I'll continue my story below in a later post. I want to keep you on the edge of your seat!
This morning I went out with Jonnene to check out the bike course for the River Cities Triathlon (I'm the bike course coordinator). She would do a workout and I would get a good ride in while inspecting the course from the rider's point of view. My original plan was to do two laps of the course totalling 36 miles and that would work well for my legs. As I continue the story from the post below you'll see that I had to ease back into cycling after taking the month of June off from doing ANYTHING. Now I'm trying to get back into shape without rushing things yet doing it all quickly! Figure that out.
A group from the local trathlon club was going to do a 30-mile loop with part of it covering 13 miles of the 18.4-mile bike course. I decided to go with them to get some speed work and do a few challenging hills. I did better than I thought since I was on a standard road bike and the rest were on tri-bikes with aerobars. In the end we averaged 21 mph which was my first average above 20 since I started riding again. It wasn't brutally fast but I had to work at keeping up in the first few miles. I don't know why the others wanted to go so fast so early...in the end they slowed down and I wasn't nearly as tired since I pretty much had to spread my energy out. I worked to avoid the fast/slow pace of the group yet take my pulls and sit in when I needed to.
After that I got in a very slow 2.5 mile run at the park. The rest of the day has been spent here at the house, sleeping some of the afternoon away. It is just too hot outside to do anything else.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Hot.......
Toward the end of May I started feeling a pain in my lower left leg. The day before I had completed a 67-mile training ride with Team LaS'port in northern Bossier Parish which I was quite pleased with though I was thoroughly exhausted from all the hills and the speed...this DOES get harder as you get older! Anyway, the next day I woke up to some pain toward the inside of my lower left leg below the knee joint. I thought I had pulled something and it'd be fine in a few days if I took it easy on future rides. Well, it would get better and then get worse over time and it was not going away. Then about 8 days after it had flared up I woke up feeling pain midway inside my left thigh. That wasn't right. A pulled or torn muscle does not transmit pain up your leg, bypassing your knee (which felt fine). And I had this noticeable reddish line on my skin along the inside of the leg.
Jonnene saw this and said, "You're going to see the doctor today and get that looked at." She was right, of course, and thought this could be phlebitis...hmmm? Sounded like a scalp condition to me but apparently it's not. "It could lead to a blood clot, " she said and that got my attention. Phlebitis is a treatable condition but it can be serious. In my mind I had this vision that I might be at my own funeral this weekend instead of riding my bike or working around the house. I didn't like the looks of that. So I was able to schedule an appointment with my doctor, saw him later that morning and he agreed with what Jonnene had thought. It was most likely phlebitis. He scheduled an ultrasound for me that I took an hour later. I came back to his office that afternoon and it was confirmed. I had some stuff in a vein in my lower leg and a bit of something at the junction of two veins in my upper leg. He was most concerned about that.
"Alan, I'd like for you to stop doing any strenuous exercise for the next 3-4 weeks. Can you do that?"
"Yep."
That was an easy question to answer. Biking and running were great for my health but I didn't need them to accelerate any condition that would be adverse to that. And that's what my doctor wanted to prevent.
Then he says that he wants to put me on blood thinners for the next 10 days. Doesn't sound too bad, I think. Then he says that he doesn't want to go with oral meds because they're harder to control with this condition. He wants me to be injected....okay, I say. You'll have to have two shots a day....uh, what, okay, I say (doing quick math I determined that was a total of 20 shots...ugh). But I'm okay with that because I want to get well and you do what you have to do, right? Unfortunately you'll have to take the shots in your stomach or belly area....I don't say "excuse me?" but I give him a look that says that.
"Do you think you can give yourself the shots?"
"No."
That was easy to answer, too.
More to come........
Jonnene saw this and said, "You're going to see the doctor today and get that looked at." She was right, of course, and thought this could be phlebitis...hmmm? Sounded like a scalp condition to me but apparently it's not. "It could lead to a blood clot, " she said and that got my attention. Phlebitis is a treatable condition but it can be serious. In my mind I had this vision that I might be at my own funeral this weekend instead of riding my bike or working around the house. I didn't like the looks of that. So I was able to schedule an appointment with my doctor, saw him later that morning and he agreed with what Jonnene had thought. It was most likely phlebitis. He scheduled an ultrasound for me that I took an hour later. I came back to his office that afternoon and it was confirmed. I had some stuff in a vein in my lower leg and a bit of something at the junction of two veins in my upper leg. He was most concerned about that.
"Alan, I'd like for you to stop doing any strenuous exercise for the next 3-4 weeks. Can you do that?"
"Yep."
That was an easy question to answer. Biking and running were great for my health but I didn't need them to accelerate any condition that would be adverse to that. And that's what my doctor wanted to prevent.
