I Touched Dirt

I can't remember the last time my bike touched dirt.    I had surgery, was sick, the weather isn't good, there was always a reason I couldn't get out for a ride.  Today there was no reason other than I am supposed to be working on  base miles and keeping at a low heart rate.  But what does that matter, the dirt was calling and I had to answer.

When I left it was brisk out, but warm enough.  The ride up water tower was perfect. Great snow pack, the sun was out, and it got warmer and warmer as I got to the top--probably the only time an inversion is a good thing when you are above the inversion.  When I got to the top I decided I needed to ride further, I kept riding further and further and finally decided I would ride all the way to roller coaster road. 

The snow was packed most of the ride with only a couple of spots that were not so good, but all of it was rideable.  When I got to roller coaster I saw nothing but deep snow and no packing.  I looked at it for a long time debating whether to ride or not.  I finally decided to turn around--I didn't want to ride up the hills in unpacked snow, more than likely I would have ended up pushing up the hill instead of riding.

The way back the snow started to melt a little bit, but luckily it never got mushy.  The ride back was fun, andn going downhill was great, no ice spots--at least I didn't find any!  I am so glad I got to ride the dirt, I don't think Spring will get here soon enough.

Top of Water Tower, great snow pack.

The view--gotta love it.

A runner passed by and offered to take my pic--I love the chubby cheeks with the baclave on.

Worst part of the whole ride--not too bad.

Homework!

My daughter is very lucky, and so am I.  Her teacher does not believe in homework--how awesome is that.  He gives the students every opportunity to complete their assignments in class, they can stay in at recess and complete their work if they would like.  I have liked this as Mandy has only come home a few times from school with homework and when she does, she is able to get it done.  One would think this would not cause any problems.

I guess not so.  Today I received a phone call from the teacher.  Apparently Mandy had a 2 week assignment she was to read 4 different books (all very slender in size) and write a 15 line report on the book.  She was even allowed to take notes on the book as she read them.  So for 2 weeks the entire class has been reading and writing, and what has Mandy been doing?  That is a very good question.  What she wasn't doing were the reports.  Apparently she was reading, but not writing. 

So needless to say Mandy is home now doing her schoolwork.  There is no playing with friends, getting on the computer, or wii until the reports are done.  Oh, she can watch tv, but only after 6 pm and only mom or dad shows--you know news and fun stuff that only mom's and dad's like to watch.  One other catch she cannot do this homework at school it has to be completed at home.

I received 14 missed phone calls at work when this news was given.  When I finally was able to answer my phone, being the great kid she is she tried to negotiate the homework.  You see the teacher is giving her until Friday to finish the reports--nice teacher.  Her idea, write one report today, one tomorrow and two on Thursday, and each day when she finishes she can play, have computer, wii or tv privileges (we never allow all 3 in the same day, only playing with friends).  I wasn't up for negotiating, so now she is working on the reports.  Oh, and guess what it is almost 7 pm and Mandy has finished 2 reports and is partially done with the 3rd.  Nothing like a little incentive to get things done.  Hopefully this will never happen again.

The Trainer

Last year I rode outside most of the  winter and did not need to spend much time on my trainer.  This year has been different.  My cold tolerance has changed with my broken nose, so I have been riding mostly on my trainer.  It's not so bad.  I have discovered the series Heroes, there are 23 episodes in the first season!  I also love to watch Biggest Loser while on the trainer, it is very motivating.  But I have my fingers cross that soon it will be over 30 in the morning and I can start riding outside again.

The Job-Need Help

I haven't been writing much about riding or mountain biking much lately, because I still have 2 more weeks before I can mountain bike, and well riding outside has been somewhat limited.  I have a lot of ideas of what to write about, but well, obviously they have not made it in the blog.  But today I have something to write about.  Mostly to reach out and see if anyone out there can help or give some good direction.

As some of you know last year I worked for for a company that was okay, but I had a boss that was the devils wife, no that is being nice, more like the devils mom (and I don't mean this lightly).  She had to be the meanest, most horrible person I ever met, and loved making people miserable.  I watched her demoralize many an employee, and personally attack them--the worse part was they let her.  My problem, I wouldn't let her, and was constantly standing up (in a professional way) to her tactics--which meant there was no love loss from either of us when eventually I lost my job (my position was conviently eliminated).

