I am Blessed

I have been trying to write this blog for several days, but life, as it does, keeps getting in the way. I actually wrote this blog two days ago, but didn’t get to finish and publish it until Saturday. What a slacker.


I wanted to write a follow-up on St. Anthony’s Triathlon, I wanted to tell you all about my latest trip to Clermont, Florida for some hill training, I wanted to give you an update on my fundraising, the fact that we scored tickets to the next space shuttle launch, my wonderful Mother’s Day... But every night after dinner is cooked, and dishes are done, showers taken, homework checked, teeth brushed, prayers said, goodnight kisses bestowed, lunches made, and the next day’s coffee is prepped, somehow I don’t have the energy to do anything more than brush my own teeth and crawl into bed.

But, as always seems to happen, just when I wish for down time to get some “me” stuff done, I always get it (but never in the way I plan). So, here I sit, in lots of pain, able to do nothing more than move the ice pack off my back when my skin goes numb, and reach for the remote – though several times even that was a little too much movement. I have caught up on all the episodes of Glee and Modern Family that I have missed in the last month. I got to watch the Today show, and even part of Ellen; I watched a bit of the local news but got tired of the hysteria over the teenager getting bitten by a rattlesnake and had to change the channel. Come on, people, we live in South Florida. Snakes, alligators, sharks, and mosquitoes that can carry off small children are all just part of the landscape. Add in the rabid raccoons, monster iguanas, brown recluse spiders, and man of war jellies and it’s a wonder that anyone survives down here.

So, back to the update... In spite of the back pain, I continue to be grateful for everything in my life. Sounds weird, right? A little too Pollyanna for you? I am, really. One of my resolutions this year was to remember to count my blessings. I have heard it said that when you commit to be grateful, you find so much to be grateful for. It’s not always easy, but I have found that even when my day stinks, I can find a reason to be grateful, a reason to feel blessed. And here are a few reasons why...

I have been so blessed to find a church home which is just that – home. I know in my heart that we were led to Advent by powers stronger than I could ever understand. The folks we have met there have become a part of our lives; our extended family. They have helped raise Isabella, teaching her lessons that I never could. We have sung, laughed, cried, and prayed together – sometimes all at once! Like all families, we don’t see eye to eye on everything. In fact, we disagree on some major issues. However, I have found that despite the bad press given to Christians and Christianity in general (a lot of which is unfortunately true), the overwhelming message I have received over and over here is that of God’s Amazing Love. Though a part of me believes I am far too liberal in my thinking to blend in there, I have allowed myself to bask in this love. In the last year, I have noticed a real change inside of me, a peace that never existed. I have made a commitment to speak sweeter, to love deeper, and to make a difference in the world. I am able to be accepting of situations that would have previously made me crazy, I no longer sweat the small stuff, and I trust that there is a plan for all of us; a plan we may never understand.

I am always grateful for good health; mine and that of all of my family and friends. The past few years have taught me that life and health is truly precious. I have lost friends and family far too early. I have watched friends struggle with cancer, and seen firsthand how it can tear a family apart. I continue to be amazed at the stregth and resilience of the families I have met since being involved with Team in Training.  During the run portion of St. Anthony’s Triathlon I saw many of the physically challenged athletes competing. Let me tell you, nothing is more humbling than seeing an athlete with a prosthetic leg hammering out a 10K run; a run that I (with two perfect legs) was struggling with. I wonder if I would have the drive and dedication to train and compete at that level if I were in the same situation.

I am so blessed with an amazing support system of friends and family. My friends and family showed up in droves for my recent fundraiser, and I am still humbled by their show of support.  My sister had a jewelry party at her house two weeks ago, and convinced the sales rep to donate a portion of the profits to Team in Training to help me out with my fundraising. Not only that, but she sold raffle tickets at the party to give away her hostess gifts and donated the proceeds to TNT. She did this for me, to help me out. I don't think she kept one piece of jewelry for herself.  I continue to be amazed at how lucky I am to be a part of my family. On Mother’s Day, I was given the day off, literally. After church, Ray dropped me and Isabella off at the beach where we hung out all day with my mom and several family members. With our toes in the sand, we did nothing all day besides people watch, build sand castles, float in the water and I may have drifted off to sleep for a while. When we were ready to leave, we drove back to Mom’s to eat a fabulous dinner that Ray had cooked in our honor.

