Well, my intentions of keeping up with this blog have been less than stellar. When I am sitting long enough at the computer, I'm usually reading other people's blogs, and on my new obsession Facebook. Things have really changed in just that past few years in regards to how we socialize and communicate with each other. I'm still trying to figure out if these are positive changes. I worry that we will all lose our ability to connect with people face to face! Even I seem to present better in the written word since my brain needs time to process verbally, and writing affords me that time.
But, I digress! Back to the 10...no, now 11 month update on the family. Mike continues to be crazy busy at Isthmus with exciting new projects that will take him to California, and possibly China! He spent a lot of time this Spring at the cabin remodeling the front porch. He knocked down a wall and created a sun room with brand new windows and flooring. It looks awesome! The view of the lake towards the west is priceless. I pinch myself every time I am there, I can't believe this is ours! I spent some time in June there with just the girls, and we just got back from our annual summer week there. As usual it was over too fast and we were home too soon!
The girls are doing great! Still with the boys in spite of some dicey moments. :-O They are working at various jobs this summer, and seem to be spending a lot more time here with us....voluntarily!! Rachel turned 21 July 3rd, and we celebrated by taking the family to Chicago. Very fun! They will be starting their Sophomore and Senior years at Madison. Rachel will be applying for internships that may take her away from us for up to 6 months....GULP! Robyn will continue with her nursing studies, but she is not sure if she will get into the nursing program. She is considering transferring to Edgewood. Only time will reveal the outcome of the many decisions they will need to make over the next several months. As a Mom, this period in our lives is exciting, exasperating, and beyond scary...all at the same time!!! Hmmmm....I guess it's always been this way since the day they were born!! They will be moving into a new apartment...yes...all FOUR of them plus my grandkitties in two weeks. SIGH!!!
Some big changes in my life as well. My dear sister has moved back home!! She is getting a divorce from her husband, and needless to say, it's been stressful for everyone. I feel so bad for them, especially for Amanda and Gordon. Selfishly, I am happy and relieved. Neal has not been the best husband, and Michelle deserves so much more then she has been getting for the past 20 years!!!! AND, I get to have my best friend near me. I am excited for her and this new path her road has taken her. I feel very strongly this is all for the best! :-)
In a few weeks, I will be heading back to school, and for the first time EVER, I will be working full time!! YIKES!!!! I will be the only school nurse in the district. I am already overwhelmed and anxious. How is this all going to work? WHEN will I have time to train/clean/eat/love/have fun/rest/take care of horses???? YES...the horses are coming back as well!!! Truthfully, I'm excited for it all. I am so happy Dudley is coming home!!!!! Our dear friends Bill and Leah will be bringing their two boys Matt and Sam to hang out with Dudley. Leah will help with the chores in the morning so I can train. It will all work out. I just know if I stay positive, patient, and smart, my mind and body will adapt to the new demands on my time. I may, however, be forced to give up some of my facebook time!!! ;-)
Time......again I marvel at it's impact and how it plays such an important role in my life. As of this writing, it has been 9 days since we had to put our old cat Jack to sleep. He was 17 years old. He had been on this farm since we purchased it in 1993. He was a barn cat, but he made his way into the house over the past 3 years due to his failing health. He was the best....he was so loving and affectionate, LOVED going for car rides, and going to the vet!!! He was a tough old guy, living for 3 years with kidney failure. He loved fully and unconditionally. He hung on tenaciously to life in the days leading up to that unbearable moment, when I was forced to make a decision I did not want to make. How many times have I gone through this in my life? Far to many times, and it never hurts any less. So Jack, your job right now is to let all those who have gone before you know that each one continues to have a special place in my heart, and the memories and the love will live on forever. Say hello for me to Morris, Spike, Duchess, Dutch, Kootsie, Cashew, Brandy, Thunder, Jasmine, Slim, Leggs, my sweet Brodie, and yes, even Shotsie the long lived parakeet! Jack, as I stare out the window at your grave, the hurt I feel is so fresh and that familiar feeling of emptiness surrounds me. But I know from experience that the sadness will fade...with time...but the love never will.
Enjoy this day.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
I'm back!
Ok, so I haven't blogged for 10 months. Did life completely stop after my Ironman finish? Of course not!! But, it's like the whole tree falling in the woods thing....if no one reads this is it worth writing? I think it is. I read it, I write it, and I LEARN! I learn so much about myself, about my relationships, about life. It helps to give me a little clarity when most of the time my brain is MUSH! So yes, I've decided...it's worth it!
