I can RIDE again!!! I'm all the way BACK!!!
I've posted updates every now and then of my progress back to health as it relates to my riding. Well, my latest update is that I feel as good, if not better, than before I had my adrenal crash (along with a lot of other issues). It's been over two years since it began, but since March of 2011 since it really hit and kept me from riding more than about 5 miles on my bike for the longest time. Since May I have posted bits of improvement in health and the longer and stronger rides that I've been able to do a little at a time . . . with a few mishaps along the way as I realized I did too much and was learning what my body could handle.
Well, as of about two weeks ago, I really feel like I'm all the way back. :) I did a club ride two weeks ago and when I got back and saw my average pace, I literally cried. It was the second fastest I'd ever done it ever. Since then I did a short but very steep climbing ride, a 40 mile flat and fast ride, and yesterday I did a 44 mile group ride with 2,000 feet of climbing. I am careful to recover and do easier rides between the harder ones, but I am not experiencing any of the symptoms I have had when I apparently did too much. I went to a social event for a cycling group I'm in and stood for about 2 or 3 hours and this, in and of itself, is huge. Just standing used to be difficult. I was always looking for somewhere to sit if possible.
I'm still seeing my naturopathic doctor and working to fully balance all my hormones and get even healthier, but I am so excited that I can REALLY ride my bike and train again and get as strong and even stronger than before. One my doctors gave me a supplement to help with my heavy breathing during exercise. I've always felt I breathed harder than other people of a similar fitness level. He gave me NAC (stands for something hard to pronounce). It helps get rid of pollutants in the lungs and provides a lot of other benefits for endurance athletes, like getting more oxygen to the muscles, creating less fatigue, more endurance and faster recovery. My husband started taking it and he has no breathing issues to begin with like I do. I can already see it helping with my breathing and the speeds I'm already able to ride makes me wonder if it's helping my riding in general.
I can't tell you how thrilled I am. I can RIDE again! Like for REALS!!!! :D
