So about two weeks ago I dislocated/subluxed my right
shoulder (pretty sure I sprained my AC joint too, but that wasn’t the official
diagnosis) while riding the Flying Squirrel Trail at Chicopee Woods in Gainesville, GA. As soon as I got my awareness back after the
crash, I knew I was hurt. I didn’t
really know how bad until I tried to get back on the bike. I put weight on the shoulder when I grabbed
the handlebars and thought I might eject that morning’s egg sandwich.
It felt
like déjà vu. Last spring I tore the MCL
in my left knee a few months before the Burn 24 while skiing off piste and
living in Vermont. Now instead of a knee, it is a shoulder. Instead of the Burn 24, it is the 24 hrs. of Georgia. It seems like I am destined to be injured in
some form right before any major mtb race I enter. While I think the shoulder actually hurts
more – my med school girlfriend tells me that there are a lot of nerves in the
shoulders – injuring a shoulder still allows me to train cardio, whereas my
knee had to heal first. So what do I
do? Well, the shoulder does not allow me
control a bike yet, so I am running. I
figure by running I can prepare my cardiovascular system for the race, but of
course I will be missing time in the saddle.
Perhaps my biggest worry is losing my nerve on downhill sections. After dozens of pretty good falls without any
real injury, I guess this was bound to happen.
I just wish it wouldn’t have happened 2 months before race day.
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