busy, busy, busy...

Well, I've been busy with stuff. Weddnig, house buying, moving, stuff like that. No excuse to keep from making little stories. But I will stand by these excuses.

Here, Paige, went to Build a Bear to get a new outfit for her bear. She's so cute. She got a wedding outfit for her bear. How sweet! And appropriate for the day. She was the flower girl for us and was quite excited about it.

Today was the first day on a training day. :) YAY, it seems as though I'm back into training mode, or at least in the preliminary stages. I'll need to have some indoor rides. I am looking for a commuter bike. I've gone through some Craig's listings and have found soem that might work, but I'm being picky. :)

Work has moved over this past weekend. It's about the same distance from where I am now; so not a huge deal for me. My goal is to incorporate commuting by bike into my daily regime since there are showers where I am at. But winter is afoot; and I tend to get a little soft when it comes to road riding.

I'm off for the night. It's a good night for a white russian. :) Gettin ready for my week of on-call ahead. :)

i hope you all have a great one!
Miss you! I'm starting to prepare for the season ahead. I have a good support system. I could make some training advancements this winter. Or at least that's the hope. Starting with a better diet and working into a more routine workout.

Miss you guys!
Send suppoert! :)
Love you!
Niki

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. -Einstein

It's nearly the end of July. I'm not quite sure where June went.

I got a few races in. Still struggling to get the asthma under control.

Went through another round of tests which only produced 'normal' results yet again. No holes in my heart, no apparent embolisms in my lungs; Still no answers; still feeling the same... Overall, it seems as though over the past three years it's only gotten worse. Doctor's advice was to lose weight. Well, that's obvious and a common suggestion when they don't know what's going on. Especially since all their tests show that physiologically I'm just fine. No explanation why I don't feel fine and why we can't seem to get the asthma under control. But that implies the only thing to explain all this is asthma even though accompanying evidence is not typical of asthma. I'm a medical mystery; or another patient to be tossed aside because they can't figure out what's wrong with current medical technology within the country. That could be a blessing in disguise that I haven't realized yet.

My choice is to get another opinion at Mayo. Still thinking on that issue. Not sure if I'm up for being poked and prodded even more to hear that I'm normal AGAIN. I'm waiting for my frustration level to run down to a lower level and then maybe I'll make a logical decision on that one.

I guess on the bright side of being normal and physiologically sound, I can feel confident then that I can push my body as far as I want and since everything is normal; I shouldn't do any damage that would result in extreme negative effects. :) LOL

It could always be worse. :)
Miss you guys!
Love you
Niki

Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.

Fruita Catcus Flower

Another good vacation in Fruita, CO. It's always hard to come back to sea-level aka BFL (below Fruita Level). I did a road ride this morning with the tri-group and I think there were others. I figured I better not do any sandbagging and take advantage of my altitude adjusted lungs. I was able to be the trailer on the break-away group. My goal was to keep them in my sights so I didn't get dropped. Getting dropped meant getting lost in the unfamiliar territory of the 'burbs.

It was a good ride complete with adventure. We hit the gravel trail of the Luce line to discover that a section of it was closed. This was a great hike-a-bike section over some straw with netting on top. Then the frogger-like crossing of the highway. :) I was complimented on my hill attack tactics. That helped to encourage the needed hill training.

The tri-training has been a good time. The people are nice and friendly. I think when this 12 week session is up; I will continue for another 12 weeks. My goal is to incorporate the strength training 2 days a week; I'm hoping for 3. Or I could mix it up and have 2 days of weights and one day of bouldering. Let's see how I can work a plan like that into my schedule.

Gnat and I had a great time camping and riding for the week. The trails were in great condition and we got in some good quality time. It was very nice to leave work stress and all behind. A well deserved vacation. Now the trick is to maintain the vacation mentality outside of work. :D I know, as always; I could stand to lighten up a bit.

So, I'll be doing my first 6 hour race in June to see how things go. Use it as a litmus test. I may try one more doctor to see if a third opinion; or would it be at fourth now... can help get the asthma under control. Yes, I did have attacks out in Fruita. I think riding at a relaxing pace up Mary's Loop helped to keep it at bay for that ride. But Prime Cut brought out the wheezy in me.

Arch-nemisis
There was another welcome meeting with my arch-nemisis 'the rock face'. I've nearly conquered the rock face in previous years. It's almost as though the older I get the more cautious I become. Am I worried about getting hurt because I think I won't heal as quickly? I guess in the end, I need to do more skillz training. Nothing wrong with that.

I miss you guys,
Love ya!
Niki

A person starts to live when he can live outside himself. -Einstein

Spin class this morning was intervals. I know we were supposed to be at 100 cadence. I think I got close most of the time. Some of the girls in the class must have hit nearly 200... they were booking. I wonder if their spin bikes moved a little bit. :) I remember when I used to have energy like that.

This morning I used the good 'ole puffer. No big deal. It didn't help; I still had a little attack. I am still working on that mental control with the breathing. Yoga has been quite helpful in making progress on that goal.

Next week we may be able to ride outside. I wonder if I should bring some little lights. I could volunteer to ride at the back. :) Since I'll have a tail light and all. :) I think the group may be ready for me to wear a camel bak.

The group was asked by the swimming coach to do an indoor relay that is being held at the club this weekend. I kindly replied: "I've plans to mountain bike this weekend, but I really appreciate the offer." I do appreciate to know of other things going on.

Miss you guys!
Love ya
Niki

Yes, I'm beginning to admit to myself that there is more to life than mountain biking. :D Diversity is good to accompany passion. :)

Imagination is more important than knowledge -Einstein

My how time has flown. I'm not sure where it's all gone, but it does go quickly even when paying attention.

I've been hanging with tri-geeks :) at 5:30 am. Monday is running, Wednesday is swimming and Friday is spinning and sometimes we get to go outside on road-rides. We get to go outside for running sometimes too. I'll be the one in back walking/jogging but mostly walking. That's ok. On top of this the trails have been opened... FINALLY. The winter seemed so long; or maybe it was just a greater collection of non-trail riding weather. But it's behind me now.

As a result of this increase in activity over the past 5 weeks; I've been noticing that my body requires more sleep. That doesn't mean I necessarily grant that to my body. Of course, this is a request I am trying to full-fill. :)


Granted I need to get more saddle time in as well as some weight training. These will both help in assisting me get to a better performance level. I'm just trying to get back to where I was before the whole athletic induced asthma came into play. It's a tough journey and frustrating. I have good days and bad days. Sometimes bad days are because of seasonal allergy related stuff and sometimes it's because of hormonal levels. Neither of which I can control. But I can control the mental approach I take when I am having a bad day; even if that bad day can last for two weeks.

Other than that; the wedding plans are coming along. I think we're still on schedule. :) I won't be surprised if the month before I'm pretty stressed out. I'll have to go for more bike rides then. ;)

Miss you guys!
Love ya
Niki