Now, how to catch up on 10 months! :-O
Life continues to roll forward with all of it's ups and downs. After the IM, I struggled, not surprisingly, with post-race depression. Fortunately it didn't seem to last too terribly long, maybe a month or so? Physically, the first 10 days were a little rough, but thankfully nothing major. I had tightness in my chest and shortness of breath for about a week. Also I had issues with pelvic pain and pressure and urinary tract discomfort. Infection was ruled out and there was no bleeding. Just soreness from all of the pounding. I continue to have pelvic soreness, especially ofter hard efforts, but it has been improving overall. I took 3 whole days off(:-O), then just started to swim, then slowly got back to base. Then I registered for Boston...and apparently I waited too long.....registration was CLOSED! Complete mental breakdown! Fortunately I had booked the hotel room with Marathon Tours and was able to get in by using their open slots....WHEW!
I started to train in January. Mentally I was in my happy place! Physically, not so much!!! Lots of pelvic pain and right hip/groin issues. I babied myself, training easy. I tried yoga and ....gulp....MASSAGE!!! These really helped. I managed to stumble through the training, then got sick with a bad bronchitis 2 weeks from the race. I was thankful I had two weeks to try and get over it, but I definitely was not 100% on race day. And actually, the race itself went MUCH better then the first! I still had visions of trying to qualify for Boston AT Boston, but the pace just wasn't there. So I decided to take it easy and ENJOY! And I did. AND....my quads didn't start screaming until mile 22....MUCH improved over 2008!!!! I ended up running 3:55, just 2 minutes slower then 2008!!! I'll take it!
Since then I've vamped up my training to tri mode, although I did run the Madison half marathon Memorial weekend. Only 6 weeks out from Boston....the soonest I have ever raced after a marathon! The weather was so hot and muggy, they closed the marathon course at 4 hours. It was 91, dew points were near 70. AWESOME! I love the heat! HOWEVER, at mile 10, I was incredibly thankful to be running the half instead of the full! Even I was HOT! I finished in 1:55, and was 26th out of 280 in my age group!
Today I'm recovering from my 3rd race of the season. (My plan for this year is to race every month until September, and then sign up for the big dance in 2011!!) It was the Wisconsin Triterium, and I did the Olympic distance. I've never done this one before. It's a small race, about 170 athletes. It's all about the loops! It's a 3 x 500 meter swim. You have to get out of the water, run around a tree, and get back in the water! THAT was interesting!! ;-)My swim was 36 minutes, much improved over 50....but still one of the slowest. I'm getting NEAR the ballpark anyway!!!! Then it's a 2 loop bike, a lot of it on the IM course. ONG!!! It was so hilly and technical....Big gears to granny gears and back...in the blink of an eye! I didn't have a strategy for the course other then I wanted to push the bike leg to see how I could do, then really test my legs during the run. Mission accomplished!!!!! I only averaged 15.5h mph, and I was sucking wind on the hills big time. Definitely room for improvement! I thought for sure my run would completely suck. My legs were VERY tired, even though it was only 26 mile....JEEZ! The run is 3 x 2 mile hilly loop, with one big hill. By the 3rd time up that hill my legs were jelly and my stomach was lurching. I simply REFUSED to walk! I will never improve if I don't learn to suffer. I felt like I was running 10 min. miles, but I kept looking at my mile splits in amazement. I averaged 8.24's!!! WHAT??? I was the second fastest 10k I've ever run, and that's including the stand alone's!!! My body simply likes to run off the bike. Thank you again body, for hangin with me!!!!!
Now the reality....I was feeling so proud of myself....until I saw my placing in my age group. 9/10 in the swim....no surprises there except I wasn't LAST!! ;-) 7/10 on the bike....UGH....and 6/10 on the run. I know I shouldn't compare and mess with my head in that way, but I can't help it. So, I've been doing a lot of self talk, and I'm now feeling very satisfied and THANKFUL! Thankful that I had the opportunity to push, learn, and grow, and come out of it sore and tired, but intact! I suffered through many moments of doubt, including a dicey 3rd loop swim where I was getting PUMMELED by the wave of guys that started after me! It's ALL good!! This week I will TRY to recover quickly, and keep on rolling!!! The next race is the Pardeeville sprint in 3 weeks!
Other then some changes in my swim training, including a try at and open water swim class which started 3 weeks ago, that's the 10 month training update! Next up....the 10 month family update! LOTS of drama there. Life can be described in a myriad of ways, but I would NEVER use the word BORING!!! :-)
Enjoy this day!!
