Turn and cough

I'd be a fool to attempt to cycle this distance without first consulting a medical professional (although, the doctor thought I was a fool for doing this). Given that it's been just over half a year since I broke my left ankle, I had some mild concerns about possibly having bitten off more than I could chew. As such, I took a trip down to the Summertown Health Clinic in Oxford today to get a checkup. It had been quite a while since my last and I had some important questions to ask:

-How would my ankle hold up to such stress?
-What kind of diet do I need to be keeping up with?
-How much water do I need to drink on the road?
-How can I trick my body into thinking this is a good thing?

I met with Dr. Becker for a while and she was a huge help. Once she had finished laughing after I explained what I was doing, she approached the situation logically and started to walk me through the concerns I would need to deal with. She was glad I asked the questions that I did; it proved that I had thought this through and knew what I was talking about.

The ankle is apparently healing quite nicely. It is still abnormally shaped, but can take a year or two before the bone has worn down to the right shape & size. However, the movement seems to be correct and I have nearly my full range of motion back. She said that while it has healed nicely, it would likely give me a bit of trouble on the road, simply because of the fact that it wouldn't be used to long periods of exertion. Her suggestions were a good supply of ibuprofen and ice packs for if it gets swollen, but otherwise, just to not overdo it.

Me... overdo it?

Her dietary information was perhaps the most useful thing I took away from our meeting. She confirmed the calculations I did which will have me eating around 6000 calories per day (compared to a usual 2500). I knew that a great deal of my diet had to be carbohydrates to keep my body energized, however she specified the importance of 'slow carbs' (whole wheat, oats) over 'fast carbs' (white bread, rice, etc) in keeping my body energized for long periods of time. Regarding water, given that I seemed prepared, her biggest conern was actually with OVER-hydration, not dehydration. I need to ensure that I keep my salt levels up, since I will be losing a great deal of salts through the amount I will sweat.

The nice part was that she agreed that no matter how hard I try, I'm almost guarunteed to lose 5-20kgs on this trip. It was pretty much my carte blanche to eat the most unhealthy, disgusting meals that I want while on this trip.

My last question to her, I said with as straight a face as possible, in hopes of getting an honest answer, as it was actually a serious question. "How crazy is this idea."

No matter how stern my resolve, she couldn't help but laugh and reply, "As long as you're smart about things, your body should be ok... but I wouldn't want to be your bottom for the next couple of months."