Giggle therapy

We've had a run of frustration in our d-world lately. Hannah had her quarterly Endo appointment two weeks before Christmas. Her doctor made some tweaks to her insulin doses as she had started running higher. Since then, and compounded by all the holiday carb guesstimating, we've had some ugly numbers. We were working through it but the straw that broke this camel's back was our sensor change December 30th.  The first attempt for some reason did not stick and the whole sensor remained stuck in the inserter. It looked ok so I pushed it back into to loaded position and tried again. This time it stuck to her but would not link to the transmitter. Tears and frustration as we prepared for a third poke with a needle that was getting larger by the second!!!!  Thankfully the third try was a success and we were up and running. Most days we can brush this stuff off; d-care is our normal, but that day it was just too much for me. Hannah was in tears and I was too. 

Isaac had a birthday party that night so we girls headed out for some retail therapy. Hannah had a gift card to Claire's and we spent an hour? Three? In that store while she browsed the christmas clearance rack and everything else in the store. We finished the evening with supper at Wendy's. It was a great evening with my girl and we shared lots of giggles. I was reminded again of how resilient she is; I am. We may get knocked down, but we don't stay down. And laughter really is the best medicine sometimes.

Faith

This verse has been rolling through my mind this week.  When I look back before Hannah's diagnosis, my faith was there, but it was small and untested.  Since then, we have had to rely so much more on God's graces and mercies, God truly is taking our small faith and doing big things with it!

Aside from the overall way God is working on our faith, He is also applying this verse to my decision to ride or not ride with Jason next summer in the Ride to Cure.    With my little bit of knowledge of cycling and my little bit of faith that I CAN do this, God is teaching me that I've got to start somewhere.  You can't move the mountain the first day or even the first year.  He can take my small seed of faith and turn it into something great. 

Going to tuck this verse in my heart and keep it close.  

Spinning

Winter is here.  Our gorgeous fall came to an abrupt end on Sunday with crashing temperatures and four inches of snow.  I'm pretty sure bike rides are going to be few and far between until spring. 

 

So I drug my feet to the Y today for my first ever spin class today.  The good news is that I didn't die! :)  Actually, I think I did pretty well.  At least until the standing climb near the end of class that had me stopping and sitting on a chair in the corner to catch my breath and recover from my lightheadedness.  But I got back on (just in time for the cool down!) and I'll be back.  After class, the instructor told me I did great and then my next door spin neighboor told me that it helps to eat something before class; to help keep your blood sugar stable.  I laughed to myself- hello Melissa? Do you know nothing about blood sugar and exercise????  

Anyway, it was hard, but I felt invigorated afterwards.  That is one thing diabetes has taught me, that by doing one hard, challenging thing, other hard things start to look doable.  Giving your child a shot when she is crying, "no mommy, I don't want a shot"  makes volunteering or speaking up for accommodations at school less intimidating.  I'm learning I'm stronger than I think I am. 

Frosted

 Rough day on the bike today. The weather warmed up nicely so it wasn't that.  Mostly I was in a funk to be riding alone again.  A couple vicious looking dogs and some crazy wind left me winded and worried last week.  They had me looking at how far I have to go, and took my eyes off the fact that I am turning my "I can'ts"  into "I dids."  

So starting out today I felt like I had an insurmountable mountain in front of me and I was alone.  Sigh.  Second I feel like I am racing time and MUST RACK UP MILES!!!  Double sigh.

Last night, I contemplated going to the Y this morning instead of riding after my friend cried "frost warning" and opted not to ride today. Looking back, I probably should have done that. Yes it was a gorgeous afternoon, but I think I need some cross training, not so much for my body but for my soul.  

All was not lost however;  I did stop and treat myself to Beans and Cream.  The best part?  They are having their anniversary celebration and mochas were just $1.70.  I got out there, got a few miles in, and stopped and smelled the coffee beans. 

You might be a d-mom if....

You text your husband a number unrelated to diabetes without thinking about it and he freaks out!  

Cold ten mile today. Gunning for 500 before snow flies!

Oh October!

October has arrived and already I am feeling the pressure to get a few more rides in before the winter sets in. I can feel the cold starting to sink in and I am not excited about it!  Maybe it's the rain that's cut down on my rides this week or maybe it's that we haven't turned the furnace on so our house has been a balmy 64 degrees. Either way I was happy for sunshine today and a nice long coffee ride!  

September

September was a beautiful month for riding!  I rode a total of 187 miles!  And woot- I did roll over 300 on the 30th!  That was on a great 21 mile ride with friends. 

It's not always about the numbers

Today marks 2 months since my new bike purchase.  Here's my odometer:

My friend Kim and I were all set to hit a long 20 mi ride this morning.  We met up at the park in Cedarville.  I was really excited to hit 300 miles.  Maybe I'll hit 500 before the snow flies!!  Alas, I didn't realize it was FORGETFUL FRIDAY.  I should have been tipped off when Isaac forgot his water bottle at home this morning.  Cue helmet left at home:

So instead of a 20 mile coffee ride, we took a nice 4 mile walk.  It was a gorgeous morning! 

