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June 27, 2009 / Saturday
Spazzy Back Week 4
Friday marked 12 straight days of some sort of activity. That's quite a lot for my body after doing almost nothing for two weeks, but I figured I would rest the following week at my parents' place.
The back is still the first thing to feel sore when I get tired, but there is definite progress. I went to pickup again on Thursday and felt pretty good, although I was frustrated that I wasn't doing anything useful with the puck. I decided in the final shifts to try to hang on to the puck and got a few end-to-end runs in. That's better! I'm looking forward to rejoining my NCWHL team next weekend.
I think my body will benefit from a break next week. While I've enjoyed all the activity, I've had a fairly mediocre week in terms of performance. I want to push, but my muscles refuse. "Explode!" I say. "Meh," they reply.
We'll try this "Explode!" thing again next weekend.
09:10 PM | Injuries| Comments (0)
June 21, 2009 / Sunday
Spazzy Back Week 3
Week 3 went a heck of a lot better than week 2. I kicked off last Monday with yoga, went mountain biking Tuesday and Wednesday, played pickup hockey Thursday, got my butt kicked at yoga on Friday, went mountain biking again on Saturday, and did a ~25 mile spin on the road bike on Sunday.
The back is continuing to heal. The injury still hurts if I push on it unflexed, and it's the first thing to feel sore or tight when I get tired, but given that I can ride and play mellow hockey again, I'm not complaining. Sideways range of motion has improved, but I still have a ways to go on that front.
I'd been afraid that my two weeks off would result in really sore muscles upon resumption of activity, but I've fared pretty well for the most part. (They were actually just fine until Friday yoga's slew of butt-busting Warrior and Chair poses.) Amusingly, the things that have gotten soft are my biking and hockey callouses. Those ached, fell off, and are now regenerating.
Can I just tell you how cool the Stevens Creek Trail is? I rode it in its entirety on Sunday, from near the Grant/El Camino intersection in Mountain View. It's beautifully paved, goes under El Camino, over 85, over Central, over Moffett, under 101, and all the way to Shoreline, which has its own set of nice multi-use trails. You can use it to get through all the hard-to-cross "walls" without having to worry about cars. What a great facility for pedestrians, skaters, and bikers. :)
And finally, one of my best moments last week: Sneezing without pain. Phew! And achoO!
We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
08:00 PM | Injuries| Comments (0)
June 20, 2009 / Saturday
Dirt, Dirt, More Dirt
Three dirt rides in one week! That's a new record for me. What can I say? I've really missed being able to ride.
Saturday afternoon, we went to Wilder Ranch. It's a step up from Chabot and St. Joseph's Hill in terms of technical difficulty; just what I needed to give my still-healing back a two-wheeled challenge. Mostly, it's just a good fun ride with a few features to challenge me.
My biggest dirt project right now is turning on descents. I have an unfortunate habit of tensing up through turns, which makes me run wide, which makes me look to the outside of the turn thinking, "Oh crap, I'm running wide!", which, in turn, makes me run even wider.
Basically, I just need to relax. Relax, look through the turn, stay light, loose, and let my bike do the rest.
That should be easy, right? I'm getting better at it, and when I finally have it down, I'm sure I'll wonder what the big deal was.
Speaking of looking through the turn, I'm finding this looking ahead thing to be useful everywhere. Looking ahead and/or through a turn lets me:
- do track stands easier
- turn a 180 on the trail easier
- turn around switchbacks easier
- turn at speed easier
- ride in a straight line easier
- ride over bumpy terrain easier
I've known that I'm supposed to do this since pretty much day one, but for some reason it took 3+ seasons of riding before it sank in enough for me to start doing it semi-consistenly.
This was so amazingly evident to me last Tuesday at Chabot. I forgot to mention this in my last ride post, but during that ride we crossed a long, narrow bridge with railings just a few inches wider than our handlebars. I struggled for the first 10 feet, rubbing one railing and then the other as I looked at them and exclaimed, "Nooo!". Then I looked up toward end of the bridge, and just like that, I rode in a perfectly straight line, with equal distance between the narrow railings.