Two weeks after I lost my job, I got a great job.  It was a job with lots of promotion opportunity
mid-level pay, and the opportunity to help others.  The only drawback at the time was commuting 45-60 minutes one way.  No big deal, I have commuted before.  Unfortunately things did not turn out how I hoped.

The day before I started my job, the guy who was supposed to be my boss was let go, and I started with no boss.  For the next month I basically trained myself, learned what I needed to and waited for a new boss to be appointed.  No big deal, because the job is good and I love working with the students.  But there were some changes that I was not expecting.

The biggest change was my hours.  Originally I was told I would only work 1 out of every Saturday.  Although not the most desirable thing to work on a Saturday, the hours are only 9am - 1pm, and once in a while that is not so bad.  Well it turns out I have worked almost every Saturday since starting, plus some holiday weekends--actually had to cancel some travel plans.  The other challenge my daily work hours.  I work M, W 11am-8pm, T, TH, Fr 8am-5pm.  Now these hours wouldn't be so bad if they were my actual hours, but they're not.  Add the commute time, the extra hour I tend to work, because I would never leave a student mid-advising, I typically don't get home until 7pm and 10 pm at night.  For some this is okay, but for me it is not.  I have a family that needs me at home, helping them, putting them to bed, and just being there for them--plus my husband works the night shift, so someone needs to be at home.

This week the school announced they are going to change their hours and by the end of February my hours are going to change where I will need to work late some Friday nights and I still will need to work more Saturdays than I was originally told.  I approached my boss about the hours, my concerns and how it is affecting my family.  She was very understanding, but of course will not be able to make any accomidations--which I completely understand.  She did let me know she would be happy to be a reference for me if I decide to search for another job.

So what does this mean to me.  It means I need to find a new job by the end of February.  The nice thing is my boss knows I need to look for a new job, and she will gladly give anybody a reference if they need it, and I get to keep my job while I look.  My concerns are I haven't been at this job very long, and how is it going to look to a perspective employer I am changing jobs so soon--especially in the type of economy we have right now. 

My other concern is what is out there, and what can I get.  I do not have any technical experience with computers, so that is out.  I have a degree in psychology, which does not mean much other than I can do a lot of different things, but nothing specific like market analyst. In a nutshell, I have a lot of advising, consulting, marketing, advertising, sales experience; as well as I have been a caseworker and kick butt when it comes to clerical work, and creating reports or systems to help companies run more efficently.  The biggest thing, I love helping people and helping them make a difference in their life.  Anyway, if you know of something out there, would like to see my resume or can forward it on I would appreciate it.  Thanks.

Inaugural Ride

For Christmas we got Royce a road bike.  He was very surprised - I hid it in the downstairs closet and then he had clues with each present he opened up.  I think by the time he got to the road shoes for a gift he knew something was up.

Royce getting his Christams present out of the closet.  I think he likes it.
Since getting the gift he has not had the chance to ride it due to taking care of Mandy over Christmas break, and then taking care of me for the last 2 weeks.  Today I was feeling like I could ride my bike, so we went for a very mild ride.

Before we went on our ride I helped Royce get outfitted for a cold ride.  I think I had him wearing close to 4 layers top and bottom--better too warm in this kind of weather.  After getting  completely ready we took off.  At first the going was a little tough, you know new bike, different shifting.  Before long though we were heading towards Utah Lake (we live fairly close). 

When we left the temp was 31 degrees, but once we got closer to the lake I could feel the temperature drop, and noticed the frostcicles on the trees, bushes and other shubery.  We stopped for a minute for a photo op and then continued on.
Royce riding by the lake.

Posing for the camera.

A view of the lake--it is out there.

From the lake the ride is relatively short to home.  I was feeling pretty good, so Royce and I parted ways.  He went home and I continued on riding.  It felt so good to be out after being cooped up in the house for such a long time.  My ride took me out towards the farmlands in Lehi and then back.  I am a little tired, but it was a great ride and I can't wait to go out again.
There is blue sky!

I love how the snow is still around the water.

Nose Rinse - This is kind of gross

Since having surgery on my nose I have a new task I must do a minimum of 4 times a day--I must rinse my nose.  For some this is not unusual, and they do it all the time.  I have been aware of the practice, but did not have a need.  Now with the surgery I must rinse a minimum of 4 times a day.  There is a video of how to rinse, however my rinsing does not go as well.

