Free Time, Updates

Today has been great so far. No work, great weather, and free time! So what better than to get some updates put up on the Blog. I will hopefully get a race report from last weekend up later today and maybe a little pre-race report for this coming weekend.
Lately, I have been getting a bunch of questions about how I am doing, where I have been [for the last few races], and what has been going on. Last weekend was my first race back in action after missing races #2 and 3 of the WORS series. With races complete, I can say that I am feeling great; given that I had a few weeks off of the bike and not getting ANY time on the mountain bike.
Before the winter and over the last few months of training I had noticed my heart rate getting a little high, and my body getting pretty weak at times. After talking to a few people and noting my symptoms at Iola, I decided to go in to see the doctor. After my first appointment, I had some blood work done. One of the tests came back showing I might have mono, thus canceling my next race and training altogether. Luckily, I found I did not have mono and that I needed to get some rest. A few weeks later, I went in for a couple more tests to check my heart and lung function. These both came back showing everything is working properly. After the tests, I spoke with my doctor to talk about what is going on and if I need to do anything. Without going into details, the next step is to refocus my training routine and start meeting with a nutritionist and personal trainer to set some long-term goals for training and racing.
With all the doctor stuff out of the way, I have been getting in rides as close to everyday as possible. When I am unable to ride I have been getting into the gym to lift weights or going rock climbing (one of my hobbies from years ago). I was able to get out to enjoy the beautiful weather today and put in a little over 40 miles on the road. Hopefully tomorrow, I will be able to get another short ride in before work. Then, Saturday morning I leave for Green Bay and another weekend of racing!

Better News Today

As I mentioned in my last entry, I went to see the doctor yesterday for some testing, and today for the results and a follow up. Yesterday I had an EKG and a Spirometry to test my heart and lung functions. The tests went surprisingly quick, I did have to hang around for about an hour between the two, but the actual tests were very short.
Today I went back in for a follow up, and to hear my doctor's interpretation of the test results. Prognosis #1: I have been dead for two weeks... (Yes, this is what he told me. Next he asked if I wanted an open or closed casket.) After the sarcasm we got down to business. The EKG and Spirometry showed my heart and lungs are functioning within a normal range for people of my height, weight, age ect...
Given that my heart and lungs are functioning properly, I am getting the right balance of nutrition, and I don't have anything like mono; the doctor said that I can resume training. Next we talked seriously about improving my fitness level. The biggest things we touched on were getting a nutritionist, a trainer, and working out some long term goals for where I want to be in the next two years.
So with the go-ahead from the doctor, I am good to start my training program at... let's say 9:00 AM tomorrow morning. Unfortunately no go for the race this weekend since I have to work both Saturday and Sunday.

Sad, but true.

It has been a while since my last post, and unfortunately with reason. I have missed WORS #2 and soon, WORS #3 will be missed also. I went to see the doctor a few weeks ago about some minor things and had some blood work done. My doctor wanted me to continue training as usual, but with a little more specialization as to the type and duration of my workouts. Of course the next day I go out for a good length ride doing some 5-4-3-2-1 intervals. To say the least I was kicking my own butt, big time.
While I was eating a recovery meal I got a phone call from the doctor's office. The nurse told me that a mono-spot test came back slight positive and that I may have mono. (Great.) She also told me to get some rest and to come in a week later to follow up and in the meantime to take it easy. I asked about riding, and she said I could ride, but with low intensity. After I hung up the phone I thought to myself. Well, that workout was probably a bad idea. Especially if I do in fact have mono. I was making final arrangements to head out to WORS #2 in Lake Geneva, but with that phone call I had to cancel my plans to race.
I went in to the doctor the following Thursday to get some concrete information. As usual there was good news and bad news. The good news: I don't have mono. The Bad news: I am supposed to very slowly increase me efforts and should not race for a week or two yet, especially until I have my other testing done. With that news I saw WORS #3 leave my summer calendar just like #2.
So far things are going alright, it is amazing at how quickly I can fall out of a good training schedule with rides every day or so. I must say that getting rest has made me feel stronger throughout the day and I also feel a lot less tired. So the doctor must know something. Tomorrow, I go in for a couple of tests for heart and lung function and have a follow up scheduled with the doctor on Friday. I am hoping that things work out and that I will have some more information come Friday, so I can get back to training and racing.
In the meantime, I have been doing some other activities such as rock climbing and I have been thinking about doing some weight lifting too. Otherwise work has been controlling the rest of my "free-time."
Good Luck to all the Stadium guys at Wausau! I am hoping to see some big numbers at the race.

