Good to look back and reflect

I was looking at the club stat sheet last night. There are still rides happening through the end of the month and some have not been posted. I have 98 rides for 2500+ miles since April. I can't complain about that. I rode several on my own or with Dixie that aren't in that total.

Pretty cool for someone that quit smoking after 35 years. I was a cheerleader and ran track in high school. That has helped me come back as well as I have I think. I am so happy that I have been able to undo some of that damaging behavior.

Anyone can do anyting if they believe they can and work for it.

One year anniversary

of smoking my last cigarette is tonight at 10 pm. I was really mad at myself when I finished it, because I had gone a full 24 hours without one and then had to start counting all over again. :-) I have to say that I'm glad did smoke that last one. It reinforced how badly I didn't want to smoke again.

I was riding a stationary bike most days, putting in 10 or 15 minutes at a time. I was terribly out of shape and 10 minutes really isn't much. But I had to start somewhere. Now I'm riding my road bike at least 100 miles a week and my longest ride to date has been 60 miles over 4.5 hours. It's still not easy, just easier. But then I keep adding to my goals.

Ms. Diva asked if I've lost weight. Yes, most definitely. But more importantly I've gained tone and shape. Unfortunately, I've also gained wrinkles. That's what happens when there is less fat to fill out the skin. :-) I don't have the official numbers though. I only weigh when in the doctor's office. Haven't been since April and will be back in October. I've dropped 2 pants/skirt sizes, from a 10 to a 6.

My life is different. I feel more alive. I am in the out of doors, enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells. Birds singing, children laughing, horses running in the fields, fawn with their mother's walking out of the woods, grills cooking dinner, roadkill, skunks, manure. I didn't say it was all pleasant!

This year has been a journey for me. I've learned a lot. I have a lot more to learn and do. I have so many more adventures on my to do list. Now that I can breathe easier, maybe I will get to mark some off.

Just a little anxious

Tomorrow is my visit to the Pulmonary specialist. We'll have another breathing test and compare it to the first 3. One year ago was when I got to see the results of the first 3 tests. A life changing event. Thank goodness for that! Thank goodness for Chantix.

I am tobacco free, but I still have to make a daily decision to remain that way. It's scary how some events trigger emotions that automatically make me think about lighting up.

This week was great as far as cycling goes. I rode my first 30 miles in a single ride. The weather turned cold and rainy for the weekend. I resorted to the trainer. But upon reviewing my log, I rode 8 hours and 45 minutes this week. The most I've logged in a single week. Yesterday saw 1:45 minutes and I rode for 2 hours today.

Tomorrow is the Skirt ride. I plan on taking my bike with me to work, but logistics will be interesting with my appt. at the end of the day, this test takes additional time. I'm waiting to see what the plan is for the ride. They are all starting at 6:00. I don't want to miss, because I missed last week.

I've been trying to take time to thank some people that have inspired me. I found a blog titled Maggie's Mind that has continued to be supportive and helpful (though I think I gain 5 pounds when I read her recipes). My BFF, because if it wasn't for her deciding to quit I may still be puffing away. A friend and colleague that is a triathlete, and is more ambitious and gung-ho about fitness and training than anyone I've met. Another friend and colleague that joined me on my first group ride. My sister, my husband and my girls for saying the right things at the right times.

I also have noticed that I've hardly taken an aspirin, Tylenol, or Aleve in the last 6 months. All this movement, healthier diet, weight loss and who knows what else has made my joints stop hurting and swelling.

I have lots of goals I've been able to add to my list now that I can breath. I'm sure I'll be writing about those in the near future.

Time to start planning again

This virus has had it's turn, it slowed me down. So did the cold weather (I know we don't really have cold weather). I am not ready for the 5K next Saturday, but I'm gonna do it. I told my BFF that I was so sorry that I'm going to disappoint her at this race. She just comes back with, "don't worry about me, I was just doing it because you wanted to". Thank god she urged me to stop smoking with her. Best thing I've done in a long while.

I was looking at my training log. I haven't run enough in a long while. Most weeks I've had 4.5 - 5 hours on the bike with one or two coming up around 3. This week I've already got 4:15 and still have tomorrow, which should be at least an hour. I put in 1:45 today. 45 early and an hour after dinner. Just easy spins this week. Barely raised my HR each time. Just nice spinning on 42/19 about 95 RPM. Trying to stay in form, but this saddle is wearing on me. I noticed it more today after the second ride. So I've been out surfing for ergonomic saddles. I found one I'd love to test drive, just not sure I can locate one close enough. I need to check out the return policy, 'cause I'd like to try it and know I can return it if it's not right. It's pricey, running over $200. But I think I can splurge since my bonus should be in my account at the end of the month. :-)

I want to get back outside. Trainer and basement are starting to wear thin. Guess I should've looked into some videos, but there's always next winter for that. I missed the Trainer Tour on Tuesday night this week due to a business dinner. Weather cancelled the one on Thursday, which was good as I wasn't well enough to attend. This is the last week for it, so I hope I can get out there and get in a really good workout or two.

