TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 9 19 Full speed ahead While attending Marian University in Indiana on a full cycling scholar- ship, Miller joined the U.S. National Team at 18 and represented the country in races around the world— including Italy, France, Poland, South Africa and Belgium—with each race propelling her toward a spot in the 2012 Olympic Games. But on Sept. 1, 2010, as Miller sped down the course near the end of the second stage of the three-day Ladies Tour of Holland (now known as the Boels Rental Ladies Tour), her dreams came to a crashing halt. To this day, Miller doesn't remember careening into a parked car at 30 miles an hour. She doesn't even remember starting the race. The crash happened so quickly that Miller didn't have time to stretch out her hands to brace her fall after she was catapulted from her bike. All the impact went to her face, shattering her front teeth, nose and jaw. In addition, she fractured her C3 and C5 vertebrae and suffered a traumatic brain injury. "Once you're like that, you're in that state of just fogginess," she said. "You literally get double vision. You're bound to make a mistake, so you just don't want to be in that situation. You can't really race at a world-class level if you're not at 100 percent capacity." Balance is key Wieseler, who spends a lot of time in the lab with Miller, appreciates how her business partner has transferred the focus and discipline she honed during her cycling career to her life as an entrepreneur. "It's not just about the time you're riding, but how you eat, how you sleep, everything all the other times," Wieseler said. "That's very similar to a startup. We're very busy and we spend a lot of time working, but it really encompasses your whole life. She took that from cycling and moved that into what we're doing now— just the drive she has to complete this mission of hers to see this through to where it can make a difference and help people." Miller also makes sure to take care of herself. By all appearances, she looks like she has recovered from her cycling crash, but "recov- ery is a strong word," she said. Her brain hasn't fully healed. She suffers from debilitating migraines, drowsi- ness and fatigue. "I wouldn't even say that I'm recovered," Miller said. "I still don't feel normal. It took me two years to get to a point where I could function like a normal person, where I didn't really slur my words and I could go do normal things like go out to dinner and things like that." Miller manages her post- concussive symptoms by planning her days to minimize anything that might trigger a migraine. If she knows she'll be spending a lot of time in the lab, she'll make sure not to schedule meetings in the afternoon. She doesn't cycle for more than two hours to prevent a migraine that could last two to three days. Miller's head trauma is an ongoing battle, but that hasn't stopped her. "I see the resilience," Wieseler said. "I can't imagine having head- aches or migraines most of the day, so the fact that I don't see it is the biggest sign. She does a really good job of pushing through whatever she's going through." As Miller reflects on her accomplishments as an elite cyclist and goals as an entrepreneur, she realizes that balance is key. "With cycling, I got to the point, I think, where everything I did revolved around it. It didn't matter what else was going on. If it was Christmas Day, it didn't matter, I'm still going to train," she said. "I don't think that was necessarily the best way to live. … I try to use that now with the startup company. It's really time-consuming, but there's always ways to balance things in terms of time." Looking for a change? Let experience guide you with your next move. Cheryl Cooper, selling real estate for over 20 years in Houston's close in neighborhoods. 1015 7th 1/2 HeigHts | LP: $620,000 12307 Queensbury MeMoriaL area | $695,000 4913 holt BeLLaire | $1,599,000 4412 Jim West BeLLaire | LP: 785,000 CHERYL COOPER 713.254.4984 ccooper@greenwoodking.com GREENWOOD KING PROPERTIES Pending Just Sold Just Sold For Sale

• Cover