No, it wasn't me this time, though it has been many times before.
Improper bike fit.
Yes, ladies and gents, though I've been riding and riding and riding some more on Vincent with nary a scratch, but one ride on a(n amazing gorgeous can't-wait-to-ride-it-again) new bike I tried to fit myself brought me crashing to my knees.
Or crashed my right knee, to be more specific.
During my fit tonight (another blog entry), I started to ask my friend, a former pro racer and general bike all around knowledger, about when I should start riding again, what I should do, etc. Which led to a general discussion about my past injuries, etc.
And then the bomb dropped:
Friend: When you're very active for a very long time, like you and me, things start to accumulate, it starts to catch up with you. How old are you?
Me: 28
Friend: See, you're just starting to get to the point where you can't bounce back like you used to, when a horse kicked you and it was no big deal.
BOOM!
I'm 28. I'm not yet 30, but I have put myself through a ringer in these 28 years. I have spent a good part of my 20s riding 8-10 horses a day, not to mention the lifting, dragging, carrying, and banging around that your body naturally goes through when working in the horse industry.
Add that to several years of dancing everyday.
Add to that a few running injuries.
Not to mention all of the riding, running around, and crashing I took as a kid.
So to satisfy my own curiousity, here it is, in all its glory. A complete list of all the injuries I've sustained over the years serious enough to stick out in my mind:
3rd grade: Broken left collar bone and dislocated left shoulder - horses
5th grade: Took off most of the skin on my left arm and some on my right arm - horses
19: Stress fracture to my left hip - running and general idiocracy
20: Stress fracture in my middle back and bruised tailbone - horses
22: Concussion with minor memory loss - horses
22: Bruised left big toe - horses
26: Severely bruised swollen right leg; almost kicked in the knee but not quite - horses
26: Bone bruise inside right ankle - horses
27: Broken right baby toe - horses
27: Patellar Tendonitis in my right knee- running
27: Severely sprained left ankle - running
Not to mention all of the countless times I've fallen off (I fell off horses about 8 times in the winter of 2008-2009 alone, some of them VERY near misses in terms of injury), fallen down, fallen over doing various things, but NOT getting hurt enough to stick out in my mind.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not an old lady by any means, and I have a very high desire to excel at this sport and to get back into running come fall/winter. And my list probably can't compare to others. Still, it's nice to review and see where I've come from as I continue to move towards where I'm going.
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