At 8:57 PM yesterday, ABL gave birth to TGL. Baby Girl was 8 lbs 4 oz and was 21.5 inches long. Both Mommy and Baby are doing well. Big Brother RJ and Big Sister Q are really excited to see the baby.
Last weekend was Bike Sebring. I really like going, but I just couldn't train for it this year. I hope to do the National 24 Hour Challenge in June. It's been several years since I've done this event and I had a great time the last time I was there, despite the long drive with the flat tire halfway there.
I'd rather be crewing for a solo or team during RAAM, which will interfere with the National 24 Hour Challenge, but I think it's important to "return the favor" so to speak and crew for someone else. Janet Christiansen helped me out during the race last year, but she looks like she's got a full crew for her solo attempt this year. I sent her a message anyway, I know how crew members can fall out at the last minute. There is an 8 person Team Type 1 which I would consider crewing for, but they are a professional team and most likely have all the support they need.
ABL is about ready to explode, her due date was Friday. She's hormonal (unpredictable) and in a lot of pain, much like a wounded animal. Do Not Approach.
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11:29 PM
Registration just opened for the 2008 US Transplant Games in Pittsburg, this July. I've been real wishy-washy about going. I've been worried about the kidney failing and the lack of energy. I was surfing the site to see if I should go and saw that I currently hold the US record for the 1km time trial from the 2002 Games. They introduced the 5km time trial in Kentucky in 2006 (record 8:30). The World Games has had a 5km for several years. I think my fastest time in the 5km was in Canada (8:47). There was a significant amount of climbing in Canada.
So, should I go to Pittsburgh to see if I can set a record in the 5k? Is it fair to race on EPO (some of the other racers may be on EPO)? I'm thinking of biking to Pittsburg on the C&O/Allegheny trail.
I took Q skiing this Wednesday. The conditions were nasty around here, and Ski Liberty wasn't scheduled to open until 4pm, so we packed up and drove out to Whitetail. There was a really light drizzle when we got there, but it was clearly ending. I put Q in a class and then I took RJ through rentals for these teeny-tiny little skis. He and I took one run down the bunny slope and about half way down, he crashed. That was it for him. He wanted to go to babysitting. I dropped him in babysitting and hit the slopes to try out my new skis. They are a little on the long side (180), so I was a bit worried I wouldn't be able to control them considering it's been nearly 20 years since I last skied, but they turned out to be great. I had a bit of anxiety for the first couple of runs on the intermediate slopes, but I soon moved on to the expert slopes (and didn't really notice a difference in difficulty). I forgot how much my legs could burn while skiing.
I found Q on the bunny slope and took a couple of pictures. Chicks On Sticks...Q's in the middle.
Q on Lift, she loves those goggles and she likes her Hello Kitty hat.
Since Q was doing great linking her turns, I went back to skiing. I caught up with her a couple of hours later after her class. I took her on a longer run, but she was soooo tired, she really wasn't capable of controlling her skis, so she crashed twice and it was game over. "Daddy carry me down the hill" time. I picked her up and skied down the mountain. When we got near the bottom I realized she kept dropping her tips into the snow. If one of them had caught, I think we would have gone down hard. I've been trying to buy a ski leash through Amazon, but there seems to be a problem with their system. I've called twice and they keep saying they'll fix it, I think it's time to order direct through the vendors. After picking up RJ from babysitting, we stopped into the cafeteria for snacks and hot chocolate. Q was happily munching away while wearing her goggles. I tried to get a shot, but when she saw the camera come out, she started moving them up and down.
For a day that looked really crappy on paper, the snow wasn't that bad and there were very few people on the mountain. It turned out to be a really good day.
One of the issues I have with Prednisone is the "Loss Of Contact With Reality" "Extreme Changes In Mood". If you've ever heard Limp Bizkit "Break Stuff" you know that's about what I'm feelin.
I've had a couple instances lately where I've really had to bite down hard on my lip to keep my mouth shut.
Incident One: I was at a General Meeting for one of the bike clubs I belong to, I've been a member since it was first formed and I've been riding with the core group of riders for several years. The whole purpose for the club is to support Randonneuring in the Mid-Atlantic Region, basically the club is dedicated to putting on brevets. Brevets in the US are generally under the jurisdiction of RUSA, who in most cases answers to a club in France. RUSA has appointed Regional Brevet Administrators (RBAs) to organize and supervise events in their areas. Our RBA gave us an Ultimatum, either he was given total control over the club or else he was walking. I wanted to jump up and scream "How dare you, you..." followed by a string of endlessly repeating 4 letter words. "feelin' like a freight train first one to complain leaves with a blood stain"
So, I mostly kept my mouth shut for fear of releasing a prednisone induced tourette's.
Incident Two: I've written about doing penance at Little Gym, waiting for my little Ballerina to get out of her class and me keeping my mouth shut despite the INANE conversations being held by the women also waiting for their ballerinas. It felt like they were purposefully slamming men, and their mother in-laws as if they were baiting me into their conversations, but I kept my mouth shut, none of my business. So, I nearly went off on some random mom at the Little Gym yesterday as she butted into my conversation with a friend.
"Damn right I'm a maniac you better watch your back cuz I'm fuckin' up your program"
At 5 milligrams a day, I can control it; at higher dosages, I can't. ABL warned me that if my dosage climbs any higher she will divorce me.
I visited the Nephrologist today, my kidney function is remaining stable. My hematocrit is dropping however, meaning that "tired" feeling will be with me for another couple weeks. They upped the dosage on my Procrit to compensate. Also, my phosphorous and potassium are still high, so it's time to cut out some foods.
We've been in our house for 10 years now and we've only done minor repairs. We've got some major repair work to do, mostly plumbing and HVAC. ABL and I are expecting a third child any day now, so we decided to do it up right and add an addition over the garage.
I've gone through kidney failure twice. The first time in 2000, my mother donated a kidney; and again in 2008, I'm on dialysis waiting for a breakthrough in immuno-suppression medicines before seeking a new kidney.