Life ... It Happens

You're probably wondering what happened to me. Maybe you're wondering if I made it through Ironman Florida 70.3 on April 10, 2016. The answer is YES! I MADE IT! .

Now since that's out of the way ... where have I been? Living life. Life happens. Good. Bad. Indifferent. Confusing. Twisting. Turning. Tiresome. It happens.

Half Ironman Training: It's Basically Over

In 16 days I will be racing my way through Florida.

At 7:05am in my purple swim cap I will begin the 1.2 mile swim. After I complete the swim I will hop on my bike with sticker number 925 on it and ride 56 miles through Florida farm country; I'm told it exists, I truly cannot picture this. I will end my day with my race belt and my 925 and name around my waist running 13.1 miles. The goal: Race 70.3 miles in less than 8.5 hours. When I put it like that it seems far less crazy than saying "I'm going to go race a Half Ironman in Florida."

Half Ironman Training: 6 Weeks In

The fact that I'm training for a Half Ironman is crazy enough. In fact I truly do question my own sanity. I'm not questioning it in the sense of "Why did you think you could do a Half Ironman and start training for one?" I'm questioning my sanity in the sense of "I'm actually doing this, when did I get Super powers, and with my super powers can I make a pet unicorn appear?"

Esprit de She

My first official Sprint Distance was the Esprit de She Triathlon in Naperville, Illinois. I crossed that very emotional and muddy finish line on June 14, 2015. I loved the event. I’m not sure if it’s because it was my first event. I’m not sure if it’s because I simply finished and within 22 seconds of my goal time. I’m not sure if it’s because I survived what is still arguably the most bizarre swim a person might have to face during a race. I am sure I loved this event because it was an all-women event. Women only. As young girls like to say “No Boys Allowed!”

                                 

Nuun

Nuun.

I just learned of Nuun probably about a year ago. Now what is Nuun, I know you're wondering. Nuun to me is a super power for my water which in turn makes me have super powers, so basically Nuun turns you into a Super Hero. NOTE: That's NOT actually how Nuun is marketing or directed, that's just my opinion.

January 15, 2001

Fifteen years. A decade and a half.  A lifetime ago that seems like just a few years ago.

It was a cold, snowy Monday morning on January 15, 2001 where I found myself boarding a Southwest Airplane from Midway Airport in Chicago, Illinois that would land just two hours later in Orlando, Florida. I had my bag checked. The bag I had to remove items from because it was too heavy to check. I was as ready as I was going to be. If I'm being honest I wasn't ready at all. If I'm being brutally honest I almost turned back around and didn't go.

January 1, 2009

Not to be dramatic or anything, but the life that I knew; my life as I knew it, the life that had been forming since September of 2002 changed at 4:05am on January 1, 2009. And at that time I didn't know what I'd do, where I'd go, why. All I could do was cry.