Since my last post nearly six weeks ago, illness and work stresses have kept me from posting. Well, that’s not strictly true. I didn’t get around to posting and I’m blaming illness and work stress. Here’s what’s been going on:
I signed up for the PA 600k but never rode it, because I had too much going on at work and couldn’t afford to spend the two days doing the ride and the third day recovering (I have returned to work on the Monday morning after a 600k and my brain is usually mush.) Then, a couple of days later, what started as a minor cough morphed into bronchitis and then an asthma fueled lung ailment of some kind. I got these spells of intense fatigue and a nasty hacking cough. Then Jill and I went on vacation to New England for 9 days. I was sick the entire vacation but it seemed to clear my head and I returned with some new ideas.
I wasn’t concentrating well at work. The new idea was going in very early. My commute, which is 45 minutes without extra traffic, was routinely lasting an hour or more in either direction. I figured by coming in early, I could get more done without distractions. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to do most of my exercising in the evening. I’m still trying to work all of that out.
Now, four weeks after I got the bronchitis, I’m more or less getting back to normal. I’m doing less coughing and the fatigue is gone. I rode this morning with Neil, Mark and Gina for 76 miles, the most I’d ridden since the PA 400k, and my power numbers 139/165 were not bad considering that the temperature was 97 degrees when we finished. My goal of completing a fourth Super Randonneur PA series is gone. Now I’m thinking about riding a century with some friends at a pace of 20 mph. I may even be a little more regular on this blog.
Jud