High(er) Mileage

Quite obviously time has been moving fast. Only a few weeks ago I thought school would never end, racing would be far off in the distance, and I would have plenty of time to make up for a long winter's rest. One week ago was WORS #1 at Iola, School is done tomorrow, and I should have been riding for months now. But who is counting, right? Other than me, not very many. Today was the day that I finally broke out of my relaxation shell and put on some good mileage. The last few days I have been meaning to get some short rides in, but weather and finals seem to have gotten in the way. Yesterday was my hardest day for exams with both my Managerial Accounting and Spanish (Cumulative) Exams. I think it goes without saying that last night I felt relieved of the heavy burden of school. My two exams tomorrow are not too hard and then I am officially done with my first year at Milwaukee. So getting back to the point of my story, I slept in until about 8:00 and then got out for what I thought would be a 20 mile ride at 9:00. I would have been happy with getting in 20 miles seeing as I have a few things to do this afternoon, but the legs were feeling great and I wanted to do more.
I headed along my usual route and went just north of Mequon. I knew that I would have a headwind/crosswind the entire way back so I turned around short of Concordia University and headed home. Unfortunately I was quite right about the headwind. Suddenly as I turned around, it seemed as if the wind shifted and gained speed too. Still feeling great, I tucked into a nice aero position and pushed it hard to get back. As I neared Silver Spring Dr. I felt the winds die down and got a little energy back.
On the majority of my rides, it seems as if I always find something that is new or interesting and today was no exception. As I cut through a small suburb, I noticed a strange looking animal in a yard. I thought it was a statue, but is was moving. As I rode past I took a triple-take because I could have sworn it was a little black pig or warthog. And to my surprise, I was correct. Here in the yard of a (very nice and expensive) home, was this little black pig with a blue harness for a leash. How about that for a pet! A little further along, I thought to go and take a picture but decided against it. I am sure, at times, it is weird enough having a guy riding a bike in spandex slowing down to look at your pet, let alone having him ride past, turn around, stop, pull out a camera, and take a few pictures of your pet! Maybe on one of my next rides I can have the camera at the ready for a quick shot.
Shortly after the pig sighting, I was back at the apartment for a ride of just over 30 miles. Not bad at all! Hopefully I can keep this trend up and be in good shape for Lake Geneva! Speaking of racing, the Iola report will be up soon! I Promise! (For all of my very loyal readers!)

Iola.?

Yes, believe it or not, it is time for the first race of the WORS season; the Iola Bump and Jump. Besides the cool name, Iola is one of my more favorite courses. Usually, I am busy working or just plain lazy and miss this first race of the season, but this year I am doing it. I guess we shall see how I do tomorrow. I have low mileage on the road and zero mileage on the Mountain Bike. Yes, gasp, I have absolutely zero miles on the mountain bike. As I was driving to Green Bay tonight, the thought in my mind was 'can I even remember how to ride my bike, let alone ride it in single track and up big hills?' So thus sets the scene for a long night and a very interesting day tomorrow. I am hoping that all of the other guys either A. don't show up or B. have not put many miles in either... In the 19-24 age class, that is highly unlikely. Especially because they are mostly collegiate roadies. You know, the guy I am supposed to be. But for real, I am a little nervous about tomorrow, but it should be exciting. Like I said, I love the Iola course and can't wait to get back on the bike again. Tomorrow will be what I like to call a "training race."
Now, it is off to bed and trying to actually get some rest before the race tomorrow.

