Taking a breather

I know I promised everyone an Orlando race report but Brian and I are still in New York. It's been a rough trip and we are ready to be home. Here is a picture of me after my run around Rockland Lake. It's a nice 3 mile loop paved trail. I did an easy ten minute mile pace and Brian walked. When things are rough, it's often the simple pleasures that offer a bit of happiness and this was definitely one of those times. The weather was perfect and exercise felt so good. Plus running in a skort wearing my Ironman 70.3 finishers hat was fun! We are home tomorrow evening so hopefully life will be back to normal soon.

Orlando in brief

It has been a little while since my last post. The Florida 70.3 was last weekend and I know some of you are eagerly awaiting my race report. I am actually working on it, I promise, but you will have to be patient just a little longer. Brian and I are heading up to New York for a last minute family visit and it looks like I won't have time to finish it up before I go. I still have to pack and I need to get to bed. Joey has posted a nice entry about his adventures in Orlando if you haven't already read it. In brief, the race went fine. I felt pretty solid the whole way and had a good experience. Here is a pic of me finishing. More details to come. Good luck to everyone racing CapTex this weekend.

That’s Ouzo not Orzo

This past weekend was my youngest brother Danny’s wedding. He married Heather, a wonderful woman that he has been cohabitating with for a few years and dating even longer. Brian and I traveled to Baltimore for the festivities. It was a quick trip but lots of fun as all things involving my family tend to be – chaotic yes, but definitely fun.

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner at La Tavola, a fab restaurant in Little Italy. Danny had reserved the private dining room so we had lots of opportunity to mingle and catch up with the family. My Aunt Sophia and cousin Michael had made the trip and it was so good to see them. It’s been a very long time. I hadn’t seen the rest of my family since Christmas so there was plenty to catch up on. My niece Emily is getting so grown up it’s frightening. As with all my family’s gatherings, there was much silliness. First, there was the “where do I sit?” fiasco that really became musical chairs. Brian and I ended up sitting at different tables because he must sit next to Emily – he is her favorite uncle – and I wanted to sit with my aunt and cousin. There was much joking that we haven’t been married long enough to not want to sit together. This arrangement put me sitting with my sister Sarah, my aunt, my mother, my cousin and my sister’s husband, Chalmers. Now in case you lost track that is four Greek women – all related – at one table. We had a blast and it definitely got out of control. At one point, Danny, who was being quite the host, wanted my mother and Sophia to give a toast in Greek. We were all yelling out “Opa” and “Ouzo” at what seemed like the appropriate times, but who really knows. Then Sarah yells out “Orzo” at a quiet moment and I look at her and say “That’s Ouzo honey” at which point I just start laughing and so does everyone else. My sister, who is quite the actress, looks accusingly at her husband and asks, “What did you put in my Shirley Temple?” We are all laughing like crazy, Sarah included. Now just in case you are feeling sorry for my sister, don’t. It could have just as easily been me. I’m sure some of you are thinking that it sounds just like something I would do. Besides my family often laughs at and with each other. Life is too short to take it all that seriously after all.

I would like to take a moment to say that my brother Danny was so sweet the whole weekend and so concerned that everyone have a good time and that everything went as planned. My mother and I kept saying how grown up he has become but the truth is that he is 27 and has been grown up for quite awhile. I think it’s hard for me to accept that because he is the baby of the family and I took care of him. Everyone calls him Dan not Danny except for me and Mom. I tried but it just feels wrong. Sorry Danny!

Saturday, Brian and I walked from our hotel to the Inner Harbor with my sister, her husband, her four children (no that’s not a typo) and the nanny. It was such gorgeous weather and there are many nice things about Baltimore as long as you are aware of the dangerous things also. We spent the morning walking around the water; there was some shopping and eating, and a paddleboat ride. It was a fun day!

That’s all I have time for right now – I am off to Orlando in the morning for my half-ironman this weekend. Joey is already there and I can’t wait to see him and get settled in before the race.

Hello from Baltimore!

Friday afternoon Brian and I flew to Baltimore for my youngest brother Danny's wedding. We are flying home tonight. Right now we are spending the afternoon with my brother David and his girlfriend Liz so this will be a short entry to tide everyone over until I get home.

