o2s training

i finally got back on the bike last night. unfortunately, another 10 days had elapsed since my last ride. that's a trend that's happening all too often. i, at least, had a good excuse this time...i'm recovering from bronchitis. i'm still coughing quite a bit but feel fine otherwise.

i decided a couple of laps at island lake would be a good start for me. what a nice night it was! i'm not a big fan of the heat and last night was perfect! it started out moderately and kept telling myself to keep that pace every time i felt like hammering. my lungs felt pretty damn good out there and the climbs were not a problem. the cheater bike is STILL having drivetrain issues. i'm still thinking it's the rear hub/freewheel. the chain kept skipping and dropped on one of the rooty uphills. frustrating. very frustrating. i'll try a thorough cleaning and then go from there.

i finish the first lap a few seconds under an hour which i was fine with and then stopped to hit my bottle of HEED. unfortunately, i had less than i thought...only 2 scoops...so i downed that along w/ 4 ecaps and was on my way for a second lap. as soon as i left the parking lot, i felt a slight twinge in my left calf. uh-oh, cramping already? c'mon, i just did 15 miles at island lake, there's no way i could be cramping up. well, i was. about 10 minutes into my second lap i could feel my quads start to cramp up. so, i was thinking to myself, 'man, i'm in terrible shape and will have to cut out early and just finish up blue'. the cramping got a little worse but i could tell the ecaps were keeping them at bay. by the time i reached the yellow turn-off, i said what the hay, and continued on. i'm glad i continued but damn, i had no energy left in my legs at the end. none. my legs were screaming at the end of that loop and i felt very weak and shaky when i got back to my car. a big reason for bonking was the number of calories i consumed during the day. only about 1000...and fairly low carb at that. i finished that second lap in a miserable 1:07...probably my slowest lap out there EVER! so, bottom line, i've got a LONG way to go to be ready for o2s. all of this not riding is catching up to me. my lungs, however, felt great the whole ride. i just need to get my legs used to pushing those pedals again. can you believe i've only done 203 miles since addison??? no wonder i'm cramping up at island lake. i still have time though...double poto anyone?

nct plans foiled

well, i'm up at 2:30 in the morning coughing up a lung or three. it looks like whatever i have has spread into my lungs. it feels like i'm drowning. this, with my asthma is a bad combination. so, i'm going to have to very reluctantly back out of the nct trip. what a crappy summer i've had. i haven't been able to do shit. it started w/ the crappy addison race. then health issues caused me to miss two races i really wanted to do and now this. what shitty luck. i know everyone's gonna be having an AWESOME time up there but i just can't do it. a chest cold and 90 degree weather this weekend would just equal a miserable time for me. plus, i don't want to get anyone sick...especially dustin. whatever. if only i could get some zzzz's...

nct weekend

i'm really looking forward to this weekend...BUT, i'm sick. blah. mason was sick all of last week and now i've finally got it. it's not too bad right now but it's slowly creeping south into the lungs. that's not good. old joe would tell me it's a no go with a chest cold. i'm hoping i start feeling better but i have a sinking feeling that i haven't gotten the worst of it yet. i've been getting a good amount of rest and drinking a ton of vitamin c. i'm still run down although i've lifted the past 3 nights. i need to stay somewhat strong for the weekend.

not sure who's all going but it's bound to be a riot! i just hope i'm feeling well enough to party it up. plus, i really need to behave myself. ;-)

it's about damn time!

okay, i've talked to a few of you and you guys want some updates! i really didn't think anyone really read these let alone be interested in updates. my life is boring, people. but really, this is my 100th post and i'll try to get back on track. it's just hard sometimes because there's so much on my mind, and i'm just not sure where to start.

i will start by saying that, for those of you who haven't heard, that my biopsies from my scope came back benign. that's good news but it still doesn't tell me what is causing my pain. i still have abdominal pain here and there but it's the worst in the morning when i get up. i don't know what it is and it seems like the docs don't know either, so i've started riding my bike again. i looked at my ride log for june and i did a paltry 98.5 miles and a total of 6 rides. no wonder i have no endurance. thankfully for my cheater bike, i haven't lost too much speed. i'm still riding as fast as i did a 2 months ago but i can only do it for about 45 minutes. i've got a ways to go before i'm ready for o2s, but that's still almost 5 weeks away.

i also wanted to say how much my biking friends mean to me. yeah, yeah i don't want to get all sappy and shit since that's not my style (like i have any style, pft) but i did want to mention a few people in particular. let's see there's tom, fireman, hodaddy, soupy, erin, andrea, marty, martin, claudia...all of these people (and forgive me if i'm forgetting others, which i probably am) with their support helps me get through another day. i'm sure half of these people have no idea what they mean to me since i don't see you guys too often but you guys are like a second family to me. and for that, i thank you! okay, now i have go wipe away these tears...of joy...no not really...i'm not that sappy. now get back to whatever you were doing because it was better than reading this crap! (well, except for you, soupy!)