Ironman CdA 2007
Let me see if I can describe this with as little drama as possible...
During the swim, I got my share of elbows and kicks. On the 2nd lap, my left hand hurt pretty bad. I thought it must be the worst case of Reynaud's I'd ever had. It was weird though, because I was having a hard time making my hand work. I can't explain it, but it didn't work.
In the transition tent, I saw that my ring finger was sort of dangling and pointed the wrong way. I kept saying (to no one really listening), "That doesn't look right, does it?" I decided to go to the med tent. The medic taped that finger to the fingers next to it. He said it wouldn't make any difference if i got it checked the next day.
I started the bike ride, but I didn't want to. I stopped for some love from mr traininglog and mizmizuno. I tried to decide whether to keep going. All I could think was that I didn't want to wake up the next day and be disappointed that I quit without trying.
The bike course was challenging, especially because I couldn't shift or brake with my left hand. In fact, it hurt to hold on, so I used that hand as little as possible, like to balance/steer when I used my right hand to eat or something. After the first loop, I had to find a medic to re-tape it, because my hand had swollen and was cutting off the circulation. The new tape felt more secure and I thought I could try another loop.
The second bike loop was easier on my legs, but harder on my hand. But I figured if I could just get to the run, things would be better. Except that my hand swelled more and was throbbing/pulsating. I finished the run and went straight to the emergency room, without eating or even changing clothes.
The x-ray showed that my 4th metacarpal was broken and that the 2 ends of the bone were more than a centimeter apart and overlapped. The doctor on call consulted with an orthopedic surgeon, who said it would need a pin to align it. He arranged an operating room and we were to be at another hospital at 6 a.m. I got drugs and went home for a couple of hours.
Ok this is already longer than I can deal with right now. So basically the rest of the story is that I woke up the morning after Ironman and drank some water. The anesthesiologist would not administer a general because of that, so I go back tomorrow to get it done.
During the swim, I got my share of elbows and kicks. On the 2nd lap, my left hand hurt pretty bad. I thought it must be the worst case of Reynaud's I'd ever had. It was weird though, because I was having a hard time making my hand work. I can't explain it, but it didn't work.
In the transition tent, I saw that my ring finger was sort of dangling and pointed the wrong way. I kept saying (to no one really listening), "That doesn't look right, does it?" I decided to go to the med tent. The medic taped that finger to the fingers next to it. He said it wouldn't make any difference if i got it checked the next day.
I started the bike ride, but I didn't want to. I stopped for some love from mr traininglog and mizmizuno. I tried to decide whether to keep going. All I could think was that I didn't want to wake up the next day and be disappointed that I quit without trying.
The bike course was challenging, especially because I couldn't shift or brake with my left hand. In fact, it hurt to hold on, so I used that hand as little as possible, like to balance/steer when I used my right hand to eat or something. After the first loop, I had to find a medic to re-tape it, because my hand had swollen and was cutting off the circulation. The new tape felt more secure and I thought I could try another loop.
The second bike loop was easier on my legs, but harder on my hand. But I figured if I could just get to the run, things would be better. Except that my hand swelled more and was throbbing/pulsating. I finished the run and went straight to the emergency room, without eating or even changing clothes.
The x-ray showed that my 4th metacarpal was broken and that the 2 ends of the bone were more than a centimeter apart and overlapped. The doctor on call consulted with an orthopedic surgeon, who said it would need a pin to align it. He arranged an operating room and we were to be at another hospital at 6 a.m. I got drugs and went home for a couple of hours.
Ok this is already longer than I can deal with right now. So basically the rest of the story is that I woke up the morning after Ironman and drank some water. The anesthesiologist would not administer a general because of that, so I go back tomorrow to get it done.