theswordsman's Diaryland Diary

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some improvement

Still here. When I was in bed last night, I was kind of on my right side, with my right arm above the pillow. It took the pressure off my spine, and I was able to breathe just fine. It gave me confidence that at times during the day I'm putting my heart and lungs at risk, it's really a fixable problem in my back that I need to deal with.

All I could think about last night was icy cold, tasty beverages. Concord grape juice, bottled Ski (local citrus soda that kids in my home town switch to after breast milk isn't an option) made with real sugar, root beer, and maybe a bit of ice cream for much needed comfort. At the time, I knew I couldn't do any of the open stores, so I had pizza delivery. It was damned good, too.

I had pieces left in the box, but it would have been painful to get it into the freezer, so I left it. When I got up this morning, feeling a bit better, I pushed aside the broken couch so I could sit on my Mom's old rolling kitchen chair. She was tiny, so it's too small for me, but it put my back in a much needed different position, and I could sit and look at the monitor straight on, instead of turned to the right like I've done for months.

After a decent morning, I decided to head to the tiny grocery store. I was sucking air by the time I got to my car, but at least I could get to it today. Fifteen feet into the store, I had to stop and lean over the shopping cart, taking pressure off my back and fighting to breathe. I had to repeat that every fifteen feet, so I never tracked down the juice at all. I did get a 4-pack of Ski, a 2-liter of A&W root beer, and some ice cream. I still had regular food, I just couldn't cook it.

Dragging the soda, a gallon of milk and things to the car brought more evidence that I've a problem with back alignment and cushioning. Damn, I wish I had access to a swimming pool and could use my own buoyancy to cope with this, plus do some exercise. I bought two lottery tickets.

Contador did an amazing job of cheering me up this morning. Today was to be a transition day before serious mountains tomorrow. There was one climb that wasn't meant to be a big deal, and then a descent to the finish. For guys trying to win the race, it was supposed t be a day to avoid crashes and finish safely in the bunch.

But then Contador attacked on the climb. Some guys were able to stay with him, but he just kept attacking until it was down to him and two others. They built up a decent lead on the rainy climb, then took more by speeding down the descent. No one had thought Alberto would be able to do anything today, but he gained back more than a minute on some top guys. He's now in sixth place, with three exciting days in the Alps to come, and then an Individual Time Trial on Saturday. It could be an awesome four days.

12:01 p.m. - Tuesday, Jul. 19, 2011

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