8 stitches story.

I am committed to safety. And thoroughly disappointed as a result. I had a big ride scheduled for this morning and woke up to rain drops falling. I hesitated in both directions ... but ultimately determined that everyone that donates to my cause wants to me survive all of my training.

Besides believing in the great cause of Bottom Line and wanting to achieve the fantastic goal of completing a century ride, I signed up for the Rodman Ride to overcome a fear. I want to be able to ride my bike again without my stomach hurting.

At the end of June, I raced an incredible run called the !Warrior Dash AND I WON! HA! A ton of my great friends were celebrating the "Dirty Thirty" birthday of Karen Henry. Our race was the 8am Wave on Saturday morning - first group to start the entire race. My race advised me to jump to the head of the wave, which is ultimately the reason for my triumph. Check out the amazing pictures below.

Fire?

It rained - did I mention it poured?



Anyway, I was the warrior queen - on the top of the world. Never have I ever won an entire race. Well, maybe the Charlton Old Home Day Bed race? The next day, I grab my bike because I have a triathlon in a month and figure I am in much better shape than I previously thought. I also do not have much time in my day since I had a statistics exam later in the week to prepare for, so a short ride will be good enough. Besides, I operate on the "Quality not Quantity" training plan.

I rode out to the Minuteman Biking Path in Somerville. I made it out to near Lexington and turned around - somewhere around an Arlington park, I flew over my handle bars. I had my helmet properly fit on my head so I am fine. The roads were not wet. From my memory, my gears locked up. It was very scary event, but it was also a great way to learn a couple lessons. I did not break anything and I experienced my first Ambulance ride and ER trip. Mt. Auburn is a fabulously efficient and friendly facility. They cleaned up my many road rashes and stitched up my chin in a couple hours.

Lessons learned.

1. Bike Maintenance. Not sure this was exactly the problem because my bike is only 1 year old, but I need to know a lot more than I do... so class is on the calendar and my bike is checked out weekly!

2. Helmet Safety. Well, I also always wear my helmet, but now I proactively encourage and talk about the importance of helmet safety to all. Undoubtedly, it saved my life.

3. Don't bike alone/ or Bring your Phone. Again, I wasn't being super unsafe since I was on the bike path with many other pedestrians. However, in the future, if I am biking alone, I will have my phone. The Ambulance and ER are a lonely places!

4. The workout can wait! What's the rush? Safety First!

Although, it's a bummer because it is not raining outside now... ugh! OFF to the Gym for swimming and running!