Scratchy Throat

The lack of post directly corresponds to the lack of adventures in my life lately. I did race on a four-person team at the 24 Hours of Moab couple of weekends ago but I don't really have anything to say about it other then it wasn't the funnest thing that I have ever done.

The biggest thing that has happened in my life lately is getting my tonsils cut out of my throat last Thursday. The adventure started way back at The Cycling House last February. I had a really sore throat that got worse and worse until it finally got to the point where my throat was so swollen that when I took a drink of water it couldn't make it down my throat so it came out my nose. After a day of this Owen convinced me that it would be a good idea to go to the Emergency Room to get an IV to replenish my fluids since I hadn't been able to drink for over a day. At the Emergency Room the doctor immediate diagnosed an abscess of my tonsils. Basically there is a tiny space between your tonsils and your throat lining. Bacteria had gotten into this space in my throat and started multiplying. Basically I had a gigantic pimple in my throat. A specialist had to come in and he stuck a big needle into my throat and sucked all the pus out. I felt a lot better but by day two the pus had come back and I had to get it drained again. The doctor wanted to take my tonsils out right then and there because that was the only way to insure that it would never come back. I had already missed over a week of training and was able to convince him that it would be better to hold off and get my tonsils out sometime during the fall. So here I am. I really wish that I still had my camera (unfortunately it got stolen but it was my own fault) because my throat is pretty cool looking. Its swollen and has some knarly white scabs on each side.

Saying that I have had a lot of downtime since Thursday would be an understatement. Besides watching episodes of "Walker Texas Ranger" I have started reading the book "From Lance to Landis" by David Walsh. Its a pretty good book and I would recommend it to anyone who is in endurance sports, especially cycling. It might be pretty eye-opening for a lot of people. For me, it has just reinforced how I have felt about road cycling in Europe since I started paying attention to it. My only problem with the book is the author's fascination with trying to take Lance Armstrong down. This isn't the first book the author has written about doping and Lance. In fact Lance has sued Walsh over allegations he has made in the past. I understand that Lance is the shark in the sea of minnows that is professional cycling but I think that his point that cycling is a dirty sport could be made without singling out Armstrong. Anyway its a good read and one of the only reasons I have stayed sane as I have laid on the coach for these last couple of days trying not to swallow.