In the video it tells you not to hold your breath, however if I don't hold my breath the liquid would go down my throat, and not out my nose.  Which would then end up being projected out my mouth.  The reason is because my nose is so clotted up the water does not flow freely at first.  When I first start there is no water, just a lot of pressure as the water trys to pass through the nasal passage.  Sometimes it starts to flow, sometimes it does not.  Once it does flow, it usually is accompanied by a lot of gross blood clots.  The worst part of the rinse is afterwards.  The goal is to get all of the liquid out. However because I am still trying to get everything out the liquid does not always come out right away.  What seems to happen is it comes out at the most inopportune time possible--the time when someone comes to visit you and you are talking to them.  Luckily for me I usually feel it coming before it actually makes its way out.  I will be glad when all of the clots and stuff comes completely out, so maybe I can avoid some embarassing situations.  In the mean time I try to remember to carry something with me for the quick turn of the head so no one can see liquid dripping from my nose.

I got my splint off my nose yesterday.  The black eyes are getting less and less, and my nose is still swollen, but has gone down quite significantly.  On a side note I am feeling much better and have been on the trainer!  I never thought I would be so happy to ride the trainer.   Next step hopefully Saturday will be a ride around the block, I have my fingers crossed.

Nose Recovery

I don't know if you remember or not, but in mid-July I broke my nose.  Well, after three re-schedules I finally got my broken nose fixed.  I was very excited about the surgery, because it meant I would be able to breathe again.  However, six days later I am happy I can breathe, but wondering if I should have just lived with not being able to breathe.

The surgery was approximately 3 hours, the surgeon fixed a bone fragment, my sinuses and all of the broken inside that had healed broken (how's that for great medical terminology).  Now I have had a few surgeries, and usually when I come out of recovery I am some what pleasant and visit with the nurses once I come to.  However there was no visiting this time, I was in pain the moment I came out and felt pretty miserable until I left.  I was very surprised as I have always recovered quickly from surgery.

The doctor told me it would be 7 to 10 days before I would feel better, I guess I should have believed him--I was hoping it would be closer to 4 days.  So here I am six days later, and the most I have done is make myself lunch and breakfast today.  Prior to today I was pretty much in bed all day. 

All this rest has me scared.  Race season is just around the corner, and I am not ready.  No this is not the typical your out of shape not ready.  This is the I am really not ready and my health has been less than good for the last 3 months not ready.  The scarey part is I am racing in a different division this year, and not only am I not ready, I really don't want to embarass myself.  For today there is nothing I can do about it but rest, but hopefully in a few weeks this will change, and hopefully it will not be too late.  In the mean time I guess I will just be scared.
Right after surgery.

A few days after surgery.  Hard to tell, but I do have black eyes.

I am not a Runner

It is pretty obvious by my blog and lifestyle I am not a runner.  However, today I had a crazy notion I would take up running again.  You see a long, long time ago--well not too long ago, in my twenties, I used to run.  I was actually okay at it, I ran about a 6 minute mile, and averaged 8 minutes on 3 miles.  Not fast, but not too slow.  Eventually I had to have knee surgery, and then another knee surgery, and after the knee surgeries I quit running.  There wasn't any specific reason other than I quit running.

Today, however, I decided I would take up running again.  Since I have a difficult time finding a place to store my bike at work I decided instead of lunch rides maybe I could go for a jog at lunch time.  So today I put on my running shoes and took off.  I started out okay, a little light jogging down to the stoplight, stopped, jogged across the road, walked over an ice patch, and started jogging again. 

It did not take long, before the jogging turned into agony.  Each step I felt like a huge elephant pounding down on the pavement, and a mild pain began to reside in my hip.  I pushed forward with the goal to reach the second stop light.  I decided when I reached the stoplight I could stop and walk across street and then start running again.  This of course did not happen, because when I got to the stoplight the walk sign was on, and my pride got the best of me, so I jogged across.  This was pretty much the last jog step I took.  I had, had it.  My hip was hurting and my body did not understand why I was subjecting myself to such pain and misery.  All in a flash I remembered why I quit running--my body does not like it...it hurts, and not the good hurt.  I did not give up, two more times I tried to jog.  Unfortunately, I could not get past the elephant feeling and the pain shooting up my leg, I went a couple of steps and knew I was done.  Age and my body had won, it was better if I just walk.  So walking it was. 

