#27) Kayla , Walter & Me

1/3 Split Avg 12.22mph

I have been waffling around about whether I should do the 35 mile or 50 mile loop at Tour de Farms Bike MS this June but after reading this New York Times article about this courageous and determined high school runner who has MS the deal was sealed...

Kayla, who plays soccer and was a mediocre high school runner,  complained of numbness in her legs after she ran. At first she tried to run through it but went to see a doctor. After she was diagnosed with MS she urged her coach to push her as hard as he could because as Kayla said, "Coach, I don't know how much time I have left, so I want to run fast-don't hold back." (Authors note: MS is not a terminal disease. She was referring to her ability to run.) The training efforts paid off. Before she learned she had MS Kayla ran her 1st 5k races in 24:29, after urging her coach to push her she ran it in 17:22 and placed 11th in a regional qualifier.

Her comment about not knowing how much longer she would be able to run is so true because MS is such an unpredictable disease. My first neurologist explained it to me this way, " you may never need a wheelchair or you may need one in six months or if you might get run-over by a bus in the parking, that's how MS is." He also advised me to try to remove as much "stress" from my lifestyle as possible. So I'm thinking to myself "I'm married with 3 kids under the age of 10, I own a home, I commute 2 hours each way to work in New York City and I'm a commodity broker, which of these "stessors" do I ditch first?"

After Kayla's story, how can I not try to push myself further. This is where the "Walter Mitty" in me clicks in and I begin to run through all sorts of calculations: 1)the furthest I have ridden on any single day was the 27 mile sight-seeing junket on Nantucket; 2) I just spun 12.6 mile in an hour and I spun for 99 minutes at a 12.21mph pace; 3) I could complete the 35mile ride in  less that 3 hours with 1 rest-stop; 4) 50miles would take me over 4 hours and I could rest more often; average high in June is 80f; 75miles/12mph average = 6:15:00.... pocketa, pocketa pocketa
Then I remember the last time I over did it on a hot day in June, but hey, I was home from the hospital before the fireworks on the 4th...

So that's it I will do the 50mile ride this year and see how that goes.

12.65 miles in 60mins

Then next year I maybe will try the century ride or maybe the Great Bike Ride Across Iowa or maybe the Race Across America..... Damn you Mr Mitty, get out of my head.

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MUSIC

XTC "Jason and the Argonauts"

Squeeze "Another Nail In My Heart"