Biking/that time I almost fainted…. again…..
This is my last week of being walking distance to my favorite trail, the Mt. Vernon Trail. I move into my house this Friday (that’s tomorrow BTW!!). (Ugh packing….) So naturally, I had to squeeze in a few last runs and a bicycling trip with a friend of mine. Said friend is trying to convince me to do a triathlon. I think her peer pressure is working… I want to do a triathlon. You heard it here people. For years, my mother has been urging me to stop running, try something different, let’s do a bike trip. She’s just worried about the crappy knees we have in my family. So…. in an effort to give triathlons a try… (HA!) I went for a bike ride. It was the Mt. Vernon Trail, my trail.
yeah… i guess it’s alright
Look at that sky!
No I”m not having a quarter life crisis because i’m buying a house and my knees are in perpetual pain
My friend, Christine and I met up at 11:30am on Sunday and headed out. It’s roughly 5 miles to Old Town Alexandria via the Mt. Vernon Trail from my apartment. We made it to Starbucks without a hitch. Once at Starbucks, we hung out for hours and caught up. Girls need their girl time! After our catch up session we began to head back to my house for dinner. Well….. all I had to eat that day was applesauce and iced tea. I knew I forgot about something. On the 5 miles back, I wasn’t feeling so hot. We made it to Crystal City then things took a turn for the worse. All of a sudden I didn’t feel like me. I had to get off the bike, I needed to sit down, my vision was fading and I couldn’t really hear. That’s right I couldn’t hear and my vision was fading out. t had felt this before…. i’m about to faint. I took out my emergency GU and downed it. Then I clued my friend in on what was happening. She knew. Christine ran the Seaside Half Marathon with me, where I fainted at the finish line.
Yep, that’s about right.
After sitting, ingesting a GU, and drinking some water I got up to make the journey home (all 5-6 blocks). Once outside my apartment, I was feeling weak again. Christine took out her emergency purse Gu’s (yes, I hang out with runners) and I ingested those in a hurry. In short I was a mess and I was scared. After taking in 3 emergency GU’s in total I was functioning again and wasn’t worried about fainting. Ugh mess…. I think between exercising, work, and pursuing a home the stress got to me and I’ve become quite forgetful. I’m hoping once we move in this weekend, things will become status quo again. I miss the norm. 😦
I’m one moment away from running through the streets
Have you ever felt light-headed after exercising? Do you have a trail that you’d miss if you moved away (even if it’s just 12 miles)? Have you done a triathlon? Do you love them? What’s have you been up to recently?
BikeRunBake 
Listen to your body! Exercising feels good but the minute I ignore any unusual feelings
and discomfort. I end up having a tremendous setback.
I hear ya. I’m working on listening to my body, But sometimes, I just don’t like what I hear 🙂
I like the mental process of packing (going through things, sorting, the puzzle-aspect of getting everything fit together) I do not enjoy unpacking (overwhelming).
Girl, what be going on witchu? I don’t think I’ve ever felt truly faint when exercising (at least in recent memory), but I have vom’ed. Particular moments: my first strength training session with a trainer (yup, still came back) and when I was dismounting my horse during a really really hot horseshow and I had just finished my trip.
Please don’t die. I would be sad. And I’d never get to see your new house.
Where did all these boxes come from!?!? I’m going to be digging through boxes for months. Consider yourself lucky with no feeling faint. It’s been an ongoing thing in my life, since I was little. BTW. Good for you going back to that trainer!
House is coming along pics will be up in the next few weeks! 🙂
Just landed on your blog (I just started mine). I am into biking too. I did the Mount Vernon trail last year. Beautiful ride:
http://smittyridesabike.wordpress.com/2014/07/13/old-town-alexandria-to-mount-vernon-wdinorah-coton-donna-mcgee%E2%80%8F/
As far as fainting. Years ago, I was into bodybuilding. Sadly, that all stopped back in 2004 when I tore my shoulder labrum. I had it repaired but my shoulder was never the same after that. So ended my 15 year stint in bodybuilding. Sucks! Which is why I ride a bike now. But, back in my gym/weightlifting days, I use to occasionally overdo it. A couple times I thought I was going to faint, this was always coupled with feeling like I was going to throw up as well. In fact, I remember leaving the gym one time, and throwing up on the top steps…all water of course (which I drank alot of when I worked out). And another time, way back when, I went on a long bike ride with a friend, and was trying to keep up with him. At the end of the ride, I felt like I was going to faint….had to sit on the grass, and well, threw up that time as well. There was nothing wrong with me at all. I just overdid it, and this was my body’s way of telling me so.
But one piece of advice. Eat some light carbs and maybe something with protein about 1/2 hour before you ride. I would not recommend a Starbucks “jolt” for riding energy, as it is false energy (caffeine coupled with sugar), and you will feel horrible when you crash off of it, especially when riding a bike.
Hi! Isn’t the Mt. Vernon Trail just so gorgeous?!? I consider myself very lucky to live & work so close to it. I love how you include so many photos in your blog. It makes you feel like you’re there. Feeling faint is just awful. I didn’t throw up which was a good sign, but I definitely need to eat something before I go and I’m sure the caffeine did not help!