In one small moment I have gone back to reality, I will not run again (at least until I forget again why I don't run).  The truly sad part of the whole scenario is when I went the one way for 20 minutes and then turned back, I should have not made it back to my desitnation within 20 minutes, it should have taken longer.  It did, by only 55 seconds!  I guess this tells you two things, I am a really slow runner and I actually was only able to run 2 and 1/2 blocks.  Oh well, glad I love to ride my  bike.

Sodium Diet

On Thursday the doctor told me my sodium and chloride levels were well below normal, and I needed to eat mroe sodium.  His suggestion was to eat a burger and try to get more sodium in my diet and I would feel better.  Well, I ate the burger and some fries, but only felt a little bit better.  And as much as I loved eating the burger I cannot sustain a diet that requires me to eat a burger every day.   So I turned to salt pills, a lot fewer calories.

Now neither my cardiologist or my internist told me how much sodium I should take, they just told me I needed to up my sodium intake.  What I didn't know was by how much.  The daily recommended amount of sodium is approximately 1500 to 2400 mg of sodium a day.  I probably was only getting 1000 mg a day most days.  Which means I was low, and now that I am below low  in sodium and have a condition that requires me to have more sodium I probably need to increase my sodium more than I realized.

Of course at the onset of starting the increase of sodium I did not have all this information.  If I had then I would have probably taken much more than I did initially.  So, figuring out exactly how much sodium I needed to take, was a slow process.  Friday was the first day I started taking salt pills, but did not start taking them until in the afternoon.  I took a pill every hour, and began to feel better about 9 pm, by that time I had taken about 7 pills (each pill is 452 mg of sodium).  On Saturday I started my day off a little bit better, but it was not until 2 pm and intaking 5000 mg of sodium that I actually felt like I could function and had some strength.  Sunday I kept my intake steady and by noon was feeling better.  By the end of Sunday I had taken 5000 mg of sodium.  Today I have had 8 pills and 2 v8 (330mg sodium), and two snack size bags of pretzels.  Again almost 5000 mg of sodium.  It appears I need 4000 mg - 5000 mg of sodium.

I am actually amazed at the amount of salt I have to take to feel normal and like I can ride my bike again.  I guess if that is what it takes then that is what it takes.  Tomorrow will be my first time on the bike in a couple of weeks, and actually I have not been strong on the bike for quite some time.  I am looking forward to it, but I am guessing I may have to take more sodium because I will be sweating it all out.  Which means back to the drawing board.  I probably will do what I do for a race which is one bottle of Carbo Rocket before the race and one after.  Hopefully that is all I will need.  I wonder if I can convince Brad to make a diet Carbo Rocket.

On another bright side of things.  With all this salt intake, my water intake has increased.  I am now drinking about 1 gallon and 1 quart of water a day.  Nothing like staying well hydrated.

Compression Socks, Tights and other stuff

So with the offical diagnosis of Vasovegal Syncopy I need to buy compression tights, socks and tops.  At first glance there was nothing out there I would consider buying.  Everything the doctor showed me looked like a girdle your grandmother would wear, and not very functional.  But after a quick email to KC I was pointed in the right direction.

Using some of the information KC gave me I started my research looking at compression tights, socks and so forth, and what I found was a lot of non-information.  I actually need compression at a certain level, however not every company gives out this information.  In fact, very few companies give this information out.  Ugh what is a girl supposed to do.

What I did was research and research as many reviews as possible, but some of the reviews are tainted as they received the merchandise for free.  Also, most of the reviewers do not have a condition that requires the need of the compression apparel.  Most of the reviewers are using it for recovery and enhanced performance.  I have been reading all day trying to find the right info.  As I said some of it was helpful, some of it not, but I did find one blog that was very helpful http://kcwoodhead.blogspot.com/2009/03/compression-sock-update.html   You see, Kathleen also has a condition that requires her to take salt tablets and wear compression apparel.  Thanks to Kathleen I was able to narrow down my search.  And how big is the search?  Well here are just a few companies that sell compression apparel:  Skins - Zoot - SLS3 - Zensah - 2xu - Sugoi - Cep - Opedix just to name a few.  And what is the next step?

The next step is to take a somewhat educated purchase and order some compression apprael.  However those who provided information are the ones who will receive my purchase first, and also a public review.  The bad thing is this purchase is not cheap, and I need everyday apparel as well as cycling apparel.  I guess I will start with one and hopefully it will be the right choice.  I will let you know.