I am so blessed to be a part of this particular Team in Training Team. We are made up of people from all different backgrounds, religions, races, family situations, political leanings, social status... Looking in from the outside, we have very little in common, and you’d wonder what the heck we would have to talk about. That’s a laugh! It seems like we never run out of things to talk about, we are always laughing together, and lifting each other up. Maybe it’s the endorphins from all the exercise? I have to tell you, spending time with these people is a true joy.

Here’s just one example: Last Friday night while riding in Clermont, FL with the Team, I was having a tough ride. The week previous had been a difficult one – tensions at work and at home had tested my commitment to be grateful over and over. I had managed to hold it together all week, but found that on the bike, I was struggling to keep up with the rest of the Team. Eventually I stopped trying, and decided to work some things out on the bike by myself. It was really no surprise to me that while replaying several conversations I had with important people in my life, the tears started flowing. One of my Teammates came back to check on me. I let him know that I was ok, but needed some time alone. He understood and gave me my space. So, I had a good cry on the bike while riding at 17mph – it was very cathartic. The time came when I wanted to stop feeling sad, but I wasn’t sure how. I asked aloud to the heavens to please help me feel better, and... I got a flat tire. “Oh, now how is this supposed to help?” I wondered aloud, and almost started crying again. Sure enough, within minutes, the rest of the Team had come back to check on me. I was surrounded by my friends, and two of the guys started play fighting over who was going to change my tire for me. Normally I’m a do it myowndamnself kind of person, but I decided to sit back and let them take care of me. We joked, laughed, slapped mosquitoes together, and actually found the tiny sliver of a shell stuck in my tire that had caused me to have three flats in three weeks. By the time we were back on the road, I felt 100% better. So, it’s true – God truly does work in mysterious ways.

And finally, that brings me to this week, and my little back episode. I called my doctor and got in to see him first thing. I paid my $20 co pay, walked out with two prescriptions in my hand, and headed to the pharmacy. The pharmacist took one look at the scripts and asked me if I was planning on waiting, since he could tell I was in pain. I decided it was less painful to stand around and wait for nearly an hour than to drive home, only to have to struggle back up off the couch, into the car, and back to the pharmacy later. So I waited. Let me tell you, if you ever want to feel grateful for your problems, sit at the pharmacy counter for a little while. While I sat there, I met a young man who was picking up his meds for kidney disease – even with insurance he was paying $4000 a month for life saving medicine. I watched several elderly people have to decide which medications to pick up this time, because they couldn’t afford all their prescriptions this week. I watched others ask the pharmacist if he could only give them a few pills to get them through until they got paid. The pharmacist knew several people by name - I assume it is because they are there all the time. I saw a man with his whole leg bandaged up, another so skinny and bald, I could only assume the worst. By the time he called my name, and apologized for the wait, I had counted my blessings so many times I wanted to skip out of there (of course I couldn’t, not today). I almost kissed him as I handed over my $20 co pay, and took my meds home.

So, my friends, take the time to count your blessings. Don’t sweat the small stuff, and above all, be grateful for your problems, because they are yours and not someone else’s.

We're headed to Melbourne, FL tomorrow morning to visit the Kennedy Space Center, and spend the night at a hotel on the beach.  We'll be back at the KSC at 5:00 AM on Monday morning to witness the final launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour.  Fingers crossed for a successful launch!

Here's a few pictures from my weekend ride in Clermont, FL:



My hero! (He had no idea)

   


Struggling up Sugarloaf Mountain...

 

Whew!

This past weekend, I competed in St. Anthony's Triathlon in St. Petersburg, FL. This is known as a 51.5 race (1.5Km swim, 40Km bike, 10Km run), or for those of us not on the metric system, roughly a mile swim, 25 mile bike, and a 6.2 mile run. This is the same distance triathlon run in the summer olympics.  And, the same distance I competed in last year at The Nation's Triathlon.  However, I was totally freaking out about the race in the week leading up to it.  Seriously, we're talking nightmares, nausea, inability to focus on ANYTHING... you name it - I was a wreck!  I'm not sure why I was so freaked out about it.  I've done the distance before (lots of times), I was well-supported, I am clearly in better shape now than I was last time I did this distance. I really have no idea why I tortured myself.  Or, why I continue to torture myself by signing up for these events. 

My good friend and teammate, Andi, sums it up best on her blog... we do it, because we CAN! 

