Someone Tell Me I'll Be Okay

You'll be fine.  Will you be the same as if this didn't happen? Probably not but that might be a good thing.  Some people have a hard time tapering and this may help you with that.

If your bike slid on the drive side against the derailleur, definitely get it checked out and get some good rides in before race day.

Go to your drug store, get Tegaderm dressings......theyare actually clear "second skin" applications that are waterproof and allow your wounds to heal without forming a scab....so you can keep working out without the stiffness.  They really work.

Unfortunately, I had to make a similar run to the drug store last night after my kid laid his bike down.  The last time he crashed we used the Tegaderm dressings and he didn't miss a day of training.

Good luck.

Very, very good advice (in addition to the Tegaderm).  I was cagey for awhile after I crashed several years ago...you don't want to be skittish during a race.

A couple of years ago I got a huge gash above my left eye.

The ER was all set to stitich it.  I had a race the next day and asked if I could still swim.  They said no swimming if they stitched it but I could swim if I glued it.

They glued it and I got my first podium the next morning.

x1,000,000.  I should know because I had a horrible case of road rash in the early 90's after a bike accident.  After visiting UCLA hospital, I became a "crash test dummy" for the a group of researchers for a new type of one of these anti-bacterial dressings.  I suffered two agonizing weeks of pulling off dry dressings x2/day, until they managed to manufacture 2 extra-extra-large dressings for my hip and shoulder areas.  The healing rate was incredible, as the scabs disappeared almost immediately (which made moving around so much easier) and I had new pink skin growing within 1-2 weeks.  Both the doctors and myself were astonished, and my bathroom cupboard is always stocked with Tagederm now, for big/small cuts and road rashes (that are thankfully smaller than my 1990's accident).

P.S.  You'll be okay  Start getting confident back on your bike, once the worst of your pain has gone away, but don't be disheartened if this takes a while. Good luck and heal well and fast.

I dropped my bike off at the bike shop today they are going to look it over for me.  It doesn't appear that there's anything wrong with it but the mechanic said he'll give it the once over and let me know if anything comes up.  

Yesterday I was over reacting a little bit to the accident and today I feel much better thanks to all your encouragement.  As soon as I get my bike back I'll get out on the road again for some confidence building before my race.  I may not have the results I was looking for due to some unplanned time off, but hey, it's my first HIM so anything better than DNF is a PR.  (Though I still secretly have a time goal in mind).  Now I'm just going to focus on getting to the starting line healthy and confident that all the work I've put in the past 4 months will show through.

My number is 1759.  

I dropped my bike off at the bike shop yesterday to get it checked out.  On the way back to work I remembered that I would pass a medical supply store so I stopped in and was able to get some individual sheets of tegaderm.  They had several sizes up to 8"x12".  I applied them last night and things are much better today.  I did a 45 minute ride on the stationary bikes at the gym and did a quick lap around the track to see if I would be able to stand running later today.  No problems other than some minor discomfort from the affected areas.  The last two days every time I moved it seemed to hurt as the wound dried out/ scabbed over and I kept breaking open again.  Since the tegaderm I don't have that problem.

I'm picking my bike up tonight so other than a few scrapes and a small hole in my nearly new saddle it's good to go the mechanic said.  So now I'm debating a short ride/run brick to try out my tri suit and get my confidence back.  Thanks for all the good advice it has helped, and I'm feeling much better about my race now.