It has been so nice being in Baltimore. The weather has been gorgeous! We spent Saturday walking around the Inner Harbor with my sister Sarah, her husband, and their four children. I remarked to Brian that it was sad that the air quality in Baltimore is better than it is in Gainesville right now. Since half the state of Florida is on fire, it has been a nice break for us to walk around outside. Plus it's been nice to be back in a big city with lots to do.

So what have we been up to? Here is a brief synopsis with details and pictures to follow. Friday evening, we had the wedding rehearsal dinner at La Tavola in Little Italy - very yummy! My cousin Michael, whom I have not seen in ages was able to make it so we had a good time catching up. I haven't seen the rest of my family since Christmas so it was an evening of talking and catching up and meeting Heather, the bride's, family. A lovely evening! Saturday was the Inner Harbor - a lovely day, and then the wedding Saturday evening at the Maryland Zoo, which is in a beautiful park. Also, very lovely. This morning, most of my siblings managed to get together to take my mother out for Mother's Day and now we are relaxing before our flight. That's about it. I have some funny stories to share involving ouzo and orzo, dancing, hotel bars, my family, and old friends but you will just have to be patient.

The Countdown Begins!

In 12 days, 6 hours and 19 minutes from the time of this post, on May 20 at 6:20 a.m. I will be racing in the Florida Ironman 70.3 in Orlando. Not that I’m obsessing or anything – it’s Ironman’s fault for putting countdown clocks on their websites. For those of you that aren’t familiar with triathlon the 70.3 is half the distance of the Ironman that you hear about all the time and is also referred to as a half-ironman. It is a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run adding up to 70.3 miles. Right now I am beginning my taper and also starting to freak out. Actually, I started freaking out last week when I got the email that our bib numbers had been assigned – I’m #1221. Brian is not looking forward to the time leading up to the race and was relieved when I changed my departure day from Friday to Thursday. Fortunately, we have my brother Danny’s wedding this weekend to help provide a little stress relief.

Some of you may be wondering why I am freaking out – that’s an excellent question considering I am not usually this nervous this far out from a race, I did a race of this distance a year ago, and I have been doing triathlons for about 8 years. This race will be the first real test of endurance since my kidney infection and I’m just uncertain as to how my body will respond. I felt similar anxiety before the Lonestar Tri I did a month ago and that was half the distance of this race. This is my fourth tri since March, I ran a half-marathon (13.1 miles) in February, I’ve been training, and my doctor says I’m healthy but for me there is still a lot of uncertainty. Then why do it, you might ask. Mostly the spring tri season has been about rebuilding my base – trying to get back to where I was before I got sick so that I can start moving forward in preparation for the New York Marathon in November 2007 and Ironman Florida in November 2008. I feel like I’m making good progress but you never know. Honestly, it wouldn’t matter if I had more time to train, the first race I do of this distance is going to freak me out so I might as well get it over with.

Now before you think I am dreading this event – I’m not. I am looking forward to it for lots of reasons. At the top of the list is a visit by my very best friend, Joey. First Brian was going with me and possibly Joey too. Then Brian was out – grant deadline, but Joey was definitely in. Then Joey was out too – Austin Triathletes Open Water Swim (everyone in Austin better register) and I was going by myself, and Brian and Joey both felt really bad. Then Joey got a new job with Trigger Point Technologies – the official performance therapy tools of Ironman – and he has to be in Orlando to work the race. Wohoo! Hopefully, I still have some good karma left for the race. Other good things about this race, and these are in no particular order. It’s hosted by Disney AND it’s an official Ironman event so it should be really well organized. I will get a good baseline for where I am at physically and be able to plan my training accordingly. I am staying at a really nice condo just outside the park for the same price I would pay for a decent hotel room.

That’s all for now. I’m really excited and really nervous and sometimes feel sick to my stomach.

Fifteen Things Kurt Vonnegut Said Better Than Anyone Else Ever Has Or Will

Just in case you weren’t paying attention, Kurt Vonnegut passed away on April 11. Since I didn’t have my blog up yet, this post is a bit late. I found this article on the avclub.com (sister site to The Onion) and thought I’d share. The full article can be read here. The NY Times also published a good article about him that you can read here.