Then he says that he wants to put me on blood thinners for the next 10 days. Doesn't sound too bad, I think. Then he says that he doesn't want to go with oral meds because they're harder to control with this condition. He wants me to be injected....okay, I say. You'll have to have two shots a day....uh, what, okay, I say (doing quick math I determined that was a total of 20 shots...ugh). But I'm okay with that because I want to get well and you do what you have to do, right? Unfortunately you'll have to take the shots in your stomach or belly area....I don't say "excuse me?" but I give him a look that says that.
"Do you think you can give yourself the shots?"
"No."
That was easy to answer, too.
More to come........
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
World of Twitter Politics
Sometimes there's a lot that can be said in 140 letters.
Here's a few political musings just from today:
• President Obama's approval ratings are so low now, the Kenyans are accusing him of being born in the United States
• "Like, we're like all connected, you know? Like this choom in this bowl, like, somebody else made that happen, man." Obama, dorm room 1981.
• Re: Romney tax returns, again Pres. & media caring more, as@iowahawkblog put it, about what Romney did w/ his $$ than what Obama did w/ours.
• By the time CA completes high speed rail, Apple will be releasing iTransporter 4. At their headquarters in Texas.
• Listening to Obama explain where wealth comes from is like listening to a 4-year old explain where babies come from. Adorable!
Here's a few political musings just from today:
• President Obama's approval ratings are so low now, the Kenyans are accusing him of being born in the United States
• "Like, we're like all connected, you know? Like this choom in this bowl, like, somebody else made that happen, man." Obama, dorm room 1981.
• Re: Romney tax returns, again Pres. & media caring more, as
• By the time CA completes high speed rail, Apple will be releasing iTransporter 4. At their headquarters in Texas.
• Listening to Obama explain where wealth comes from is like listening to a 4-year old explain where babies come from. Adorable!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Front Page
Jonnene and I just deposited more time into our 15-minutes-of-fame account. In today's Shreveport Times there was an article about identification devices for runners and cyclists. We got to be the models for that article....well, we just happened to be in the right place at the right time for the photos that were shot to illustrate the story.
Here's the LINK.
Sure, we're getting fame but not expecting much fortune. Drat.
Here's the LINK.
Sure, we're getting fame but not expecting much fortune. Drat.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
New Year's in Sydney
We went to Australia for six weeks so that Jonnene could spend some real time with her family and have her first Christmas with them in five years. We had a great time and I'll write more about that later on. One of the highlights was getting the opportunity to spend New Year's in Sydney. I've always enjoyed seeing the fireworks display on the Sydney Harbour Bridge on TV and it made sense to see it in person if we were going to be in Oz anyway.
We were lucky enough to get an invite to a party given by a friend of one of Jonnene's cousins, who had an apartment on the 27th floor of a high-rise with an unobstructed view of the bridge and the Opera House about a mile away. He had two balconies from his living room and bedroom, both of which were crowded with partiers during the display (it actually made me a little nervous with all those folks out there). But it was a great time with great people and great food. Here's some of the pics we got.
We were lucky enough to get an invite to a party given by a friend of one of Jonnene's cousins, who had an apartment on the 27th floor of a high-rise with an unobstructed view of the bridge and the Opera House about a mile away. He had two balconies from his living room and bedroom, both of which were crowded with partiers during the display (it actually made me a little nervous with all those folks out there). But it was a great time with great people and great food. Here's some of the pics we got.
Boats in the harbor waiting for the evenings' fireworks.
Overview of the harbor from the 27th floor of Bill's apartment. The bridge is in the center and the Opera House can be identified as the triangular yellowish shapes at center.
View of Sydney at night before the fireworks.
Some of the party goers on the balcony overlooking the city.
Looking almost straight down from the balcony.
A group poses for a picture on the living room balcony...on the 27th floor!
And the fireworks begin!
Both balconies got a little crowded with everyone wanting a good...er, great...view of the show!
Smoke begins to drift over the harbor and the city towards the end of the show.
Both of us after the show ended. A nice way to end a trip to Australia!
Habits...huh, what?
I can't believe how long it's been since my last posting here. I will have to admit that I've made the mistake...or not...of spending more time on FaceBook. FB has been a handy vehicle to use in keeping track of friends and acquaintances in real time. It's easier to post photos there. It works well. But because of that "real time" feature you tend to get sucked into it and I'll admit that I spend more time on the computer now than I used to...to read really ridiculous stuff that tends to overwhelm the good, important stuff.
In the process I have ignored my blog. A place where I can write about things in more detail and actually write in a more coherent way in expressing what I'm thinking about plus what I've been doing in the meantime. I ignore long posts on FaceBook but not on blogs (there's always an exception, of course). You can't, and shouldn't, get into a lot of detail in FB in what you write and what images you post. First, nobody will read it if they see lots of gray on the screen and, second, if your photo album is more than 50 images...well, that's when they'll, more than likely, move on to other postings. Someone once said don't post a video on FaceBook that's more than a minute long. There may be some truth to that but I really don't want to bother getting into it.
