  I began the ascent a gear easier than I would normally ride and it took me almost nine minutes to complete the climb.  I was breathing heavily at the top, but I was there and now had another hour to my turnaround.  I headed east on Dines/Pekin Road, a rolling, quiet country road with many horse farms and few cars.  It was a beautiful riding day with a breeze, plenty of sun and temperatures in the low seventies.  When I’d ridden 21 miles, I decided it was enough even though I knew Kathy was riding over seventy that day, which would be her longest ride ever.  Had I been feeling better, I would have continued to 25 so I’d at least have done 50, but for once my brain had control of my body and I turned around.

I rode strongly home and felt pretty good, though there was still some pain in my kidney.  The ride had taken two and a half hours, which wasn’t terrible considering I’d been holding back some.  I was considering going to Savannah’s to do some painting, but things began to catch up with me and I found myself sleeping on the couch by six. 

Bike duration:  Two hours and 30 minutes.

Training Heart Rate:  120 bpm.

Calories burned during workout:  2150.