I guess I have officially drank the TNT Kool-Aid (you think?).
I did not officially participate with Team in Training for this event, but I drove over with a friend who was on the Team, I stayed with folks on the Team, and, of course, I had to wear my Team colors (gotta represent).  There is something so cool about putting on the purple and teal tri suit in the morning, and knowing you will be wearing the same colors as hundreds of other folks out there.  Plus, wearing your TNT tri suit guarantees lots of cheering and cowbells, and shouts of "Go Team!" to keep you inspired as you race.

As usual, most of my butterflies went away on the morning of the event, and I was pretty focused.  While shivering in the pre-dawn darkness, I chatted with other TNT folks from around the country.  I met teammates from New York, Ohio, Connecticut, Atlanta, Washington DC... all over the place! They all had one thing in common (and it's not what you think) - they had NEVER trained in open water before. 
Never. 
All their swim training was in a pool.  Which kind of makes sense - I mean, where are you going to find a body of water in Ohio in February to swim in?  Another thing... most of their bike training was in a gym, on a spin bike.  Once I realized this, that very last butterfly flew away.  I am so happy to live in Florida - now more than ever.

So... how was the race?
It  Was  Fun!

Did I set any course records? Not even close. I didn't even place in the top ten of my age group (more like the top 100 of my age group).

What was cool about this race is that because it is very early in the triathlon season, a lot of big name professional triathletes come to get their feet wet here. These are folks I read about in Triathlete magazine, the ones who do this full-time, the ones who actually get paid to compete.  I didn't get to meet any of them, but still.  The race start was at 6:50 AM, but because they have to space out the 3000 or so competitors, I got to watch the pros do the swim portion of the race while waiting around for my scheduled start time (7:55 AM).

They were so fast!

Seriously, they were leaving actual wakes in the water behind them as they swam, like small sleek motorboats. Then, when they got out of the water to run to their bikes in the transition area, they didn't even look winded and were literally SPRINTING past us, barefoot, on cement, to get to their bikes. Once arriving at their bikes, they slapped on bike helmets and sprinted (barefoot, again) out of the transition area, made these graceful flying leaps onto their bikes and started pedaling like mad, while putting their bare feet into the bike shoes which were already attached to their bikes.

It was awesome! These folks are like superheros. Of course, they ARE profesional triathletes, meaning this is their job. They are paid well to perform at superhero levels by companies that make bikes, and shoes, and helmets, and performance wear to make other people (like me) want to buy their stuff so we can pretend we are just as fast - ha ha!

My portion of the race started an hour later.

I did not leave a wake behind me in the water, I jogged to my bike, I put on my bike shoes (one at a time), and had to stop to get my feet clipped in before pedaling off. No graceful flying leaps for me!

I guess I should mention that on the morning of the race, the race officials moved and shortened the swim course.  The wind was blowing 15-20 mph and the original swim course was deemed too choppy to be safe.  So they moved us about 1/2 mile away into more of a secluded cove, and shortened the course by about a third of the length (1000 meters instead of 1500).

I'm all for a safer (and shorter) swim, but the only problem was now once we got out of the water, we had to run barefoot on cement for nearly 1/2 a mile to get to our bikes.  My poor little piggies were going whee-whee-whee all the way to my bike (actually it was more like ow-ow-ow!).

While on the bike course I noticed a camera crew was following a competitor on his bike. They had a fancy motorcycle rigged up to support a cameraman and another crew member and were focused very closely on someone who seemed to be having a tough time on the bike (it was very windy). I saw them later on the run course as well. I figured that it was a local celebrity running the race; maybe a weatherman or something.

I heard a rumor later that it was a camera crew from TV's The Biggest Loser following one of the competitors on the show. I biked past them at one point, so I'll have to watch the episode whenever it comes on - maybe I'll be in the shot! I don't watch the show, so I'll have to do some poking around on the web to see if it was really true.

In any case, I finished strong and happy and that's all I can ask of my body. A good friend of mine wished me well on my Facebook page the night before the race.

She told me, "I know you will do well. Remember to have fun, smile, enjoy God's beauty, the sunshine, the wind in your face, the way your body works, your friends cheering you on, everything in creation."

I did.

Click here to see official photos of me in last month's race at the FAU Wellness Triathlon. 
And here to see photos of me at St. Anthony's Triathlon.  (I'm smiling in a few of them)  There are several which are clearly not me - I'm sure you will figure it out!