Looking ahead is magic!
During my last visit to Wilder, I learned to take drops at speed. This time, I learned to take them better at slower speeds (some trails you just shouldn't try to fly down) by pushing the bike forward and down. Again, it's something I've known for a while now, but was only recently able to convince my body to do. It made my descent on Zane Gray faster, smoother, and more fun. I was able to take a more difficult line while feeling more confident and in control.
This season, I've made it a point to take the hardest line I can handle out on the trails. You wouldn't know it with all the accidents I've had, but I've actually gotten a lot better at riding over and through reasonably sized obstacles.
This was gross:
V: There's something making my eye sting.
A: Maybe it's sweat.
V: Maybe it's sunblock.
A couple hours later, I rubbed my eye and a mangled bug came out. Eww!!!
On our way back to the car, we stopped to b-bock at the chickens (they b-bocked back), meh-eh-eh at the goats (they ignored me), and ride the sawhorse.
I'm a big dork, and Wilder Ranch is fun. :)
10:15 PM | Mountain| Comments (0)
June 19, 2009 / Friday
Open Letter To Safeway
Dear Safeway,
I've given you a lot of feedback in the past. I've used your website, I've used your comment cards, and I've spoken with your employees. None of this seems to have had any effect, so instead of direct communication, I'll just broadcast what I have to say on the internet. It still may not have any effect, but it'll at least make me feel better.
What prompted all this? My latest visit to your Fremont store on Mission Blvd. It's probably the most convenient store for me to visit on weeknights, but I try not to come here when I can help it; there always seems to be ridiculously long checkout lines, and this last visit was no exception.
Still, it wasn't the long lines that pushed me over the edge. The thing that prompted me to sit down and start writing was what I found when I got home: The bagger had decided that out of all my purchases, the best way to send my dozen eggs home was in a plastic bag with two jars of pasta sauce. (She also placed that bag into the cart with a thud.) That slimy stuff on the inside of the bag when I got home? The eggs.
I considered going back to the store to complain in person, but it was too far away. I considered calling the store, but I didn't want to waste my time waiting to get a manager on the line. I considered sending in a complaint through the website, but I've already done that before, and NOTHING HAS CHANGED.
My last bagging complaint through the website had to do with a cashier at the Sunnyvale store on El Camino who thought it was okay to throw my groceries into the bag. Ripe tomatoes, ripe avocados, followed by canned soup. I asked him nicely not to do that, and he apologized. I then sent a note through the website asking Safeway to better train their cashiers and baggers. I guess that note was ignored. That same cashier was throwing groceries into other people's bags the next time I saw him.
I know it's not impossible to train your employees to bag properly, because Trader Joe's does it extremely well. My groceries are always impeccably packed, and those guys visibly take pride in their ability to do so.
Back to what I said about not wanting to call and wait go speak with a manager. I'm actually not so sure that I want to speak to a Safeway manager after witnessing the behavior of one of your managers at the Sunnyvale store on Hollenbeck Ave. He was condescending, dismissive, and rude to the customer in line ahead of me, and during their lengthy exchange that clearly did not need to take place at the register, he thought nothing of the inconvenience he was causing to the growing line of customers. After that experience, we swore never to return, as we did not want to give that manager's store our business. We've kept that promise; it's easy to do so when my stomach turns every time I pass by.
Your poor customer service extends beyond your stores. Earlier this year, you launched FoodFlex, a website that allows Safeway Club Card users to analyze their purchases in the context of health and nutrition. I thought this was a great idea, and signed up for it as soon as it was available.
Upon signup, I got an e-mail that said, "Your Club Card purchase information will be loaded within six hours. You'll receive an email when your information has been loaded into your FoodFlex account."
Seven days later, I still hadn't heard back. I sent an e-mail asking about it, and received a form letter telling me to wait another 72 hours.
