August 15, 2009 – Wow, it’s been quite a while since my last update but to be honest it was a pretty slow spring/summer of training for me so there hasn’t been a whole lot to report on. The majority of my spring was spent recovering from surgery on my left ankle/foot (see my previous blog entries for details). It turns out I had an extra tendon in my foot which the surgeon believes was the source of my problem. The accessory tendon paralleled the Peroneal tendon and was trapped underneath the main Peroneal on the side of my foot.

The surgeon actually said that he has never heard of a problem like this and was very surprised to find an extra tendon in my foot!! The procedure was very invasive, the Retinaculum had to be detached and the entire Peroneal tendon was lifted off the bone to get at the accessory tendon and remove it.

I spent six weeks on crutches through March and April as my foot began to heal from the surgery. My foot was confined to a hard cast to protect the Retinaculum ligament, this meant a heck of a lot of time spent surfing the couch at home in Canmore. I spent the first few weeks after my surgery almost completely immobile, lying on the couch, pounding pain killers and trying to keep the foot elevated…thank god for playoff hockey to keep me entertained!

I tried hard to find things to keep me occupied while I was laid up. One such project I was eager to start was to rebuild my 1981 Kawasaki KZ motorcycle. It was already in good running condition but in need of a little TLC. I found an office chair with wheels that I could push myself around the garage on and went to work. It was a great way to pass the time and the perfect distraction to keep my mind off a lost season of racing.

Mexico Bound
One of the highlights of the spring for me was supposed to be a trip to Mexico for a friend’s wedding. Preparation for the trip began long before my injury and my original plan was to head south of Puerto Vallarta for a week of surfing with friends, then head back north to meet up with the rest of the wedding crew. The wedding was to take place in a town called Sayulita for a week of wedding festivities and of course more surfing. However, my recent surgery meant that there’d be no surfing for me, instead I’d be stuck in an air cast for my whole vacation, I decided to go ahead as planned though and log some serious time lounging on the beach instead.

Swine flu and the doomsday hungry media would throw yet another wrench into the Mexico plans. Shortly after my arrival in Mexico, news of Swine Flu hit and not only threw my vacation plans into chaos but would wreak havoc with the plans for the wedding. Just hours after my arrival in Puerto Vallarta I received a call from Adam, the groom to be, who informed me that they were considering changing their wedding plans due to the Swine Flu outbreak. A little concerned, but still pumped to be on vacation, I jumped into a beat up old Nissan rental car to try and track down Phil Widmer and my other buddies who had arrived a few days earlier.

They had already left in search of a surf town we had gotten a tip on and unfortunately, were only able to give me very sketchy directions. Widmer couldn’t even tell me for sure what the name of the surf town was! He did leave a map for me at the airport (which didn’t have the town on it) and sent an email with a rough set of directions. It turns out that the town had no cell reception and no phone service of any kind, meaning that I had to try and find Widmer and company based on the following set of vague facts: The town name sounds something like A’tipa (it was actually La Ticla), it’s about four hours south of Puerto Vallarta (Turned out to be almost 7), look for a red Nissan rental car, the surf is a point break and it’s somewhere along Hwy. Mex 200, south of the city of Ticoman…thanks for the great directions guys!

After getting lost for almost an hour in Puerto Vallarta right off the bat, I was finally on my way. A few more wrong turns and many hours of bumpy Mexican ‘Highways’ later, I finally arrived in Ticoman where I quickly got lost in the chaos of unmarked Mexican urban roads. I eventually found my way out of town and was back on track. Soon however, I found myself hammering down unmarked Mexican highways, with darkness quickly setting in I was really starting to get nervous.

I had no idea where I was, no idea where I was going and no ability to speak Spanish, things were not looking good. I was now desperately looking over the sheer cliffs at each bend in the road for anything that looked like a surf town as the highway winded its way along the remote coastline. I was starting to lose hope that I’d find the guys but just as I was thinking I should turn around and try to find a place to stay for the night, I passed a vehicle approaching the main road from one of the tiny gravel side roads. In the quick flash of my headlights I caught a glimpse of red!

Hammering on the brakes and pulling a quick U-turn I sped back to the road and sure enough there was Widmer in all his glory!! He had come out to the main road to try and find a phone to call me and by some stroke of luck I happened to pass him at that very moment. After a short reunion of high fives and some good laughs, Phil led me down to the little surf town of La Ticla, 10 minutes off the main highway which turned out to be as close to paradise as I have seen in Mexico. It was a small farming/fishing town with a world class surf break and almost completely free of tourists, save for a few hardcore surfers. Our bungalow was hidden among the palms, right on the beach and just 100m from the pounding surf…I had made it!

The wedding would eventually be called off in Mexico and rescheduled for the same time in Tofino, BC. This meant that the small crew, including me, that had already made our way to Mexico, packed up our gear and reluctantly left paradise to return just in time for the wedding in Canada. It was a short chaotic trip but one that’ll I’ll never forget.

Back to the Grind
Upon my return from Mexico it was time to get back into some regular training. I was still unable to walk without a cast, but I was able to ride a stationary bike, row on the erg, swim, and hit the gym regularly for upper body and core workouts. I quickly began to get back into shape and was actually very happy with how much training I was able get in.

The time eventually came to start walking without the assistance of a cast, it was great to finally start walking on my own again. Having been in a cast for the better part of 6 months, it was strange to be back on two feet but great to have my mobility back. Since then, training has slowly progressed from long hours on the road bike back to pretty much ‘normal’ training, with skate rollerskiing and running being the last training modes to be added. I will soon be on my way to New Zealand with the rest of the National Team to get in some great time on snow. It will be my first time on skis since my surgery and I’m really looking forward to seeing how the foot responds to some time on snow.

Check back next week for an update on the NZ camp.

Overheard:
“The Cappuccino is so 2000-late. The Macchiato is in.” – NST member Sean Crooks

In the Tape Deck:
Song: Gives You hell
Artist: All American Rejects

Song: Don’t trust me
Artist: 3oh3

Song: Use Somebody
Artist: Kings of Leon