Recent Goings-on

Spring is here! Or is it? The weather of Wisconsin has held true to its name. Rain, snow, wind, sun, warm, and cold. It seems like we are getting hit with everything. Making it even better is the fact that one day is completely different than the day before and the next day too. The original goal was to stay in shape this winter and come spring, I would be in race shape. Well spring is here, and not to my surprise I am completely out of shape. I think my last ride for the winter was in December, and I did no training all winter long. I did some weight training here and there, but no hours on the bike. I brought the trainer down from Green Bay to try and do some indoor riding over winter. Even with the rubber mat and other isolation, the trainer would quickly get me evicted if I decided to use it due to the noise. So that did not help my cause. I recently brought my trainer back home because it was collecting dust and wasting space. In hopes of using my trainer I had installed a cheap tire on my road bike as to not destroy my good tires.
As I went to swap the tires I was greeted by a flat tire on not only the rear wheel of my road bike, but also the front tire on my fixie. Apparently, not riding your bike can still cause flats...
So, part of my spring cleaning was doing a few tire and tube changes on my bikes.
I also thought I would try to re-arrange my bikes next to my bed, so that I would not be so worried about getting oil and grease on my sheets. I quickly realized that this placed the handlebars quite near my head and could cause problems, and I put the bikes back where they where originally.
With the tires changed and bikes at the ready, all I needed was some decent weather. I admit, I was looking for sunny and 50, but that is more or less out of the question.

Finally, I caught some free time after classes and a break in the rain to get out for an epic ride of ... 10 miles... (And oh did I feel out of shape). I took a short trip because the rain was coming fast and the wind was high, so I headed South looking for a route without a headwind on the return trip. I ended up heading into downtown on Lincoln Memorial towards the Art Museum with the sweet "wings."
I took a quick break to snap a few shots and then I turned back towards the apartment because it was looking like rain could hit any moment. Now that I have actually got out for a ride I think it will come easier, especially if the weather does what the "experts" say it will.

Now it is off to address some problems with my car.

Spoiled by warm weather

Well it is back from break and into the real world again. Last week was spent in the warm sunny weather of Panama City Beach, Florida! Yes, I decided to be like the thousands of other college students who head south for their Spring Break. A group of about 30 students from UWM and the surrounding area headed south for the 20 hour drive. When we left on the 14th the weather in Milwaukee was fantastic. Sunny, a light breeze, and temps in the 50's. The first day in Florida wasn't too bad, a little windy, humid, and foggy, but way better than what we were having in Wisconsin! The rest of the week was great, sunny, temps in the 70's, one day of rain, but overall great. I spent a few days doing some body surfing in the ocean and when the red flags were up I attempted (keyword) to do some skim boarding. Apparently, just because I have good balance on a bicycle does not mean I have good balance on a skim board. My last day in Florida was Friday the 21st. I spent some time lying in the sun, desperately trying to get even a slight burn so I didn't return to Wisconsin pasty white. I was given the sad news late Thursday night that while we were having highs in the mid 70's and sun, Milwaukee was to get a big snow storm with 10-14 inches of snow... Not Cool! (Actually very cold, but that's besides the point). We all tried hard to enjoy our last hours of sun and warmth as we packed up the caravan and hit the road. As we neared Indiana, it became clear how bad the transition would be as we got some gas and ran inside for some caffeine (wearing shorts and maybe a long sleeved shirt if we were lucky). After 19 hours, we crossed the border into Wisconsin and sadly back to reality. The hard cold reality of school and snow. Thankfully we have had a few days in the 40's and 50's in Milwaukee to ease the transition, but it is clear that break is now over and I have something like 8 weeks left of school.