Two weeks later, I still hadn't heard back. I sent another e-mail asking about it, noting that I had signed up three weeks ago and asked about it once already two weeks ago. I received the EXACT SAME form letter from the EXACT SAME customer service representative telling me to wait another 72 hours.
I sent back an unhappy reply stating that I had already waited 505 hours for my account to be activated, that I didn't think another 72 hours was going to make anything better, and that I was not enjoying being blown off by customer service.
After sending some requested information, I got a reply from a different CSR that said, "I have contacted my IT Dept. about the issue with your Food Flex account and I am waiting for their response. Once they let me know that they have located what the issue may be I will contact you to let you know how we will resolve this issue for you."
That was in March. I have not heard back since.
I do, however, receive automated monthly e-mails telling me my nutrition snapshot is available. When I log into my account, it tells me, "Thank you for registering for FoodFlex® Your Club Card information is being uploaded. It normally takes up to 6 hours."
So. Much. FAIL.
And while I'm ranting about things that bug me about Safeway, remember my post about how your checkers ask for "cancer donations"? Recently, you added a request for donations screen to the device that customers use to swipe their credit card. It reads something like, "Do you want to donate to PROSTATE CANCER?"
Who in their right mind would want to donate to prostate cancer? *facepalm*
All that said, I don't think you mean to be terrible. To me, it looks as if you mean well at the corporate level, but fail at execution. I liked your store makeovers, I can see that you tell your employees to say hello and ask your customers if they need help, I approve of your efforts to collect donations for good causes, and I think FoodFlex is a great idea. Unfortunately, when it comes to getting the details right, you fall flat on your face. And when your customers contact you to tell you what needs fixing, you ignore them. Not once have I heard back from you after submitting feedback. That tells me you don't actually care about providing your customers a good shopping experience.
Perhaps you could learn a thing or two about good customer service from Peet's.
As my unhappiness has grown, I've found that I can get most of what I need from Trader Joe's, the farmers market, local produce shops, Asian supermarkets, and even Target. Better still, it's cheaper for me to shop at these places than at Safeway.
I just realized that what I'm really writing to say is goodbye. We used to be so close, but instead of visiting you twice a week, I now find myself wanting to see you only once or twice a month. I've found grocery shopping happiness elsewhere.
You may never read this, but I don't think you read anything I sent you through your website anyway. That's okay; I think it's more important that your other customers read it. Perhaps this will jog their memories about all the frowns you've put on their faces in the past. Maybe if we vote with our wallets you'll actually start listening to what we have to say.
Viv
08:56 PM | Rant/Whine| Comments (2)
June 18, 2009 / Thursday
Ice, Check
Made it back on the ice today for low-key pickup. I felt good enough to play, but took a little while to loosen up. Mostly, I was afraid of injuring myself. I definitely noticed some discomfort power turning right; it requires "leaning" left at the hip, which my back isn't quite ready for yet.
I got bumped here and there, not very hard, but my back definitely didn't like it. Didn't fall, though. Huzzah!
I had fun, but I don't think I'm ready to play a real game this weekend. I'm still pretty tentative out there, and my body doesn't feel good enough for my brain to green light any explosive movements quite yet. That, and I'll likely get more than just bumped, which I'm definitely not ready for.
That's okay, at least there's pickup. I'm signed up for next Thursday. Who's coming? :-D
10:51 PM | Hockey| Comments (0)
June 17, 2009 / Wednesday
Dirt, Check
Boy, have I missed being on the mountain bike! So much, in fact, that I went out on the trails two evenings in a row. In an effort to ease myself back into things, I limited both rides to under 10 miles and picked a couple easy parks.
On Tuesday, I did a group ride at Chabot. I rode with some of these folks a couple times last year, and I've been meaning to ride with them again for a little while now. It was nice and mellow, perfect for getting me used to dirt again. (Apparently, this traction on loose ground thing does not come naturally to me.) My legs felt tired early on; a sure sign that they needed exercise! Since it was a group ride, there was a fair amount of stopping and waiting, which gave me plenty of time to practice my track stands. I felt tons better afterward.
