{ baby #3 }

How many of you did I fool with the title of this post?! Just having a little fun with you. Not pregnant.

The baby #3 I am referring to is this baby:

I got my first road bike back in 2008 when Chop and I were living in Bloomington, which has a huge bike community. I used it for my first triathlon and it was a decent bike for my first 5 years of biking. But it was heavy, didn't shift great, and wasn't very comfortable. I never thought I would be a bike nerd but the minute I walked into the bike shop to look at them, I was in awe. Beautiful bikes everywhere.

Backing up a little, last summer Chop said I could look for a new bike this spring. My plan was, and still is, to do a handful of triathlons since I have missed out on them for the last three summers due to pregnancy and then ankle and knee injuries.

Timing is everything. About two months ago I started having some hip pain. After visiting my PT for continuing rehab on my ankle and knee, it was decided I should go have it checked out by an ortho. After getting a MRI, it showed a tear to my hip labrum (cartilage around the hip joint). The permanent fix? Surgery. They would repair the tear as well as shave bone to correct the impingement that I have (which is possibly what caused the tear and what is a contributor to the pain I'm having from the tear). It is a "fairly" common issue - about 70% of people have a tear but most don't know it because they don't have pain from it. So, the short term fix? Go to PT every week (she "mobilizes" the joint, allowing it to move the way it should) and work on strengthening my glutes (goal is to have glutes doing the work instead of quads, hips, hamstrings, etc.). The point is not that these things would fix the tear, but that they will get me to be pain free. If pain continues after a few months of PT and strengthening, then surgery would be a route I would consider.....but not until next winter as it is a fairly major surgery that puts you on crutches for 3-4 weeks.

Back to the fun stuff........I have only been able to get the new bike out for a short 5 mile/20 minute spin last weekend. It was 50ish degrees and sunny......and WET! I gave up on dodging puddles and accepted the fact that I was going to be soaking wet. And I was.......pants, socks, shoes, back of shirt all soaked. I don't think the smile ever came off my face though because it was so much fun to ride. Nothing like a bike ride when there is still snow on the ground!