Before...

Tomorrow is the 100-mile Lakeville Ironman ride. I am nervous about it because the ride is long and I'm not sure if my body can withstand 100 miles in one day. But then again it may not have to if the weather is really crummy (meaning rain or snow). If that's the case, we're going to do one of the shorter routes.

I hope it holds off raining or snowing because I would like to have the opportunity to attempt 100. I know my lungs aren't necessarily ready for it; that's what worries me the most. I can't think of this as a casual ride like Chris since cardio activities do not come naturally or easily to me. My mild asthma gets in the way. Inhalers haven't worked for me - they make me shaky but don't help me breathe.

The only thing that I've found that helps me is if I get in really good shape. When I was in college and was working out all the time (basically running and taking a cardio kickboxing class), my lungs got in better shape. But I was always indoors. The minute I step outside and tried to run, my allergies worked with my asthma to put the kibosh on that.

I enjoy riding and I will always have to just deal with my allergies affecting my asthma which ultimately affects my breathing. It gets really frustrating though, especially because I don't want to move to a different climate. So basically this all comes back to my choices which makes it frustrating.

Anyway, I'm going to keep riding. I plan to bike to work a lot this spring/summer/fall. In addition to the bike locker I'm renting, I am also renting a locker with a shower. I am going to leave the apartment earlier in the morning, thereby hopefully missing out on hot weather, and shower when I get downtown. I'm going to try it for a couple of months to see if I like it.

Wish me luck tomorrow, and wish for decent weather!