Think I need to start looking at nutrition if I'm going to start trying to run several times a week on top of riding. I'd love to get to around 10 hours a week of training during spring and summer.

Speaking of planning, I need to get a vacation scheduled. My Sis is getting married in June, so I'm thinking maybe taking time late June or early July. Time to get the calendars out and see if there are any races/rides I can start penciling in.

6 Months of Tobacco freeness on Jan 23, 2008

It is a fantastic thing to be able to declare. It will be, tomorrow. I'm excited and know other things now fill the void. I haven't counted the time as much lately as I did early on. Hell fire, 48 hours was HUGE!! My quit buddy, BFF, is supposed to join me for a celebration dinner after work tomorrow. If it weren't for her purchasing the Chantix and declaring her quit I'm not sure I would be where I am today.

She helped me focus all that frustration and excess energy into brisk walks. They could be around the block or several blocks to make over a mile. Breathe in some fresh air, clear the cobwebs between the ears and get the blood pulsing through your body. She and I have been there for each other, grab coffee, talk through all those things that happen in life with spouses, children, and colleagues. Sure has made it healthier than grabbing a 10 minute smoke break a few times a day.

There have been many people to stand by me, support me, and encourage me along the way. I need to make sure and thank them all in some special way. It's been great that my Sis and Hubby quit a few weeks later. I've made some new friends with cycling and hoping to grow that list even more.

Anyone wanting to quit smoking should talk to their doctor about Chantix. There are side effects, some much more serious than others. I had tried everything and never could quit. Chantix helped me to create an opportunity to break into a healthy lifestyle.

I will spend less time talking about not smoking and more time about life, adventure, fitness and anything else that comes to mind. Hope it's not a huge bore. I'm not sure I'll have any more milestones to count, at least not about tobacco freeness. This one has given me the confidence to go for more goals.

Never get too comfortable - it's all gonna change again

That's the fun of it! This is the adventure of life.

Found out this week I get to move to a new place in the office, but no one can tell me exactly where, yet. I was asked my preferences, which was good. For this I am grateful. I requested a window and cubicle with tall walls. I could be put on any of 3.5 floors that our group occupies. As long as I have a place to call home in the tower I will be happy. I like the flexibility of working remotely, but wouldn't be good if it was 100% of the time.

The weather! It has been cold, it's winter time and it should be cold. But it is detrimental to my work-out agenda. I'm losing time to get my training for the 5K. Today's high got to 18F I think, wind-chill was bitter.

I'm still learning and increasing my vocabulary. Balaclava is something that keeps coming up when I read about cold weather fitness. It's on my list of items to purchase.

It's been a good weekend. I rode 50 minutes Saturday. Oldest daughter came by and spent some time visiting and doing laundry. Hubby fixed a big pot of cabbage, potatoes and kielbasa. YUM! We watched my Cardinals lose. :-(

Today, I simmered a pot of white chili (http://www.courier-journal.com/features/food/requests/recipes/timothys_white_chili.html). I've used this recipe for years, always with modifications. Remember to soak your dried beans overnight, this helps reduce gas and cook time. I get a little more generous with garlic. If you like it with more heat, increase the cayenne or better yet, have a jar of jalapenos handy.

I rode the trainer for an hour and a half today. I didn't use a workout. I decided to spin and just have some added Time In The Saddle. I ran through 3 gears with a warm-up and cool-down around 85RPM, cruised the rest of the time between 95 and 105. Watched New England win again during my ride! I love Tom Brady. Hubby rode yesterday and today during the times I was riding. He's said that he's sticking to 25 minutes easy minutes. My reward was a great big bowl of chili, with jack cheese, sour cream, salsa and tortilla chips. I treated myself to a Mountain Dew! (first one in a quite some time). After finishing off the last drops, I ran a tub full of hot water and sat with the jets on for 30 minutes. Guess I'm gonna spend the next little while watching Green Bay and New York.

Have you noticed the longer days? I know it's not much, but it is enough to be encouraging!

Tomorrow we'll see 42F, that's a heatwave! Plan on doing a run, gotta get one in! We have more cold days ahead. But change is always a day or two ahead. Keeps me on my toes!

