Climbing mountains

I normally don't post in quick succession, but I wanted to let you all know that this happened! 

My O2 saturation levels have improved to the point that I'm only using my portable when I walk outside (to/from campus and for exercise). However, I've been very frustrated that I can't do anything more strenuous than walking. Being a runner and athlete is a core part of my identity. From the time I began running in spring 1989 until the day before I landed in the ICU last summer, the only times I didn't do 4-6 days/week of intense cardio were a trip to Morocco in 2000 and 2 trips to Ghana in the 2010s. I ran 25-30 miles/week for 6 months in San Salvador in 1993, at a time when the only other people I saw running were male football/soccer players. During my 8 months in rural El Salvador in 2001, running involved doing figure-8's around 2 soccer fields with long grass hand-cut with machetes. At one end were a horse or cow or two, pigs, chickens, a pack of stray dogs--and a group of kids yelling "Gringa! Gringa!" every time I completed a loop. I ran in the city on weekends, despite drivers unaccustomed to runners, sketchy roads and sidewalks, catcalls, hilly terrain, air pollution, and more. I ran until the day before Lily was born. Even during running injuries, I biked, x-country skied, did high-intensity interval workouts, or ran in a pool. You get the picture. Losing my fitness and identity as an athlete has been one of the hardest things about lung cancer and recovery from pulmonary emboli.

For a while I'd been thinking about setting up my indoor road bike stand, biking outside once the weather warms up, and taking up strength training. In each of these situations I could use the portable concentrator and take breaks if needed. I met with my pulmonologist last Friday to get my portable re-authorized (due to health insurance switch) and asked him about these options. He saw no problem with it, as long as I monitor my O2 saturation. 

Leland set up my bike stand on Saturday. The last 3 days, I've ridden for 45 minutes and maintained good O2 levels while getting my heart rate up to 110-140. While biking, I watched 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible on Netflix. It's about a Nepali man, Nims Purja, who set out to climb all 14 mountains higher than 8000 meters in less than 7 months (the record was 7 years), an endeavor he called Project Possible. With the help of his support team, he did it in 6 months and 1 day. Starting to exercise again feels like embarking on my own Project Possible. I've come a long way, and I still have mountains to climb.