Adding Insult to Injury

OK...so many of you know I've been dealing with "female" issues. So, finally something to make me smile...I picked up the Stumpjumper from the shop on Saturday...all ready to test her out at the Pig on Sunday. So Saturday night a sore throat starts creeping up on me. And Sunday morning it's worse, having been joined by a severaly stuffy head and nose. I rode anyway, peoples! I needed the mindless joy after all I've been forced to deal with over the last several weeks. Of course, the ride was fantastic even though it helped the cold further entrench in my system. The constant nose blowing and coughing is worth the sheer joy I felt on Sunday, though!

Recovery = Slow

I'm slowly making my way back onto the bike...but, as stated, it's been really slow. Went to Dauset with Jeff on T-Day and I was pretty pitiful. Had to drop into gears I hadn't used at Dauset since I'd first started out. My lungs were OK, but my legs really had taken a hit. Climbs that I used to grin through were causing grimaces and taking twice as long as usual. I know...it will come back pretty quickly now that I can get back on the bike...but it's still disconcerting.

I have a pelvic ultrasound on Monday. Yeah...yuck! But I'm hopeful they'll finally figure out what's wrong and get me a final resolution. Right now we're just treating the symptoms, making them less debilitating, but they're still there. I plan to ride some tomorrow and Sunday...and hope to get back into the kind of proper base training I'd been planning to start several weeks ago.

Slight Setback

Well...hmmm...how to proceed. If you're squeamish about women's issues, don't read, that's the first thing I've got to say. Anywho. At about 3:30 p.m. on Thursday I started bleeding really heavily (girl bleeding...if you didn't get my women's issue reference). I called my husband and asked him to come home instead of going off to exercise as I was a little worried. I climbed into bed and tried to stay calm. I bled a lot until about 6:30 p.m., then it started to taper off. I thought it was just a bad spell that had passed. Unfortunately at about 9:30 p.m. it started again, worse and I began to feel dizzy, nauseous, and my hands started turning blue and numb. Jeff hustled me to the emergency room where I had to go in via wheelchair as I couldn't summon the energy to walk. They hustled me in pretty fast and saw to me. Apparently panic mixed with the blood loss had caused the fainting and nausea...and possibly the blue hands, but in the end that was attributed to the blood loss. At about 3:00 a.m. I was released with a prescription for a short course of hormone therapy, an admonition to engage in no strenuous exercise, and an admonition to get a follow up appointment and get my hormones back on track.

It was very scary and I had to miss the Dauset festival for which I'd prepared all the awards and at which I was supposed to lead the beginner women's ride. I was bummed. I spent the weekend barely moving from the couch. I was kind of sniffly (probably hormonal again) about missing it.

I have an appointment Wednesday morning and I'm going to threaten the doctor with something if he doesn't give me the go ahead to get back to the running and biking. I want to climb the walls right now. Send good karma thoughts my way, please!

Schedule - Very Tentative

February - 12 Hours of Razorback
April - Baker's Dozen; Santos Quadruple Bypass (marathon stage only)
May - 12 Hours of Tsali; Burn 24 (team)
June - Cowbells Challenge; Southern Lights 24-7 (team)
July - 12 Hours of Dauset; Offroad Assault On Mt. Mitchell
September - SM100; Odyssey MTB Fest; 13 Hours of Santos

Unless otherwise noted, these will be done solo. Also, depending in final dates set for events, there may be overlap, so I'll have to decide which I'll plan to do! I'd also like to try my hand at an adventure race, so maybe I'll get someone to help me with paddling and orienteering and sign myself up for the Macon AR.

Scheduling & Training

Well...it's time to start really putting together my training schedule. It's hard to get the time in to do the long rides required to be in shape for these solo events. I'm generally up and out of bed at five so I can start my work day with my first cup of coffee at 5:15 a.m. Sometimes I head out at 7:00 to get some morning riding in. Sometimes I break away at midday. And sometimes I merge a late afternoon ride with some riding in the dark time. I'm going to really have to start pushing it to compete with my fellow Sorellas, Namrita and Jennifer. I'm not even thinking to beat them...but it would be nice to stay fairly even. :)

Been off the bike for four days, visiting in-laws. Will feel quite good to get back on it today. Going on a ride with one relative newbie this afternoon, then the regular ladies night ride tonight!

Bike Porn? I think not...it's my new ride...

Should arrive in the shop tomorrow, or next week. Will stay there until I get her fully paid for, but she should be hitting the road with me sometime later this month. Decided I definitely needed a lighter bike for some of the long ride training I plan to do. I don't need the FS all the time. Just on the rootier and rockier rides...like Baker's Dozen. Can't wait to see how sketchy I am the first few rides!

Yee Haw! Gravel Roads...

Kathy Stege introduced me to some great gravel road riding up around Juliet, near the Jarrell Plantation and their nature center (not to be confused with the Dauset Nature Center). There are myriad trails and intersecting roads, and we only traversed a little over 20 miles of it. The gravel wasn't so deep as to be sketchy, but definitely gave a nice leg workout on some of the climbs, some of which are relatively long and steep. We dealt with a few hunters scoping out the terrain (lots of dust from their trucks. And they're allowed to hunt certain weekends (Fri-Sun), so for right now it's a better bet to ride these Monday & Tuesday afternoons. But once hunting season's over it'd be a great place to get some base mileage in. It'd be very easy to put together anything from 10-80 mile rides.

I'm definitely heading back there throughout the remainder of fall and into the winter.

You Know You've Picked the Right Discipline

when your body doesn't even warm up to the trail until you've already completed 17 miles. Went for a two hour + ride with Donna yesterday and while I wasn't a complete turtle for the first 17 miles, I definitely picked up the pace and really felt dialed in and loose right at about the seventeen mile mark. Of course, we were only doing a 20 mile or so ride, so I felt kind of bummed out when it ended, as I think the next 10-20 miles would have been awesome!

Putting that into perspective, I'd complete most Sport XC race courses before I really felt my muscles and mind get into the ride. So that's something I need to work on...getting the body and mind dialed in within at least the first ten miles or so!

Today it's a gravel road ride. 20 mile loop. Will do the first twenty with a partner, then at least another ten before I have to head back to the reality that is work and my computer.