Riding the trail with Dad

Today I rode on the Loveland Bike Trail with my dad. It was his first ride of the year so we took it pretty easy. 26 miles may seem like a lot, but on the trail which is an old railroad bed that has been paved over, the miles come fairly easy. any hills are extremely gradual.

Riding Solo

Tonight I decided to go out on a solo ride. I started out in Bellevue again. This time I took route 8 east as far as I was comfortable before turning back. It was a good ride. I was pretty tired at the end. I made it out past St. Anne's Convent where part of the movie Rain Man was filmed.

When I did get back to the truck I decided to treat myself to an iceball from Schneider's Sweet Shop down on the avenue. I haven't had one in a couple years. they have some new flavors now. I'm going to have to go back a few times this summer.

Not the start I planned.

Its a good thing I ate breakfast this morning. I wasn't feeling good enough to run, but I managed to eat some Cheerios and a Banana before heading out to work. I wound up getting stuck on a call for 5 hours and not getting a lunch. I finally made it home about 9pm.

I totally missed our 2nd group training run which was supposed to be this evening at 6:30. I'm going to run more the next few days to make up. Good news though is I'm feeling better now. Tomorrow WILL go better.

Just Jim and I

Tonight Jim was the only other rider to show up. So we took a different route. I had started in Bellevue because I was concerned with not being able to find a parking space downtown and I also wanted to get in a couple extra miles on the others. I wound up getting about 6 miles extra on Jim for a total of 28 miles. This has been my longest ride to date.

4 months post Vegas

It may be a little hard to believe, but the first picture of me is was taken at the end of August. Seven months ago. No I didn't get them backwards, this isn't a weight loss photo. This is a weight gain photo. In the first photo, I was about 150lbs and had signed up for the Rock N Roll Half-Marathon in December. I didn't know at the time that I would be having emergency surgery just a week later. Amazingly I did manage to complete the half marathon just a mere 3 months post surgery. I've only run a few times since.

When your bowels aren't working right because of a stricture, like mine were, they are really in overdrive mode because they aren't getting enough stuff through to absorb all the needed nutrients. When the stricture is cleared through surgery, the bowels don't just reset right away. They are still in overdrive mode and you gain a lot of weight, really fast. I was 140 lbs when I got out of the hospital and 185 about 2 months later. Insane! Things have calmed down and I now weigh about 185 and have been this weight since December. It feels nice to be steady at a comfortable weight.

Recently though I've been really thinking about my fitness level. When you gain that much weight that fast, it all sticks around your belly. So while some of it may show in my face, I look like a woman in her second trimester. I don't necessarily want to lose the weight. I'd rather keep it if I could, but I want to redistribute it. So I have started running and cycling. In the midst of this it was suggested that I join some friends for the Pan Ohio Hope Ride I decided that I really should go for it. I have many reasons for doing it besides the benefits of getting fit.

A buddy of mine was diagnosed with Colon cancer at age 32 and had surgery to remove in in July. He just finished his last Chemo treatment and things are looking up for him. He is one of the primary reasons that I decided to take on this ride.

I know plenty of others both family and not that have had Melanoma, breast cancer, bladder cancer, and more. I ride for them as well.

One final reason is that because I have Crohn's disease, I have a much higher risk of getting Colon cancer myself.

Please help me raise money for the American Cancer Society and help fight cancer.

I did it!

I managed to go the distance and complete my first Half-Marathon with a time of 3:33:32.

While I do realize that it is quite an accomplishment, it just doesn't feel satisfying. I had major surgery three months ago and could barely train for the run. I ran, albeit at a relatively slow pace, for the first few miles, made a pit stop and walked the rest of the way.

I want to be able to run a full race. It wouldn't be hard to do another and get a time below 3 hours, but I want to aim for 2.5 hours for my next run.

Update!

I've been cleared to go back to work on Monday. I can also start running and exercising again. Just 8 weeks left to get ready for a half marathon.