News

Yesterday I got the official word that I do have a sleeping disorder. I have pretty significant sleep apnea. I knew there was a chance that I might get one of these CPAP machines to help keep my airway open but what I didn't know was that my oxygen levels drop to about 80% during the night and this is concerning. If you think about it, with all of the riding I do, my organs are still starved for O2 each night so I probably am hardly ever recovered. Not to mention how hard my heart works during super long rides and then it has to work just as hard at night.

The machine on my nightstand is 2 parts. The left part is the CPAP portion and the right part is a humidifier. The humidifier just keeps the nasal passages and mouth from becoming dried out. The suitcase sized machine on the floor is a condenser. It actually draws air from the room and compresses it into more concentrated oxygen. I need 2 liters of oxygen every hour. What's weird is that my father-in-law has just a CPAP and humidifier and he runs on a level 12 (scale of 20). So do I. So I'm a little concerned about all of this. I wasn't quite sure what to say last night. I'm 38. I'm in great shape. I now have to have signs on my doors and bedroom windows stating that there is O2 in the house.

I know this is going to make a huge difference in how I feel. I won't be as tired. I won't be as cranky. I'll probably enjoy my job more. Training will probably go through the fookin' roof. But....what happens when I do an ultra race and sleep in the woods without these machines? I may have a hard time sleeping/recovering without them. I don't even know if I'll be able to ride. I might be ok but not perfect. I guess I'll see how things go as I get more into my training. I am worried though. I'm super psyched about this year. I'm ecstatic to be with Honey Stinger. I'm jazzed about LW Coaching. I have HUGE hopes for the CTR.

As I was setting everything up I was a bit bummed. I couldn't help but take note of the contents on my nightstand. I have my glasses there. I'm sure the prescription will continue to get worse and worse. There's my mouth guard for my teeth grinding. Now there's my new CPAP and O2 machines. There's a variety of knives there which wouldn't do me any good anyway. If someone were to break in, I'd have to get my mask off, shut down the oxygen, remove my mouth guard, and then grab my spectacles so I could see what the hell was going on. Next year there will probably be a box of Depends and some Metamucil. Im gonna have to add on to the house.