Today, I decided to pay a visit to St. Joseph's Hill. I rode here a lot my first season, and I while I know that this is not a technical ride (which is partly why I picked it), I remember suffering my way up some of its steep, steep trails.
I did my usual route from Main St. to the top at a moderate pace. As I approached steep steep section after steep steep section, I realized that they weren't actually all that steep. The trails I suffered through at 196 bpm three years ago felt like any other moderate climb. That, and those never-ending sections of steep steep trail are actually pretty short.
I made it to the top in under 30 minutes, a new personal best. I then rode up and down and all around, hitting the peak three times and riding Serpentine three times. As it turns out, the one section of this park I considered technical is really just a few rocks on a twisty trail.
The other reason I picked this park is because I have some unfinished business with it. I've only ever ridden down Jones to exit at Alma Bridge Road. It's a pretty steep descent, and every time I've gone this way I've thought to myself, "Boy, am I glad I don't have to ride up this thing!" Sometime this season, I decided I needed to ride up that thing. So today, I did. After my ups and downs and all arounds, I rode down to the exit, turned around, and right back up.
On my way down, I passed a couple other riders coming up. I said hello to them, and passed one of them on my way back up. (Aaron said later that he got "girled". LOL!) He looked to be really struggling up the steep section. After the steep section, I heard some noises, and a little while later he caught up with me just enough to say, "I don't want to know how many times you've ridden up that hill today!" I guess some people just ride up and down that section for training. Actually, I remember a guy there a few years ago who did just that. I also remember that he had giant calves.
I've been working on something new: tight 180 degree turns. It's actually quite simple when I remember to look all the way around from the very beginning. I got to practice this a few times today as I rode and re-rode various sections of trail.
Tomorrow, ice!
08:25 PM | Mountain| Comments (2)
June 15, 2009 / Monday
I Think My Back Is Mostly Back
I didn't kick off my ambitious plan this weekend as I'd hoped. I really wanted to, really needed to, but I simply didn't have time. I had a really good weekend, but by the end of it, I was falling apart mentally from lack of exercise. I'm really not kidding when I say that exercise keeps me sane. By 11 PM on Sunday night, I just wanted to curl into a little ball and cry.
To which Aaron said, "Get over it." I thought he was a big poopiehead at the time, but now that I've returned from yoga and regained some of my sanity, I realize that the sky was not really falling after all.
My original ambitious plan did not include yoga, mainly because yoga puts me into a lot of strange positions that I wasn't sure my back could handle. But since the ambitious plan was now out the window, I decided I needed to do *something*, even if it meant a whole bunch of Extended Child poses instead of whatever balancing pretzels the rest of the class was doing.
To my surprise, I did just fine. Yoga was exactly the mix of stretching and strenghtening my body needed, and the calm and focus my mind needed. I felt great right up until the end of class, when I curled into a tight little ball and rolled on my back. My injury is not ready for direct pressure yet. Ow!
On the upside, I can do a side plank again. This was not even remotely possible a few days ago. And all my stretching the first week must have paid off, because I was able to place my palms flat on the floor in a forward fold for the first time ever. Huzzah! \o/
So here's my revamped ambitious plan: yoga on Monday, mountain bike at Chabot on Tuesday, yoga or mountain bike at Water Dog on Wednesday, low-key pickup on Thursday, yoga if I can fit it into the schedule on Friday, rest or some sort of bike on Saturday, NCWHL on Sunday.
By the end of Sunday, I'll either feel like myself again, or have fallen apart from too much activity. Either way, I'll have achieved normalcy.
My Polar calendar looks so sad. With the exception of my little session on the spin bike, the last two weeks are empty. I've missed ~3 yoga classes, ~3 mountain bike rides, ~2 low-key pickups, 2 NCWHL games, 3 core training classes, and ~1 road bike ride.
Starting today, that will change. The bike rack goes back on the car tonight!
