Mar 25, 2012
As word of my century attempt has gotten out, I have gotten some advice.
I have addressed my fears about this century – which have nothing to do with the event itself, really. The “you can do it” and “I believe in you” I have gotten when I explain it defies logic in my mind. After all, what I am worried about I have no control over. What I am worried about isn’t a single day or a single event, but a condition that can leave me in endless pain, depression with an inability to function for months.
Not to be someone who shrinks away from nightmares, I did print out my own guide so I can monitor my own issues. I posted my training schedule as well as the four stages of adrenal fatigue. I think the thing that scares me the most is the last bullet in stage one – “adrenal crash may have occurred by normally it is undetectable.”
That means, right now, I could have no adrenal activity and it will just be a matter of time until the collapse occurs.
It is difficult to take on any challenge when you are acutely aware that your own body could just shut down at any second. I also have been in this body doing two shut downs and I don’t like it. Not one bit.
I did make an appointment with my doctor this week to ask him about training and what I should or should not be doing. I imagine the advice is going to be, “listen to your body” which, again, defies logic since something could be very wrong right now and I won’t know for a little bit. I can’t listen to something that doesn’t communicate in real time!
Rides
I have been pretty happy with the weather and my rides. I got out for a 6 mile ride Monday and a 5 mile ride on Wednesday. Although, I might shift my rides to one of the following:
Food
Eating has been going good, but, it could be better. Weekly lunch consists of roast chicken and a side of veggies (green beans or carrots) and at least two pieces of fruit (orange and apple, most likely).
Dinner has been a little more tricky. Unless four slices of (delicious) applewood smoked bacon and a bowl of air-popped popcorn is good. However, I did eat about a pound of poached salmon and corn which I thought was a better choice for my Wednesday dinner.
Then I ate a bag of chips.
I think my best option is to treat dinner as I do lunch- where I make a large vat of something to eat during the week. It works well for my chicken at lunch – which roast on Sundays and eat for the week.
Manda's Century
You can follow my biking adventures by checking out my Manda's Century Ride page. It lists (in convenient bullet form) the lessons I have learned and has links to each of my biking related posts.
Be Part of the Adventure
Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.
Triathlon Winning friend: When are you going to get your real bike?
Sports Minded Friend: So, you did hire a trainer, right?
Meathead: You should try an iron man!
Friend: Do you have a mirror for your helmet and handlebar?
Training
I had a good week, although my Saturday morning ride was rained out. It's a little too cold to ride in the rain but I did drive all the way to the trail and sat there debating what to do. I ended up going back home and taking care of stuff I needed to get done. I wasn't feeling a long ride Sunday, so, I got two rides in and an extra recovery time for my adrenals.
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| Sticking to my plan! |
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| Got a little scared - not bad though |
Also, my fundraising has been going really well! I raised the $300.00 I need to participate and now I have $200 more to go for my goal. It's nice to see people helping out others with donations.
Fear
Fear
 |
| Posted! |
Not to be someone who shrinks away from nightmares, I did print out my own guide so I can monitor my own issues. I posted my training schedule as well as the four stages of adrenal fatigue. I think the thing that scares me the most is the last bullet in stage one – “adrenal crash may have occurred by normally it is undetectable.”
That means, right now, I could have no adrenal activity and it will just be a matter of time until the collapse occurs.
It is difficult to take on any challenge when you are acutely aware that your own body could just shut down at any second. I also have been in this body doing two shut downs and I don’t like it. Not one bit.
I did make an appointment with my doctor this week to ask him about training and what I should or should not be doing. I imagine the advice is going to be, “listen to your body” which, again, defies logic since something could be very wrong right now and I won’t know for a little bit. I can’t listen to something that doesn’t communicate in real time!
Rides
I have been pretty happy with the weather and my rides. I got out for a 6 mile ride Monday and a 5 mile ride on Wednesday. Although, I might shift my rides to one of the following:
- Monday (easy ride) – Wednesday (strenuous ride) – Saturday (long ride).
- Monday (normal ride) – Thursday (normal ride) – Saturday (long ride).
- Tuesday (strenuous ride) – Thursday (normal ride) – Saturday (long ride).
Food
Eating has been going good, but, it could be better. Weekly lunch consists of roast chicken and a side of veggies (green beans or carrots) and at least two pieces of fruit (orange and apple, most likely).
Dinner has been a little more tricky. Unless four slices of (delicious) applewood smoked bacon and a bowl of air-popped popcorn is good. However, I did eat about a pound of poached salmon and corn which I thought was a better choice for my Wednesday dinner.
Then I ate a bag of chips.
I think my best option is to treat dinner as I do lunch- where I make a large vat of something to eat during the week. It works well for my chicken at lunch – which roast on Sundays and eat for the week.
Manda's Century
You can follow my biking adventures by checking out my Manda's Century Ride page. It lists (in convenient bullet form) the lessons I have learned and has links to each of my biking related posts.
Be Part of the Adventure
Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.
Mar 18, 2012
Training began this Monday and I couldn't have asked for better weather. Additionally, I now have free access to a gym. I am not sure how I am going to use it, exactly, but, I'm sure some weight training and cardio could go on in there during rainy days.
Manda's Century
You can follow my biking adventures by checking out my Manda's Century Ride page. It lists (in convenient bullet form) the lessons I have learned and has links to each of my biking related posts.
Be Part of the Adventure
Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.
Rest is also important so I can't be going there on my off-biking days.
