Still eating out for lunch

Went to Subway with the girls today , but brought my own meal. People have apologized for eating in front of me, but it's no problem. It's not like I am on a diet and am going on will power. I have no choice so it's really quite easy. With that said, my first snack will be french fries.

1/3 done

Two weeks down, four weeks to go. I'm down about 7lbs now but feeling good and strong. I rode to work on Monday and Tuesday for 60 miles total. It wasn't bad, but it felt like working out at 15000 feet. Plenty of strengh but no oxygen. I did get my wires tightened yesterday and double checked with the doctor. Riding and working out is ok. Just nothing to strain the jaw like weightlifting. Face is closer to normal and the scar has healed nicely.

Back in the Saddle

Couldn't resist the urge. Did a test ride of 3.5 miles with Hannah last night and felt good enough that I rode into work today. No speed records as I averaged 13.9mph for the hou commute. I felt the restricted air intake but it was nice to feel the breeze on the face.

1 week down 5 to go

I had an appt with the oral surgeon this morning. Good news is that everything is still aligned and healing well. Bad news is that I have 5 weeks to go. No way to cut the wires early. I also got my lip stiches out last night, so despite the slightly green face I'm getting back to normal.
Week one is done. Net loss of 5lbs.

Gift from Co-workers

Funny and yet so functional. Thanks gang I needed those!

Getting back to half-ugly

Photo from tonight. Scabs are going away and puffyness is going down. I went to work today for 6hrs, but then my body started shutting down and I called it a day.

Soup! It's what's for dinner.

Tomato to be exact. I need to get my lip to heal before I can really suck down on a straw and maybe eat blended foods. So far, lots of Ensure and Slimfast along with Naked Juice Protien drinks. Only about 1600 cal each day so far.

I am not a monkey, I am not a monkey, I am not...

I'll try to make this as quick as possible with enough details and yet not too gross.

I had just finished riding close to 400 miles in the past 20 days and was needed a few days off before the 1st MTB race of the year. The rain made the decision a little easier, so I planned on taking Wed-Fri off. On Thursday night, I was bored and decided to check out the local trails to see how dry they were and to do a little maintenance.

I put on my winter boots and marched about a mile to the newest, biggest downfall on our trails. I wasn't going to attack the hard spots, but figured that I could clean up the smaller, outer limbs to make it easier for Brian with the chainsaw.

I eventually found myself on the downfall and approximately 6-8feet off the ground. I was using both hands to hang onto a large branch above me and using one foot to push a cut branch off the ground. I remember slipping a few times and readjusting my grip. The next thing I remember is waking up on the ground and lots of blood spilling out of my mouth.

I don't know how long I was knocked out, but I've deduced that I must have slipped again and fell over backwards doing a full flip and landing on my face on the dirt. To make it worse, I think that I fell on my handsaw as that is the only thing that I can thing of that would have done the damage.

Net result: The lip was cut all the way through, including the muscle and is about an inch long. I also broke my upper jaw, just above the teeth on the same side. Lastly, I have a few small fractures on the cheekbone area between the cut and my eye (thus the black eye).

This first picture is after arriving home from the ER and the plastic surgeon. A little puffy, but not too bad. I have a before pic, but I'll spare the public (just imagine a Walrus' split lip).

The second picture is after visiting more docs on Friday and getting my jaw wired shut. This will fix the teeth displacement (I didn't lose any), and will also stabilize the jaw/cheekbone to help the cheekbone fractures heal. I am all puffed up here due to the wiring procedure. They must have really been pulling on my bottom lip (I had some cuts inside of it).

This last picture is from Saturday night. As you can see, the swelling is going down and the cuts are starting to heal.

Thanks to everyone that has emailed, texted and tried to call (I can't really talk on a phone now). I appreciate all of your well wishes and will keep you posted via the blog.

Tom

Rejected !

I've been anxiously waiting for the check to be cashed for the Cheguamegon Fat Tire Festival. I had opted for the 40 mile race and was really planning on training to be in the top 250-300 (1700 starters). However, Saturday's mail had my rejection notice. They get somewhere near 2500 entries and hold a lottery for the 1700 starting positions.
First I was pissed, then just bummed. Now I need to find a good event for the last half of the year.

Faulty Scales

Been working on the bike this morning. Taking off the old parts and weighing them to see what should be replaced at the best part per $$ and gram per $$. Apparantly the kitchen scale that I got is off by a good 30%.

My new rims are not in the 1300 range, but are in the 1750 range as advertised (don't know where I had 1500 from). Regardless, they are still much, much lighter than what I am currently running.

Off to the shop to finish the wheelbuild and then I can compare apples to apples with weights. Stay tuned.

BTW - Craigslist rocks! Just sold the old kitchen appliances in less than 12hours for what I wanted. I have never failed to sell what I needed to via Craigslist.