05:25 PM | Injuries:Yoga| Comments (2)
June 12, 2009 / Friday
Spazzy Back Week 2
Last week, I was really good about (heat-stretch-)ice several times a day. That diligence paid off last weekend, as it allowed me to heal enough to do a decent session on the spin bike.
This week has not gone nearly as well. I'd hoped to feel good enough for a road bike ride, but being back in the office has pretty much thrown my plans out the window. I've simply been too busy to heat-stretch-ice, go to the gym, or spend much time outside.
I suppose I made things even worse when I blew up my heat pack in the microwave on Tuesday. I finally bought another one today.
My back is better in some ways, worse in others. I haven't felt a spasm in days; that's really good news. It's pretty sore on the injured (right) side, though. I expect soreness when I push on the area where I landed, but the obliques on that side that are also giving me pain when I lean left. Seems like they've been working hard to compensate for my lower back. At least the injury has healed enough to allow me to support myself when I lean forward. Unfortuantely, I still have really limited range of motion when I lean left; there is simply no strength there.
Not being able to do my usual bazillion activities has triggered a bit of a shopping spree. In the last week, I've purchased a replacement bike helmet, a couple pairs of cycling shorts, a slew of silly T-shirts, and a mini square loaf pan. There's a 20% off event at Sports Basement tonight. I want to go. Someone please stop me.
I have an ambitious plan for the coming week: road bike this weekend, mountain bike at Chabot (untechnical dirt) on Tuesday, low-key pickup on Thursday, and NCWHL next Sunday.
I hope my back feels good enough for all that to happen. I'm really looking forward to feeling like myself again.
05:06 PM | Injuries| Comments (0)
June 06, 2009 / Saturday
Hooray For Human Hamster Devices!
This morning, I rolled carefully got out of bed, stood up, and reached for my toes. A little voice in my head told me that might hurt, but I wanted to know how my back was, and I wanted to know right then.
This could have ended badly, but my lucky streak continued, and I made it all the way past my toes to the floor. My back felt tight, but there was no pain. Pretty good for first thing in the morning! Sometimes I can't even do that when I'm *not* injured.
I headed for the sink, where I was able to brush my teeth with my legs straight and my back arched over the basin. No more sumo squat! (I couldn't even sumo squat that the first two days.)
In the afternoon, I made good on my threat to go bore myself on a spin bike. This was made easier by some good tunes, and I was able to ride both in and out of the saddle. I followed up with lots of stretching, and was pleased that I'm finally able to do a Figure 4 stretch again.
I feel much more like myself. That, of course, led to a moment of carelessness in the evening, when I forgot to ease myself into a sitting position. My back immediately and quite loudly voiced its disapproval at the sudden change in position.
Okay, okay, sorry! No sudden sitting! We'll revisit that in a few days, when I forget again.
09:04 PM | Injuries| Comments (0)
June 05, 2009 / Friday
Hello, Toes!
Yesterday afternoon, I felt good enough to make the switch from ice-ice-ice to heat-stretch-ice.
The heat makes a huge difference. Warming my back allows it to do just a wee bit more with a touch less pain.
Yesterday, I was able to walk my fingertips to my toes while in a seated forward fold.
This morning, I could grab the balls of my feet in this position.
Just now, I touched my fingertips to the floor in a standing forward fold.
That's not to say it was easy. I'm finally understanding what my yoga instructors mean when they tell us to walk our hands this way or that way to get into or out of a pose. By moving that slowly, and with the support of my hands if needed, I'm able to reach for positions that would otherwise send my back into spasms.
I'm able to go deeper into other stretches, too. This is important; I really don't want to lose flexibility and/or range of motion. I've worked hard on it these last few months!
I made it to the farmers market around lunchtime today for some fruits and veggies. I don't know how much diet affects healing, but I'm not taking any chances. Aside from a couple slices of lemon cheesecake and a couple bites of almost-Chocolate Thing (both totally worth it), I'm trying to stick to fruits, veggies, lean protein, and clean carbs.
