AH recap

This year up north things did not go as planned, here is the story...

Tri and I arrived without fanfare as we had in previous years.  Check in went smoothly and we were soon squared away.  Race morning soon came and all cylinders seemed to be firing.  I ignored the fast fellas up front and rode my own pace.  I felt better about my training this year compared to last, but not as good as my first year.  Gateway came and I was within 15 minutes of my previous times.  I decided to top off on fluids and shed my jacket as the temps had warmed up.  Chatted with Criego and Zylstra while I was there.

I made a point to stay on top of hydration during the second leg.  I soon met up with Eric Peterson and we rode together for a while.  Eric is a super nice guy and was way stronger than I was.  I started to get pretty tired, but I remember feeling this way last year at this point and knew I could recharge at Melgeorge's.  I never remember the hills before the lake crossing, and they were bigger than I remember.  At some point we were passed by a skiier!?!  Eric and I walked the big ones and I told him to go ahead.  I ended up several minutes behind him at Melgeorges.  I had to turn on my lights just before crossing the lake, missing my goal of a daylight crossing.  About the same times as the last couple of years.  The last hour before Melgeorge's I was having some trouble peeing.  I assumed I was behind of fluids and drank more.  No relief, and I began to dread stopping due to the pain from attempting to relieve myself.

Once at Melgeorge's I grabbed a grilled cheese and started to refill my bags.  I was mentally preparing for a night on the trail. The temps were going to be mild and I had a solid plan to staying awake.  My male plumbing issues were continuing to get worse (I'll spare the details, but Farrow's man diaper started to sound like a good idea).  I took some Tyelenol and drank some water.  I had a quick talk with Kershaw, RN, and asked his advice.  We developed a plan to drink water, maybe a little caffeine to get things working, and wait for an hour. 

I settled in and chatted with Eric (who looked really fresh). Criego and Zylstra were there, Maxwell and Wethington, and also met Tsai and Bekke.  I also met Dr Mark Seaburg, who was conquering his demons from last year.  He was kind enough to do a "curbside consult" with me and let me know that my problems were not likely to get better through the night.  I waited for a while and as things got worse instead of better, decided to pull the plug.  The possibility of being stuck out there and needing some medical attention was not something I wanted to deal with.  I hitched a ride with Rob Treuer back to IF and we had a nice talk.  Turns out we had crossed paths at Tuscobia and his wife did a residency at the same place I work at.  Small world.

Congrats to all the racers.  Strong finishes by Eric Peterson (keep an eye of this guy), Seaburg, Tsai, Bekke, Zylstra, Creigo and all the others I saw at Melgeorge's.

I followed up the next day (no change in symptoms) with my Dr here at home.  After a THROUGH exam, I was diagnosed with prostitis, (inflammation of my prostate).  I was able to avoid a catheter, and things slowly cleared up with Motrin over the next few days.  A couple of weeks off the bike and no long rides for a month.  The default reson would be from riding, but I have not changed anything on the bike in a couple of years.  There are a few urology guys here that are also cyclists, so I will follow up with them.

Things have been busy since.  I'll write more later, but for now my 3 year old twins are getting their tonsils out today.

J-No