1. "I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.'"
2. "Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."
3. "Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder, 'Why, why, why?' Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand."
4. "There's only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you've got to be kind."
5. "She was a fool, and so am I, and so is anyone who thinks he sees what God is doing."
6. "Many people need desperately to receive this message: 'I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.'"
7. "There are plenty of good reasons for fighting, but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty Himself hates with you, too."
8. "Since Alice had never received any religious instruction, and since she had led a blameless life, she never thought of her awful luck as being anything but accidents in a very busy place. Good for her."
9. "That is my principal objection to life, I think: It's too easy, when alive, to make perfectly horrible mistakes."
10. "Literature should not disappear up its own asshole, so to speak."
11. "All persons, living and dead, are purely coincidental."
12. "Why don't you take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut? Why don't you take a flying fuck at the mooooooooooooon?"
13. "So it goes."
14. "I have been a soreheaded occupant of a file drawer labeled 'science fiction' ever since, and I would like out, particularly since so many serious critics regularly mistake the drawer for a urinal."
15. "We must be careful about what we pretend to be."

A Clean Bill of Health

Yesterday was yet another in a long line of doctor’s appointments since my kidney infection last September. This appointment was to follow-up on the tests I had done following my last appointment in February and to check how my blood pressure was doing since I stopped taking the calcium channel blocker my doctor had put me on to control my elevated heart rate and the heart palpitations that I had been experiencing since the infection. My doctor wasn’t happy with my decision to stop taking the medication but I didn’t like the way it was making me feel. I also felt that I needed to be completely drug free and allow my body to find some equilibrium. Because of the heart symptoms I had been having, my doctor wanted me to wear a Holter monitor for 48 hours to make sure everything was fine with my heart. This was a completely nerve wracking experience. I also had more blood work done to recheck my kidneys and thyroid. All the tests came back normal and about 2 weeks after I stopped taking the heart medication, my blood pressure dropped below 130/80. For the past 2 months the highest it’s gotten to is 122/74 and mostly it’s 110/70 and lower so that’s good news. I went over everything with my doctor and she is happy with my progress. I don’t need to go back until it’s time for my regular check up in November – Wohoo!!! My doctor did suggest I go see a Sports Medicine Doctor about my plantar fasciitis since it hasn’t cleared up yet. I have actually been considering doing just that. Anyway, I’m healthy and feeling pretty good. I’m still not back to where I was before I got sick but every month is better than the last and that’s just fine by me.

Hello North Carolina!

Nancy, Beth, Katie, Diane, and Michelle, and Leiana and Darcy, too – I wanted to write an entry just for y’all. I’m really sorry for falling off the face of the earth. I was really sick last fall – in September I contracted an extremely severe kidney infection that took over a month and 4 different antibiotics to get rid of. Nothing like your own bacteria trying to kill you. The recovery process has been long but it looks like I am finally done with tests. Today is what I hope is my final doctor’s appointment for a long time. I know I was doing a poor job of keeping in touch before then but I promise to do better. Two extra special shoutouts - Beth, congratulations on the latest addition to your family - I read the email during one of my moments of lucidity while I was sick and it really cheered me up. I hope everything is going well. Diane, congratulations on the new addition to your family – I loved the website. I hope everything is going well with you also. Hello also to my yoga group – I really miss all of you and everyone at the Museum.

So what has been going on here in Gainesville? Not too much really – other than two consecutive basketball national championships and a football national championship. Go Gators! You know I had to put that in somewhere. Don’t worry the Gators still rank below the Terps, Longhorns, and Blue Devils, but it’s been fun being here for all the celebrations. Brian has settled into work. The first year was rough – it took forever for his lab space to be ready so that has made it difficult, but everything is up and running now and he is very busy with teaching, students, writing grants, and papers – all the stuff a professor does. Check out his website if you want to see what he’s up to. As for me, I still haven’t found a job that motivates me enough to get me back to work fulltime. I taught summer camp at the Florida Museum of Natural History and will do so again this summer. Other than that I have been concentrating on my triathlon training- more on that later. I hope everyone is doing well and I look forward to hearing from you.