Going out is still a bit of an adventure. Yes, I can walk, but I must do so slowly, and can't make any evasive maneuvers or sudden movements. Driving has been interesting, too. Did you know you need your lower back to stabilize your upper body through turns? Right turns hurt; I'm currently taking them very slowly.
I'm getting antsy, though. I'm not used to this many days in a row of zero activity. I'm contemplating bringing my bike shoes to the gym and hopping on a spin bike this weekend. Either that, or a recumbent. I hate exercise machines, but it's better than sitting on the couch all day. ANYTHING is better than sitting on the couch all day.
I can't wait until I can get back on the bikes/ice.
07:12 PM | Injuries| Comments (1)
June 04, 2009 / Thursday
I Should Buy A Lottery Ticket
It seems a bit strange for me to say this as I sit at home with a heat pack on my spazzy back, but you know what? I'm pretty lucky.
I know, what? I've been house-bound for most of the week. I needed a wheelchair to go see the doctor on Monday. How is that lucky?
I'm lucky because:
- I hurt only my back, and not my spine. Not my neck, either. Phew!
- I was able to ride my way out of the park. Having to walk would have sucked big time.
- I cracked my helmet, but my noggin survived unscathed. Good job, helmet!
- I didn't injure my kidney, even though I delivered myself the equivalent of a body weight from several-feet-in-the-air kidney punch.
- I didn't break any bones or tear any ligaments.
- I didn't need an airlift, an ambulance, surgery, or a hospital stay.
- I have health insurance to cover my doctor's visit and medication.
- I don't have to lift heavy things for a living.
- I have great friends who offered and gave much help.
- I have an awesome boyfriend who kept me fed, did my dishes, gave me rides, and diligently swooped objects into my hand as I helplessly reached for them. Made me feel like a Jedi! Minus the light saber.
I'm lucky because today I'm able to move around a notch or two faster than sloth's pace without tweaking my back. I'm still not anywhere close to healed, but there's definite progress. I even managed to do some general light stretching today.
I've been trying to get about 9 hours of sleep every night. Sleep heals like nothing else.
I'm trying hard to favor my back as little as possible when I do need to move around. I don't want to throw off other parts of me by compensating too much.
Also, I think I've mastered the sumo squat. It lets me get out of chairs and pick things up from the floor. It's a nice lower body workout, too, and probably all the exercise I'll be getting for a while.
Time for the ice pack.
07:39 PM | Injuries| Comments (3)
June 02, 2009 / Tuesday
MSP
Most Silliest Player! The set is now complete. :-D
10:12 PM | Icepacks| Comments (1)
I Think Mom Is Spying On Me
Yesterday, I paid a visit to the doctor for my back. While waiting in the exam room in a gown next to my wheelchair (!), my phone rang. It was mom. I debated whether to answer, since I didn't want her to know I was at the doctor.
Viv: Hi mom.
Mom: Hiii. What did you do this weekend?
Viv: Oh, I went on some bike rides.
Mom: Last weekend hockey, this weekend bike. Wah, I turned on the TV yesterday and saw people riding their bikes on mountaintops. They were flying everywhere. So dangerous. Made me so nervous, I couldn't change the channel. One wrong move and they'd fall to their deaths!
Viv: (That sounds totally cool.)
Mom: If they were my kids, I'd disown them! You know, they say that if you're not good to your body, you're not being good to your parents. When you hurt yourself, your parents worry!
Viv: ...
Mom: Don't go doing things like that. We're fragile. And getting injured is so inconvenient. You can't even do simple things when you're injured.
Viv: Uh-huh. (Boy is that clear to me this week!)
Mom: I hope you don't try to do tricks like that.
Viv: No, I don't.
Mom: It was some Red Bull thing.
What just happened?
Coincidentally, Aaron and I watched the same thing online the same day she saw it on TV. Check out these Red Bull Rampage videos. They're totally awesome.
Be careful, though. They might make you so nervous you won't be able to navigate away.