Now, how to catch up on 10 months! :-O
Life continues to roll forward with all of it's ups and downs. After the IM, I struggled, not surprisingly, with post-race depression. Fortunately it didn't seem to last too terribly long, maybe a month or so? Physically, the first 10 days were a little rough, but thankfully nothing major. I had tightness in my chest and shortness of breath for about a week. Also I had issues with pelvic pain and pressure and urinary tract discomfort. Infection was ruled out and there was no bleeding. Just soreness from all of the pounding. I continue to have pelvic soreness, especially ofter hard efforts, but it has been improving overall. I took 3 whole days off(:-O), then just started to swim, then slowly got back to base. Then I registered for Boston...and apparently I waited too long.....registration was CLOSED! Complete mental breakdown! Fortunately I had booked the hotel room with Marathon Tours and was able to get in by using their open slots....WHEW!
I started to train in January. Mentally I was in my happy place! Physically, not so much!!! Lots of pelvic pain and right hip/groin issues. I babied myself, training easy. I tried yoga and ....gulp....MASSAGE!!! These really helped. I managed to stumble through the training, then got sick with a bad bronchitis 2 weeks from the race. I was thankful I had two weeks to try and get over it, but I definitely was not 100% on race day. And actually, the race itself went MUCH better then the first! I still had visions of trying to qualify for Boston AT Boston, but the pace just wasn't there. So I decided to take it easy and ENJOY! And I did. AND....my quads didn't start screaming until mile 22....MUCH improved over 2008!!!! I ended up running 3:55, just 2 minutes slower then 2008!!! I'll take it!
Since then I've vamped up my training to tri mode, although I did run the Madison half marathon Memorial weekend. Only 6 weeks out from Boston....the soonest I have ever raced after a marathon! The weather was so hot and muggy, they closed the marathon course at 4 hours. It was 91, dew points were near 70. AWESOME! I love the heat! HOWEVER, at mile 10, I was incredibly thankful to be running the half instead of the full! Even I was HOT! I finished in 1:55, and was 26th out of 280 in my age group!
Today I'm recovering from my 3rd race of the season. (My plan for this year is to race every month until September, and then sign up for the big dance in 2011!!) It was the Wisconsin Triterium, and I did the Olympic distance. I've never done this one before. It's a small race, about 170 athletes. It's all about the loops! It's a 3 x 500 meter swim. You have to get out of the water, run around a tree, and get back in the water! THAT was interesting!! ;-)My swim was 36 minutes, much improved over 50....but still one of the slowest. I'm getting NEAR the ballpark anyway!!!! Then it's a 2 loop bike, a lot of it on the IM course. ONG!!! It was so hilly and technical....Big gears to granny gears and back...in the blink of an eye! I didn't have a strategy for the course other then I wanted to push the bike leg to see how I could do, then really test my legs during the run. Mission accomplished!!!!! I only averaged 15.5h mph, and I was sucking wind on the hills big time. Definitely room for improvement! I thought for sure my run would completely suck. My legs were VERY tired, even though it was only 26 mile....JEEZ! The run is 3 x 2 mile hilly loop, with one big hill. By the 3rd time up that hill my legs were jelly and my stomach was lurching. I simply REFUSED to walk! I will never improve if I don't learn to suffer. I felt like I was running 10 min. miles, but I kept looking at my mile splits in amazement. I averaged 8.24's!!! WHAT??? I was the second fastest 10k I've ever run, and that's including the stand alone's!!! My body simply likes to run off the bike. Thank you again body, for hangin with me!!!!!
Now the reality....I was feeling so proud of myself....until I saw my placing in my age group. 9/10 in the swim....no surprises there except I wasn't LAST!! ;-) 7/10 on the bike....UGH....and 6/10 on the run. I know I shouldn't compare and mess with my head in that way, but I can't help it. So, I've been doing a lot of self talk, and I'm now feeling very satisfied and THANKFUL! Thankful that I had the opportunity to push, learn, and grow, and come out of it sore and tired, but intact! I suffered through many moments of doubt, including a dicey 3rd loop swim where I was getting PUMMELED by the wave of guys that started after me! It's ALL good!! This week I will TRY to recover quickly, and keep on rolling!!! The next race is the Pardeeville sprint in 3 weeks!
Other then some changes in my swim training, including a try at and open water swim class which started 3 weeks ago, that's the 10 month training update! Next up....the 10 month family update! LOTS of drama there. Life can be described in a myriad of ways, but I would NEVER use the word BORING!!! :-)
Enjoy this day!!
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