The road to a comeback is a long one...
...But you won't hear me complaining about it! It has been awhile since I've updated everyone so here goes!
MY BACK
As you may or may not know, I broke my back in June of 2006 riding a practice track trying to get ready to race Mammoth MX. I fractured 7 vertebrae in my back and was very fortunate to not have come out of the accident paralyzed. Always wear your chest protector! My EVS Flux saved my spinal cord and I will forever be thankful for that...
I met with a spinal specialist a few weeks ago to see how my back has healed up and understand what kind of permanent damage I have. The good news: all of my fractures have healed up nicely. The bad news: I a partially herniated disc between my L4/L5, and I have three discs that were badly compressed and thusly the blood flow to them has diminished - I prefer to call them crispified. My doctor advised me to quit running and without directly saying it, he suggested that I not ride my dirt bike. But we all know how listening to that last part goes....in one ear and out the other. I respect his opinion and thusly I have quit running. I will be happily spending my three day weekend racing Hangtown.
There are many reasons why I won't stop riding within the next few years. The most current one being I feel no pain when riding. Pain means something is not right, no pain means everything is in working order. I will have to reevaluate this from time to time I'm sure, but as long as I feel good I will ride and race. I have goals and dreams and as long as I have the opportunity to attain them, I will. I'm going pro someday so be prepared!
MY RACING
I successfully completed my first race since breaking my back at Hangtown two weekends ago. I placed 3rd in the Women's class, but it wasn't pretty. My confidence is at rock bottom right now and you could see that in my riding. I figured I'd have some issues coming back but the reality of it is harsh. Jumps right now are just a huge thing for me. I feel vulnerable; the risks that I would normally take and the rate at which I push myself are completely different. There is some lingering fear deep in my subconscious that is making riding and racing at my highest potential extremely difficult. I've decided that I'm being way too hard on myself - I'm punishing myself for something that was to be completely expected. In my happy world, I imagined going back out on the track and riding like it was June 13th (the day before my accident). Well, that just isn't going to happen and I've accepted it. Rebuilding my confidence is going to take some time, and in the mean time I might as well focus on the positive and the things that I can improve on right now. If I'm going to be rolling a jump or two, I better be making up for that time by being faster than everyone on all the other parts of the track! Don't worry though, the one thing I'm confident about: I will regain my confidence :)
I've got support from some great sponsors this year and I look forward to providing some quality results and tons of exposure....stay tuned!
ALL OTHER THINGS
Wow, I'm insanely busy. I work full time, go to college at UNR at night, run my own business (the primary financing for my racing), go to the gym, ride and race. It is a little overwhelming at times but things have to get done! Fortunately my mom is really supportive of me so she tries to help me with what she can! I bought myself a new truck and a toy hauler so that makes going to work have a little more purpose behind it. I can't wait until the spring semester is over so I can really focus on my riding!