36 Times Around the Sun

Today is my birthday! 36 rides around the sun.

To celebrate, I went out for a ride, intending to hit the 40 mile mark. Within the first 10 miles, however, I knew I should have just turned around and went back. I was NOT feeling it...

I spent most of the morning just putzing around, taking an hour to change an inner tube, finish some leftovers from a few nights before and then get dressed. I applied a healthy dose of sunblock and finally got going around 1 or 2 pm... Whenever. Obviously, I was stalling because I was not in the mood for this ride. But, I did it anyway.

I was just outside Wilkes-Barre, heading through Plains when I felt I was making a big mistake -- I was exhausted. I couldn't get enough air, my legs were burning, I was already cutting into my glycogen reserves. In short, I was in bad shape, and it was only going to get worse.

"Whatever... just power through it," I thought. "I'll regret quitting more than I'll regret the pain I'll be in."

I could blame the estrogen and the testosterone blocker, because that would be easy. For one, the testosterone blocker is keeping me from building muscle. Every stroke of the pedals rips another fiber, raises the heart rate and burns calories and glucose. As we know from athletic medicine, the body will consume muscle if it can't get anything else. Every time I push hard, I'm consuming more muscle mass. But there's a way to counter that... It's called "eating right," which I definitely did not do this morning.

I had about 3 or 4 ounces of leftover steak from dinner a few nights before and what was left of a baked potato -- mostly just the skin. That's like, what, 200-300 calories? That's not enough, especially when you're riding a distance that normally burns through 1300 to 1400 calories. Yeah, I felt awful.

So, the moral of the story is, eat a healthy breakfast that consists of the right foods and bring something along to keep your glycogen levels up, or you will be sorry. How sorry? Well, muscle cramps and spasms are not fun, I can tell you that. Generally speaking, if you're not feeling good in the first 10 miles, the next 30 are not going to be any better, and you are going to be in sorry-ass shape long after you get back. Believe me... I've had a nap, eaten some good food, done everything I can to recover in the hours since I got back. I still feel awful.

One last moral: UV radiation ain't nothin' to mess wit'. The estrogen has done WONDERFUL things for my skin. I no longer get breakouts on my face, I'm soft, my skin is light and pale... it almost glows. It also gets damaged by the sun in the blink of an eye.

I used to go for hours and hours without sunblock. I would burn a little, but nothing that ever seemed overly serious. Now... heck, 1 hour is enough to turn me red and burn me pretty badly. It's not good, so I've become very rightly concerned and now use SPF 100 sun screen. Even if you're not on hormone replacement therapy, wear sunblock. Skin cancer is serious business.

In closing, happy birthday to me! As I said on Facebook, I really didn't think I was going to make it to 36 -- it got THAT bad before I realized I HAD to come out and live as my authentic self.
Since then, however, coming out and transitioning has been the best thing I have ever done for myself. It really did save my life. I would not be here, otherwise. As they say, it gets better, and it definitely did! Here's to another 36!

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Why I've Committed to 30 Days of Biking

My view this morning on my way to work. Looking
over I-80 West from the Old Turnpike Road bridge.

Today, I commuted to work via bicycle. It's not the first time I've done it, but it's the first time in almost 10 years that I've even attempted to try. It's easy to say that I only had to ride 18 miles, but the journey to get "here" has taken years. I feel good, and I feel even better about not spending money on gas, but that's not the point. The point is to get active, to get healthy, and you can do it, too!

I made a commitment to get in shape in 2012. I had been eating healthy since May and successfully lost 40 pounds, but I was still above my body-mass index and had been looking for a way to be more active. Up until then, I only ever took the bike out for a spin around the block. I never really tried to push myself and would call it quits after 10 miles. I had no idea how people could ride for 30, 50, or even 100 miles. It just seemed so unreal. That's when I decided to push myself, to enter an event and train myself to ride extended distances. I chose the Flaming Foliage Festival as my event, and focused my efforts on getting ready to ride 30k by October.

Eventually, I made my goal. I was regularly riding distances of 50 miles and easily completed the 30k Flaming Foliage ride. Since then, I'm happier than I've ever been in my life. I mean it when I say that I believe my bicycle has saved my life. It has kept me active, kept me fit (falling below my BMI for the first time in 20 years) and gave me a pressure release valve that allowed me de-stress when things got out of hand. Any time I feel down or distressed, I just go for a spin, and it clears my head. That's why I believe in projects like 30 Days of Biking. This simple machine that has been saving my life... I believe it can save the world. At least, I believe, it could save Luzerne County.

Today, the Citizen's Voice published a story about a study that found Luzerne County to be less active and less healthy than the Pennsylvania state average. The study reports that we have lower incomes than the state average, which is believed to be the cause of higher anxiety and depression cases in our area. We're poor and miserable, and that leads to poor life choices, like smoking, drinking and over-eating.

I live in Luzerne County. I am considered to be living below the poverty line, and I know, first-hand, the effect this has on anxiety and clinical depression, because I've been living with it most of my life. I've never been an alcoholic, but eating to feel good has been my crutch for far too long. It's so easy to just sit around, eating and feeling bad about yourself. It's a trap, and it's one of the leading, preventable causes of death in this country. So, what can you do?

Get outside and go for a ride.

I can't promise that riding your bike will change your financial situation, but it can change your life. (Any kind of moderate exercise has the potential to make you feel better, but I just find that biking goes well with my love of nature and exploring the outdoors.) Along with a boosted mood comes changes in outlook and attitude. A cleared mind can gain better perspective, allowing you to see solutions to problems that you thought were unsolvable. Then comes the best part: physical adaptation. As your body adjusts to doing more work, you'll find your regular work load becoming easier to handle. You'll lose weight, feel good and feel better about yourself -- and feeling better about yourself will prompt you to make even more positive changes in your life. Just taking the first few steps (or rides) can unlock the motivation you need to go beyond anything you thought you could do before, unlocking limitless potential. This isn't some new-age, crystal-gripping hippie speak, it's a fact. There are decades of sports medicine research that can back up these claims.

I made the decision to get in shape, setting small goals and checking them off as I achieved them. With each step I took, I found that I wanted to take more. The further I went, the further I wanted to go. You still have plenty of time to get ready for April. Make the pledge, commit to riding each day in April. You can do it!

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Let's Talk About Natural Supplements

...because just the thought of choking down another omelette is making me gag. Yesterday, during my post-workout meal, I was doing everything I could just to get through chewing and swallowing those eggs.

According to everything I've read, the post-workout meal is very important, but what do you do if you're just not feeling hungry? Are you supposed to force-feed yourself? And, yes, I would describe what I did yesterday as an intense training session. After 2 hours of going up a very steep hill, my legs were extremely sore.

The good news is, I got through the meal and my legs were feeling much better, but I think I'd like to switch out eggs for a protein supplement. Any thoughts on this?

I happen to have a large bottle of Healthy 'n Fit Nutritionals 100% Egg Protein. It's the "heavenly chocolate" flavor, which is a bit of stretch -- both in the "heavenly" and "chocolate" descriptions -- but I can drink it down and get it over with much more easily than another plate of foam-rubbery grossness. I can also mix it in with oatmeal and milk, which seems much more palatable.

Again, any suggestions? Should I just avoid this stuff and stick to whole foods?

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