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Rode Shelby Bottoms

I rode Shelby Bottoms today on my new single speed road bike. I rode end to end with both loops.

Afterwards I stopped by East Side Cycles and ordered a fixed cog and a lock ring to turn the other side of my rear wheel into a fixed gear. I am looking forward to riding "fixie" a little bit, but I am not sure I want to commute like that.

At least one day next week I am going to ride to work. Maybe after I get the new cog I will try to ride fixie at Shelby Bottoms a little bit.

Hip Bike

Sure, I was able to just up and run a 5k, but it reminded me of why I am not running all the time...

It takes me a long time to recover from a run.

I am not sure why, but my hips hurts for a couple of days after a run. Maybe it is misleading to say I am not sure why, but I don't want to believe it and no doctor has verified it recently.

When I was in high school I didn't do what my doctor told me; I ran more than 10 miles in practice and ran 6-7 days a week. He specifically told me not to do those things because I was still growing. I was 16 which meant I was not only invincible, but I also knew everything.

Well, on Fall night I woke up with incredible pain in my hip. I couldn't walk and the regional Cross Country championship was in two days. At the time the doc told me that I had developed juvenile arthritis (which is the same as regular arthritis, but when you are a juvenile). I didn't do very well in that regional meet, but I ran (hobbled? limped?) it and finished it.

My mom now has some issue with her hip where she is losing cartilage and the bone is rubbing against bone. I am assuming these two things are related and that they are the cause of my hip pain. The thing is, I don't really like that answer. I keep thinking that I will get in better shape and my hips will no longer hurt. Granted, I haven't been consistent enough to test this theory and I haven't asked a doctor. Still, I like that answer better. Who needs Occam's Razor?

I really like the idea of running again. I like how I feel when I get done with a run. I like to race. I like to run far. I like meeting goals. I am also at a point in my life where I have a choice to either get in shape or get fat; I am not able to coast by on my metabolism any longer.

So I bought a bike. Riding a bike is great fitness that should help me get in shape without hurting my hips. So what did I buy? A single gear road bike with the plan to flip the back wheel and ride it fixed.

Yeah, I haven't really ridden a bike much in 7 years and I chose to get one of the most difficult bikes to ride. It would be cake if I still lived in Philly or New Orleans; they are flat. Nashville? Full of hills. Big hills, small hills, up and down, up and down with very few flat roads.

Yeah, that makes sense. I am a masochist or am ego driven or a fool. Most likely it is some combination of the three.

So I took out my little road bike today. It wore me out. My legs hurt. My lungs hurt. My dreams hurt. But my hips don't hurt. Oh, and the bike was really fun to ride. It will be more fun fixed but I am going to have to work up to that.

I still want to run. Maybe I can start riding my bike to Shelby Bottoms to run a few miles and then ride home. Like I said, foolish ego driven masochist.

I Owe It To Myself

I haven't run in months. Today I decided I needed to run so I ran a 5k in 30 minutes. I owe it to myself to run.

I just need to get in the habit of running. It makes life better.