Training & Health Update

Training Update
It's been quite a while since I've talked about my cycling training so I thought I'd do an update. I'm officially committed. At least financially. I paid my entrance fee for the Solvang Century due to take place on March 8. That leaves about five weeks left to train. The best time for me to get in my workouts has been early in the morning before work. Getting up at 4:30 a.m. is not an ideal time for outdoor cycling. Thanks to my indoor trainer, I've been getting in the miles. Since November, I've logged almost 500 miles which consists of both indoor and outdoor miles. I'm currently riding about 75 miles per week but I need to build up my long distance weekend rides though. Two weekends ago I did a 23 mile loop. Although it wasn't a long ride, I felt strong and my speed had substantially increased. I don't want to be overconfident, but I really don't think 100 miles will be too difficult come March. My only concern is the hills. From my understanding, there is quite a climb around the 75-80 mile mark of the century ride. Hopefully the climbing interval training I've been doing is preparing me well enough for this. Ideally, I'd like to head up to Solvang in advance and drive the route in order to mentally prepare.

Getting used to the new bike has been a little challenging. Being vertically challenged, I require a bike frame on the smaller size. A smaller bike frame therefore means a shorter wheelbase. Although I'm short, I wear a size 11 shoe. Big feet on a bike with a shorter wheelbase creates the problem of overlap. When my foot is forward in the 3:00 position and if I attempt to turn the front wheel, the wheel hits my shoe. How did I find this out? When I fell trying to keep my balance by turning the front wheel while at a red light. There's nothing like the feeling of dumping your brand new bike on the pavement with onlookers gawking at you from their vehicles resting at the traffic signal. A scraped knee and a helping of humble pie later, I was up and off again. My two additional falls (not the same day) I attribute to getting used to (or not) my clipless pedals.

Health Update
My weight has stayed about the same. As of this morning I'm at 187. I think since my last update I'm down about 6 more pounds. I allowed myself to enjoy holiday goodies so I basically maintained during that time. I'm trying to be down to around 175 for the century ride. 12 pounds in 5 weeks is attainable if I stay as focused as I had been. Also, my blood sugar levels have continued to be good, even with some of the sweets I allowed during the holidays. My next hemoglobin a1c check is in March and I'm confident that all will continue to be well.

Another health issue of mine over the years has been that I suffer from sleep apnea. It was determined in my initial sleep study which was done about eight years ago, that unbeknownst to me, I was waking up over 100 times per hour. Since I have lost around 120 pounds, I thought a new sleep study was in order. The new study was conducted on January 5. I had my follow up appointment with my physician last week. I was told that now I wake up about once an hour. Once! From over 100 times per hour to ONCE. Can you tell I'm excited? The doctor told me if this were an initial study, he'd say I did not have sleep apnea. He said I probably no longer need to use my cpap machine unless I feel I need it. This was great news.

Having lost 120 pounds, going from diabetic to non-diabetic, and now no longer having sleep apnea in less than a years time is a wonderful feeling. I am looking more forward than ever to completing my first century ride.