Ride Stats
Here is what I got in for the week. I got two short rides in of abut 6.5 miles, but, the second time I went out RunKeeper hiccuped and the second part of my ride didn't transfer over to the system. I had to manually plug it in. However, both rides were about the same in length and time.
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| Short ride 2X |
I got out on Saturday for my long ride, which meant packing up everything in my trunk and heading to the trail. I was debating riding locally, I was also debating how long I wanted my long ride to be. I figured 12 miles would be on track. Then I thought I needed to hit 20. Then I thought 10 would be better. I ended up doing 14.
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| Long ride |
Next Steps
I have to hit some good hills because my next event will be the Girls With Gears event on Sunday, April 22, 2012. It is run through Carol for Heart which is an organization that works to raise awareness of women's heart disease.
My bike buddy and I signed up for the 26 (hilly) miles. Eep!
Fear
I know my choices and resistance to training and indecision about the gym crops up from the fear of my Adrenal Fatigue. I still don't know what my limit is and one "over doing it" means I could be out of commission for months and have to start all over. Not to mention the months of fatigue, pain and fuzzy-brain.
I also know I can't compartmentalize my training. It is a part of what I do right along side dating, working and dealing with friends and family. Keeping balance is important.
Manda's Century
You can follow my biking adventures by checking out my Manda's Century Ride page. It lists (in convenient bullet form) the lessons I have learned and has links to each of my biking related posts.
Be Part of the Adventure
Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.
Mar 3, 2012
What happened to my bike riding adventures? They were on hold for a while due to the weather and then due to an adrenal crash I was working on fighting off in December. Now it's March and it's time to get serious. I broke my plan into a couple key areas:
Because I can be stubborn, even with myself, I started paying more attention to what I was eating and why. I lost 7lbs while focusing on infusing my diet with awesomely healthy foods. I have become a huge fan of roasting bulk chicken breasts Sunday night and keeping them for lunch and dinner. Then I got bags of spinach, peas, corn, green beans, carrots and a pepper mix to mix with the chicken. I even do rice noodle pasta with some chicken in it or chicken tacos. It's really working for me!
I also have been eating more fruit. I try to get in a couple small apples a day, an orange here and there and pears. This keeps me pretty happy.
Supplements and Nutrition
It's not a huge leap to get the fact I can have "problems" with food. I can make a dinner of a couple strips of bacon or not really eat anything and then maybe enjoy some pretzels and quso dip. I can easily not eat enough calories in a day and easily not eat the right types of food to keep the charming engine that is me working at full potential.
With that said, I also am working on taking supplements to focus on where my diet is lacking and to address my special issues. I did find when I stopped taking my supplements, things started to crash, so I am happy to report I have stopped taking my medication but have been consistently taking my supplements. Here's what I do:
I booked about 10 miles in January, which is a pretty low amount. However, I did learn that I am not as tough as I seem. Riding in the cold of December and January cut into me like nothing else. In fact, for weeks after my feet and toes would twitch in painful ways. I figured it was better to hold off on riding while I regrouped and recovered.
I decided to also build some cross-training into my routine with walking. I got 5 miles in today and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I wouldn't mind getting back into intervals now that it is lighter out. I really enjoying biking more than walking or running - good thing I have a buddy who will walk with me!
Also, my job offers a free gym!
Weight Training
I did acquire a basic free-weight set and other than losing my motivation as he final throw of the crash. I am excited to start lifting a little to tone up and build a little muscle. It has been years since I have been able to lift and I think it is a good step.
Manda's Century
You can follow my biking adventures by checking out my Manda's Century Ride page. It lists (in convenient bullet form) the lessons I have learned and has links to each of my biking related posts.
Be Part of the Adventure
Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.
- Food.
- Supplements and nutrition.
- Biking and cross-training.
- Weight training.
Because I can be stubborn, even with myself, I started paying more attention to what I was eating and why. I lost 7lbs while focusing on infusing my diet with awesomely healthy foods. I have become a huge fan of roasting bulk chicken breasts Sunday night and keeping them for lunch and dinner. Then I got bags of spinach, peas, corn, green beans, carrots and a pepper mix to mix with the chicken. I even do rice noodle pasta with some chicken in it or chicken tacos. It's really working for me!
I also have been eating more fruit. I try to get in a couple small apples a day, an orange here and there and pears. This keeps me pretty happy.
 |
| I live like a poor bachelor |
It's not a huge leap to get the fact I can have "problems" with food. I can make a dinner of a couple strips of bacon or not really eat anything and then maybe enjoy some pretzels and quso dip. I can easily not eat enough calories in a day and easily not eat the right types of food to keep the charming engine that is me working at full potential.
With that said, I also am working on taking supplements to focus on where my diet is lacking and to address my special issues. I did find when I stopped taking my supplements, things started to crash, so I am happy to report I have stopped taking my medication but have been consistently taking my supplements. Here's what I do:
- Adrene-Vive
- Vitamin D.
- Calcium Citrate.
- MultiVites (yummy gummies!)
- Green tea.
- Green drink (Trader Joe's brand).
 |
| Good to have! |
I decided to also build some cross-training into my routine with walking. I got 5 miles in today and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I wouldn't mind getting back into intervals now that it is lighter out. I really enjoying biking more than walking or running - good thing I have a buddy who will walk with me!
Also, my job offers a free gym!
Weight Training
 |
| Getting buff! |
Manda's Century
You can follow my biking adventures by checking out my Manda's Century Ride page. It lists (in convenient bullet form) the lessons I have learned and has links to each of my biking related posts.
Be Part of the Adventure
Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.
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