I am blessed

I can't believe how lucky I am! My job affords me the flexibility to work remotely. They provide me with a laptop and a long distance calling card. My role is global in nature and I work with people around the world, so I am on calls at 9 pm with Asia or 6 am with India. (I try very hard not to work between midnight and 5am - I don't function well during those times.)

There is some construction happening on my floor in the office. It was loud and very dusty and dirty last week, so I worked from home on Friday. I chatted briefly with a colleague Friday and was told there were fumes like paint thinner throughout the floor. So happy I worked from home!

I had a late call with Asia last night that ended just past 10pm. I decided to work from home today, due to possible construction stuff, late night, and the fact that the temps pushed 70F today! I rode my bike during lunchtime - I was slow - only 8.2 miles in about 33 minutes. Guess I could blame the headwinds gusting to 25 mph, but won't. The tops of my thighs at the knees burned on those slight inclines. They keep telling me hills are great, geez I hope I find out one day soon! I'm too much a big chicken and outta shape still. I took this picture while riding today. Green grass in January, you just never know what to expect here.

This afternoon I wound up scheduling an hour call with Australia that lasted til 6, so I took off about 4:30 and put in workout #2 of week #2 for my Couch to 5K. Now, the low tomorrow morning is supposed to be 57F. I'm contemplating getting up and out for a run.

I love the feeling at the end of a ride or run. What a good feeling - to really sweat - and those muscles that start to ache, then tighten up and then warm up and feel really good. The low tomorrow morning is supposed to be 57F. I'm toying with getting up and going downtown early to wrap up

This sounds so stupid, 'cause I know what I'm doing is so minute [mi noot] in the grand scheme of working out and JFT. I just want to run 5K by March 1! If I can make that goal, then I'll set another one.

I think this could turn into an illness. Does that happen often?

Ya know what? It's a good kind of illness to have. I know my heart and lungs have taken decades of abuse. I know I could be pushing the limits of what they will take. I'm breathing, sweating, living, and loving it.

So happy I tried the Chantix and kicked the tobacco habit!

I finished week #1 of coolrunning.com's Couch to 5K in 9 weeks!

Today has been a good day for me and fitness! As I stated in my earlier post, I got in a good 60 minute workout on the trainer this morning. I felt very good following that.

I've had some issues with getting this first week behind me for the 5K program though. The weather has been either cold or rainy or both. I have no problems with running in the rain if the temps are in the higher 60s.

I have major asthma issues with any type of physical exertion in cooler temps, starts bothering me once we drop into the low 40s. I've been reading quite a lot about both cold air and exercise induced asthma recently. It seems that swimming is one of the best exercises to do if you have asthma due to the high humidity and wamer air temps. One exception is if you are sensitive to chlorine, which can trigger an attack. The drier the air is, the more likely it will irritate your bronchial tubes and cause an increase of mucus and restrict the airways which translates to wheezing.

The temps were right at 39F when I went out for my workout today. Hubby gave me a couple of his dust masks he uses when he's running his woodworking tools. They are made of paper with a metal strip over the bridge of the nose that is bendable and soft rubberband that goes around you head/neck. This worked very well for me today. I wore it during the first 2/3s of the workout. Then removed it for the walking part and put it back on for the running part for the remainder of the workout. It's not the most attractive thing to wear. It gets a little on the icky side too. Moisture builds and builds inside, but it keeps the air that you breathe nice and warm and moist. I also take 2 puffs on my fast-acting inhaler about 15 minutes before a run. This helps open those airways up nicely.

One of the girls at work is starting a once a month Yoga class for beginners in the next week or so. I'm excited about this. I'll get some stretching, which should help with the riding/running I'm doing. But what I'm most excited about is the breathing you learn with Yoga. I need better breathing techniques and learn to relax my breaths while exercising. This should also help alleviate some of the ashtma/wheezing stuff, too. At least I hope it does!

We were blessed with a beautiful day!

Now, there's something not quite right about having a 72F day on December 11. But Mother Nature smiled on us and that is exactly what we had today. The sun came out, though we still had clouds, those rays of light were glorious hitting my skin and eyes.

I've been trying to be very focussed on my new bike, on the trainer, and put down 60 minutes a day for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. This is after spending quite some time at 25 minutes, building to 30, 35, and finally 45 on Friday last week. I plan to stick with a minimum of 60 going forward, unless something prevents it. I look forward to this time. It's all mine. I can think or not. Mostly I get lost in the ride, is that meditation?

