Slamming into the pavement at 40 mph, I somehow knew I wasn't going to feel the same. In fact, I knew it would hurt as soon as I saw the lady in her car curving in front of me.
Nice 3h cyclocross workout before going to work for an evening shift turned into ten hours of medical examinations, x-rays, endless waiting, emergency surgery and a night at the hospital. In fact, spent the following three days at the hospital with a tube stuck in my chest.
Initially doctors were talking about a couple of fractured ribs, but the x-rays confirmed the worst of fears – a collapsed lung. Must be the scariest words I have ever heard: You seem to have suffered some degree of lung damage.
A lung may collapse due to a tiny hole in the lung sac or lung itself, which lets air into the space between the lung and the lung sac, causing pressure on the lung. Thus the medical therm: pneumothorax. It causes pain and makes it hard to breath.
Not a very good thing for a triathlete. The good news is, all the doctors assured me that I will recover completely and that the injury will not hamper my lung capacity in the future.
Fast forward three and a half week. I began riding on the bike trainer last week, and towards the end of last week I tried to increase the intensity.
I have done some amount of ergocycling. Last week, I racked up some 15.45 hours. I found new ways to make it interesting, writing detailed programmes with climbs and intermediate sprints for every ride.
Today I did a performance test on the bike trainer. I felt good, and had no issues with breathing or pains. I reached precisely the same power level as a few weeks before the accident: 360 watts. I should be able to reach 375 watts, and my maximum heart rate is 195, not 185, but I always quit too easily when I'm doing performance tests on my own.
I have still not dared to try running and swimming is still not possible, due to the pains in my ribs. Hopefully, I will not suffer further setbacks and get back on track with the other disciplines in the coming weeks. I have set my sights on doing a short brick run on saturday.