So, I'm going to try to get this blog back on its feet. It will be difficult at first to get back into the habit...I used to be so good at it: see my older, way older, postings for proof....and I'll actually have to focus on what I write. I know I can do that. I just have to do that.
Now I'll have to spend some time getting up to date on things and mention what's been going on the last few months. No rush.
We had two trees removed in our backyard last week. One of them, an oak, was located only a few feet from the back of our house and it was a massive tree. The branches that hung over our roof were as big as small trees, more than a foot in diameter. I have always been worried that one or more of these branches could fall on the house in a good storm, or just because they wanted to. The results would have been devastating since the fall could come from a height of 20-35 feet above the roof. A good windstorm, a tornado, or remnants of a hurricane coming into the north part of the state would be good enough to make that happen. Any rotted branches soaked with water, thusly heavier, from a rainstorm could have the same affect. I've wanted the tree gone since we moved in.
The other reason to get rid of the tree is that we want to make use of the back yard and it was simply in the way. It wasn't allowing any sunlight back there so it was impossible to grow grass...the yard was a dust bowl. We also want to replace the patio with a completely new surface and a cover but the tree was in the way. The old patio had been built around it and the growth of the tree over the years had lifted and tilted the inlayed bricks in all directions and caused pooling of water along with a dangerous surface to walk on.
Taking the trees out was the first step in turning the back yard into a place we want to spend time in. They're gone now and the area is a mess. We had to remove part of a fence to get a Kubota tractor back there to remove the cut-up branches and trunks. The tracks of the tractor also tore up the ground but we expected that. Anything in the yard is subject to being removed so it wasn't a big deal to lose bushes or ivy or whatever. We'll end up replacing them anyway. I'll keep everyone up to date on the process but no doubt it'll be a few months before the area is what we want it to be. I hope we can finish by spring of next year and start grilling outside! We want to host some get-togethers and we'll have some of Jonnene's Aussie family visiting us next summer. It'd be nice to have everything set up by then. I also want to build or drop in a decent storage/work shed in the back to replace the dilapidated aluminum shed.
In the process I have ignored my blog. A place where I can write about things in more detail and actually write in a more coherent way in expressing what I'm thinking about plus what I've been doing in the meantime. I ignore long posts on FaceBook but not on blogs (there's always an exception, of course). You can't, and shouldn't, get into a lot of detail in FB in what you write and what images you post. First, nobody will read it if they see lots of gray on the screen and, second, if your photo album is more than 50 images...well, that's when they'll, more than likely, move on to other postings. Someone once said don't post a video on FaceBook that's more than a minute long. There may be some truth to that but I really don't want to bother getting into it.
So, I'm going to try to get this blog back on its feet. It will be difficult at first to get back into the habit...I used to be so good at it: see my older, way older, postings for proof....and I'll actually have to focus on what I write. I know I can do that. I just have to do that.
Now I'll have to spend some time getting up to date on things and mention what's been going on the last few months. No rush.
We had two trees removed in our backyard last week. One of them, an oak, was located only a few feet from the back of our house and it was a massive tree. The branches that hung over our roof were as big as small trees, more than a foot in diameter. I have always been worried that one or more of these branches could fall on the house in a good storm, or just because they wanted to. The results would have been devastating since the fall could come from a height of 20-35 feet above the roof. A good windstorm, a tornado, or remnants of a hurricane coming into the north part of the state would be good enough to make that happen. Any rotted branches soaked with water, thusly heavier, from a rainstorm could have the same affect. I've wanted the tree gone since we moved in.
The other reason to get rid of the tree is that we want to make use of the back yard and it was simply in the way. It wasn't allowing any sunlight back there so it was impossible to grow grass...the yard was a dust bowl. We also want to replace the patio with a completely new surface and a cover but the tree was in the way. The old patio had been built around it and the growth of the tree over the years had lifted and tilted the inlayed bricks in all directions and caused pooling of water along with a dangerous surface to walk on.
The back yard as it is now. The tree in the middle of the patio is gone but we can't remove the stump until we pull the patio up. All the brickwork will be replaced.
Taking the trees out was the first step in turning the back yard into a place we want to spend time in. They're gone now and the area is a mess. We had to remove part of a fence to get a Kubota tractor back there to remove the cut-up branches and trunks. The tracks of the tractor also tore up the ground but we expected that. Anything in the yard is subject to being removed so it wasn't a big deal to lose bushes or ivy or whatever. We'll end up replacing them anyway. I'll keep everyone up to date on the process but no doubt it'll be a few months before the area is what we want it to be. I hope we can finish by spring of next year and start grilling outside! We want to host some get-togethers and we'll have some of Jonnene's Aussie family visiting us next summer. It'd be nice to have everything set up by then. I also want to build or drop in a decent storage/work shed in the back to replace the dilapidated aluminum shed.
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