Today, I came home right after lunch, thinking I would put an hour on the open road. I was so excited! I've only been outdoors once and that was just the subdivision. Put the first 2.6 miles behind me and was feeling great. Turned back and found a 12 - 15 mph head wind in my face. Geez, it was difficult! I worked through the gears and found a comfortable place for the flat spots. As I began to come to the end of the second 2.6 I started to think I was just gonna head home. But thought I didn't want to quit yet. I hadn't been out that long and the day was so nice. I took Dawson Hill to the big bend and back for another 3 miles. Now the wind was blowing across me from side to side instead of at my face or back. I've never had the wind blow me around on a bike like that before! It was a bit scary! Like driving a high profile vehicle. Difference being, I didn't have any protection around me. :-)

I wasn't happy about the speed or how difficult it seemed. But, I had only gotten 4 hours sleep last night and ate a bologna sandwich for dinner. Don't think that was enough rest or fuel to have a great performance.

I think I'm hooked on this. When I finish a ride or a run (that's been too long now), I completely relish the burn I have in my legs. It feels so invigorating. Think that's the endorphin buzz that athletes get addicted to. You know what? I'm thrilled at being addicted to a naturally produced substance by my body. It's so much better than tobacco and nicotine.

We get rain for the next few days, so I'm sure we won't get much sunshine. That's okay, I know it'll be back soon and I had a wonderful time in it today!

Didn't make it to the track this morning

But I put in 6.8 miles on the stationary in 25 minutes and burned 250 calories (that'll be good for a beer or two). Not as fast as I'd like, but I haven't ridden since Wednesday. I have to stop putting 2 days between rides. I know life happens, but I feel like I'm never gonna get better and I start feeling very guilty about it.

I really wanted to make it to the track this morning. It was a cool 65 degrees with no humidity, which is a great treat after the last 3 weeks of hot, humid, hazy and nasty stuff we've been dealing with. But I got up Friday with a crick (pull or something) in my left shoulder blade that radiated to my shoulder, up my neck, and down the left-most side of my back. I thought I just slept weird, but it bothered me all day. I woke up with morning about 5 feeling miserable and worse! Tried to get comfy and went back to sleep (should've just gotten up then). It was better when I got up at 7, but still bothered me quite a bit so I ate something and took my Chantix and Aleve. I didn't make it to the track.

Oh yeah, 10pm tonight will be 26 days tobacco free!

I'll try to be good and get there tomorrow morning. Pray the humidity is still low, even though the temps will be 10 degrees warmer. Humidity is the worst for my breathing since I have asthma. It makes me feel like I have a huge weight on my breastbone and inhaling is laboured. Funny, I have no issues with exhaling. Yes, I always carry my fast acting inhaler, I don't leave home without it!

My Sis told me not to kick myself, that I'm doing great. I love her so much! She's training for the Chicago marathon and had a 16 mile run this morning. She said it was great and averaged under 10 minutes a mile! This will be her 2nd marathon. I'm very proud of her and her accomplishments, too!

The sun did come up and it has been a decent day

another day of waking and saying, "no cigarettes today". Sounds easy, but it's not. I told my quit buddy how proud I am of her and how lucky I am to have her going through this with me. Can't have too much support or enough pats on the back.

It's finally cooling off a little bit. I'll get up to temps in the 60s tomorrow! We had a record 105F on Thursday and it was a miserable day. I plan on going to the HS track by 7am and see if I can make it the full 4 laps without stopping again. I'm hoping I can run more than half of it, but we'll see.

I had lunch with my sister today. I was nervous, but got the nerve up to tell her that I'm uneasy about this new relationship she's in. It's a gut thing. Can't really say I've been around the guy long enough to make a good judgement. She was very open minded and told me that I should be able to say anything to her. I love my Sis!

Nothing like testing yourself on a regular basis to make you humble

18 days tobacco free, riding the stationary bike for about 8 weeks, building time and intensity, I thought I'd try a run. Now, way back in the olden days (high school) I ran track and had been athletic until I starting having children.

I drove to the high school and decided to try 4 laps on the track. I know distances on a track and it's flat unlike my neighborhood! Ran the first lap, split the 2nd and 3rd laps with walk first half/run the second, walked the fourth lap. Legs and muscles were ready for more, lungs and heart weren't. Surprised I didn't cough and hack during it, but I wouldn't have made it that single mile if I had. What is so annoying (and it was in high school too) is that my throat/larynx tightens so much. I wish I could keep those muscles in a more relaxed state.

Time and patience are required. Hell I've done all this damage over the last 35 years and have been sedentary most of it. I should be thrilled that I made the mile with no stops, right? Think I'll try it again tomorrow morning. See if I can at least match today if not run a little more of that mile. Gotta get back on the bike in a bit, once this old heart has a chance to recover from the walk/run. ;)