Surprise and Reprieve

Back in April of this year I read that a very talented ultra racer had delayed some dental work until he had completed the Race Across America (RAAM) in June.  He didn't go into his reasons but I made the practical assumption that the impact of the dental work would reduce his readiness for such a manifest physical demand as RAAM.  And I remarked to myself `me too.'

Briefly, I had some health issues when I was a kid that required a great deal of dental work.  Over the course of my life I've had to be vigilant and very attentive to maintaining good dental health.  I had a good deal of the `dental engineering' performed and hardware installed and it was beginning to wear out.  It became time to overhaul my entire `dental system.'  A big investment of time, energy and money. 

I put off the `overhaul' until the end of the cycling season this year (Nov 3rd).  I cleared the decks of any physically demanding activity and resigned myself to about two months of exhaustive and draining dental work and recuperation.  I girded myself and became very stoic, expressing to my dentist "I'm up for numerous sequential 10 hour days in the chair so just consider me your sole source of income for that time." 

It hasn't turned out that way. 

My memories of the major dental work done a few decades ago were not repeated these past few weeks.  Dental technology has improved dramatically.  I wince at the recollection of the countless 3 hour torture sessions in the dental chair, with rubber dams, noisy, slow and smelly grinding, use of painful picks and frequent `refreshing' of injected anesthetics.  Close to 4 months of twice weekly suffer fests in 1980. 

Not these days, though.  A 3 hour root canal in 1980 (performed using crude `mining' tools) took a total of 20 painless minutes in the chair two weeks ago.  Yesterday's one hour forty minute dental appointment would have taken 4 weeks of grim gore in 1980.  Instead, when it was over yesterday I was amazed that it was completely painless.  The dentist and his assistant and I were cracking jokes the entire time. 

I am now on the `down slope' of the dreaded dental experience.  The hard and scary work is over -- without it being hard.  I'm almost disappointed!  I had girded myself for so much suffering. 

There remains significant dental work to be completed but it is really not much more than `wrap-up' and `housekeeping.'  Let some time pass.  The next one is scheduled to take ten (10 - count'em - 10) minutes!

This is a `reprieve' for me.  My cycling training plan has to be revised to recognize that "I'm back!"