Jenn: Okay, we're bored of this now...

JHH looking far too happy while getting a stitch removed

Update on JHH
So, John's injury is healing away and in the meantime, he is trying his best to be the model patient. He's sleeping a bit better now at night and in yesterday's check-up, the doctor seemed happy with how the ​giant incision is healing. 

A friend of mine said orthopedic surgery is like human carpentry...I can see the similarities!

​He's got a new back slab, which they have put at a 90 degree angle to try to get his foot back in the right position. This is very uncomfortable for John, putting a lot more pressure on his heel. Ouch! But overall, things seem to be moving in the right direction and I'm just happy that he's sleeping more.

Bikingman Preparations
In cycling news, I am pretty excited to have put my new bike together (again) and took it for a quick 3 km jaunt up the road last night. Normally when I try to do any bike maintenance, I end up breaking something, stripping a hex bolt, or some other stupid thing that requires someone else to re-fix it. This has not been good considering the pressure is on for me to fix any mechanicals on my own in the Bikingman race, and I really need to be doing these things myself.

Putting my bike together at Christmas in the Wombles' garage in the UK...look at that focus!

With John incapacitated, I have had the opportunity to dive in without help. While putting my Bokeh together the night before last, John fell asleep so I was left to do everything without any guidance. It took me ages, but I did it and felt very satisfied with myself.

Yesterday when I got home from work, John says to me, "You should give that front wheel a spin." And with a knowing sigh, I did so only to find the front disc brake rubbing against the calipers. John was very helpful, seated in his chair, guiding me through the process of adjusting the disc brakes, which I had never done before. Following that, I had my first lesson in torque wrenches! I knew I would have to adjust my previous bolt tightening, but wasn't quite sure which tool I needed for that. The torque wrench is great because it won't let you over-tighten which I'm always worried about. (And this is how cycling couples spend their evenings).

I installed my bottle cage, removed some pedals from John's mountainbike and put them on mine, and then John helped me set up my new Wahoo Element. I have to say, for a person in recovery, he has been very patient with me. Having done all of this, I set out for a quick ride up the road. 

The bad news is, my lungs were suffering the whole 10 minutes. I am still sick and feeling weak, so Szymon has decided that I should rest and try to recover before pushing it. He knows me by now - the last time this happened was in 2015 when I pushed through pneumonia to attend a training camp in Tenerife and ended up with pneumonia again upon my return. It had me off the bike for a month. I cannot afford to be off the bike for a month now with only seven weeks left to Bikingman - Oman. 

I am frustrated and nervous about my rapidly falling fitness scores, but I know it's the right thing. If I can just sleep and get myself healthy this weekend, then I can start my training again in earnest and I know it doesn't take me long to start feeling strong again. And on the bright side, there is still a lot I need to learn off the bike - I haven't looked at the maps yet, still haven't ordered my bikepacking bags, and need to track down a missing sleeping bag which may or may not be at the post office. That's not mentioning the gadgets...

If you want to find us this weekend, we will both be recovering at home with lots of water, tea and heaps of Netflix...and trying to avoid looking at Strava!! 

xo
Jenn