I'm reminded again; it's not about the miles; it's not about the numbers.  It's about support, it's about having a friend and being a friend; it's about getting out there, off the couch and doing something, yes for yourself, but also for the greater community. 

And trying again another day. 

Rally Ride Redo

One thing I've been wanting to do before the snow flies is to re-ride the route from the first Rally Ride that Jason and I did in April.  Jason had a day off so after the kids headed to school, we drove to Beavercreek Station.  My hope was to see if I could tackle the hill at the Wright Memorial and how it would be different with my new bike.  I did it!  It was hard, hard, hard!  I almost gave up, but I looked back and saw how far I had come and how little I had to go.  I thought I was going to puke when I got to the top but I DID IT!

From the bottom, after we went up.

 We went across Huffman Dam and then decided to add a little to the route and hit Riverscape in downtown Dayton. The fountains started spraying after we passed under them.  It was a refreshing shower!  

I hit a wall at about mile 24.  I am seeing a trend where I hit a wall when I am about 3/4 done with a ride.  I struggle for a few miles and then the last few miles are fine.  Not sure if it is a body thing or a mind thing; I'm leaning more towards a mind thing because it seems like it is always about 3/4 in, irregardless of the miles. 

In the end, it was a great ride.  We had some great (for me) splits and it was just nice to spend time together. 
Stats:
30.5 miles
11.7 avg speed


I also got two rides with friends in this week for a weekly total of 58.9 miles!  Pretty happy about that and hope to continue to rack up the miles this fall!

Zippy's been crying in the shed.

Due to vacation and school and soccer for the kids gearing up,  it's been almost two weeks since I've had a chance to ride. Looking at the forecast and sky this morning,  it looked like today was going to be another no ride day. Thankfully, that turned around by lunchtime and I was able to get some miles in. 

What's that I see?  Dry pavement and blue sky?

It ended up being a gorgeous afternoon for a ride. I even did a trip over the highway overpass near our house. First time on the new bike and it was incredible how much easier it was!!!

Gotta go clean up Zippy before school's out!

Rain, rain, go away. Melissa wants to ride today!

So Jason got his miles in this morning and was pushing me out of the house to get a ride of my own in. Just as I was getting my shoes on ( last step before leaving-hate hot feet!!!). We hear thunder. Seriously?  I was already not super motivated to ride the trail route I've done a million ( or maybe just 100 ) times before. This shower was literally popping up right over our house. So Jason and the kids headed off on their errands and I decided to drive west to get out of the rain. Ten miles from home the roads and sky were dry and I got on the trail and headed north. 

Not far into the ride, a man came up along side me and asked if he could ride withe awhile. I said sure and we rode the next fiveish miles together. It was nice to have someone to ride with, and I'm going to go with that, rather than worrying if he was a psycho rapist. There was enough traffic on the trail that I felt ok. 

I turned around before he did and ended up having a nice almost 16 miles. I wanted to go farther but I need to toughen up my seat. My legs and gas tank still had miles in them but my seat did not!  

Sorry kids- no room for you!

All in all a great ride. I'm continuing to get more comfortable with shifting and braking. My two sided pedals are kind of annoying; they like to flip to the clip in side not the flat side I am using.  Not ready to make that jump yet but it will come. Pretty happy with the bump in my average speed too!  

Inaugural miles with Zippy! 7/27/2014

The rains went to the north and to the south, leaving me a chance to put my first miles on my new bike. 

I really haven't named her, but she is zippy!  It is going to take some getting used to the feel of her. It is so much easier to accelerate on this bike!  I also really like being able to see my cadence; that is something I need to work on. Overall I am happy with my purchase; even if I do feel like I've jumped off a cliff!

Core workout 7/28/2014

Hi I'm Melissa and I have a weak core. One of the biggest aches I noticed last fall after getting back on my bike was how sore my abs were!  Having a nine and a half pound baby will do that to a person, but I've really got to stop blaming him; he's almost seven!!  

Too much floorwork on my back can leave me lightheaded so I was happy to find this workout in my email from MyFitnessPal. I tried it tonight and I can definitely feel it!  I especially like the last exercise - the dead bug!  

https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/2014/07/the-core-circuit-workout/#sthash.oveW9aWb.qjtu

Getting ready 7/15/2015

Last night, I asked Jason if he would help me clean up my bike and also check the brakes for me. My brakes have been an issue since getting my bike out in the spring. He replaced them once and they were  loose again. So he made some adjustments and also cleaned/showed me how to clean the chain and gears. Afterwards I went out for a quick 6.5 mile spin just to make sure everything was working ok. 

It is amazing how much better the bike shifts and rides right after it's been cleaned. She's not such a bad bike after all!