Was a great day of training!! Started w/ an amazingly tough Tri Swimming class-estimated 2450ish yards of mostly kicking drills in the pool; then a nap 
; then had to get a 5K in for World Running Day!! Rough run as my legs were tired from all of the swimming & despite the 60ish temps-there was a nice headwind. But, I was in shorts in mid November-I’ll take it!! About to have a cedar plank salmon dinner prepared by my cook/love <3
This is my goal-where I want to be on August 04, 2013…. Race-registered. Hotel-booked. Offseason training-planned & started… I feel so motivated & so positive about this!!
Taking a quick break @ work a couple of weeks ago I glanced @ my personal email & see a message from a friend & the subject line is a mutual friend’s name… I sense it isn’t good news-for the past few years we had been drifting (life getting in the way of what’s really important)…turns out the early stages of her disease were probably contributing to her withdrawing in the past year or so…& she is now diagnosed w/ a terminal condition & has been given approximately 3 months to live. Hospice has been called as the condition is not treatable…. I am devastated for Pam & for her family… Immediately the memories of years of fun times & triathlon come to mind…the tears are not far behind…
Endurance sports are very important to me, & had it not been for Pam I never would have started doing triathlons-let alone an IronMan. For years when asked why I did tris & why I was training for an IronMan my reply would be “I have a friend more than 10 yrs older than me/in her 50s-if she can do it I’m going to, too… Pam was there for me @ my 1st tri when the day before the event I had a panic attack in the water-she stayed with me & talked me through my fears. She didn’t see limits-finishing numbers marathons, tris, & long distance swimming events. Her energy & passion for endurance sports were awe inspiring & motivating.
Now she faces her biggest challenge-a life limiting illness for which there is no real treatment… Her sister says Pam is declining daily & has some really bad days where her memory if failing her… Her time I limited & the decline from this illness isn’t pretty… I feel so helpless,,,there is nothing I can do for my dear friend-I cant talk her through this one..she can’t outrun it…
I work with death & dying daily-it’s different when it’s a personal friend… Several people I know have been facing life challenges recently…death of parents, person illness, physical disability… I have seen a friend/fellow triathlete become challenged athlete & another recently die from complications of “minor procedure”. All good people…I find myself questioning “why?” a lot… I know life. Isn’t fair, but, things seem disproportionately out of sorts…Why??
It has been a rough few months since I started my new job @ the end of October-I have been battling all kinds of nasty colds/flus/viruses on & of for months & have done almost no training since I signed up for IronMan Florida 2012 back in November… So, now it all begins…no time to be sick-time to toughen up & make this happen…
My starting line-I currently weigh 205-still near my all time heaviest weight of 210 earlier this year??!! My working out has been nonexistent & I’m super frustrated that I have missed out on such a mild & beautiful winter/spring as I would have done most of my working out outside 
Oh well-what’s past is done & no sense dwelling on it…must keep moving forward & keep focusing on the goal…
My goal(s) for the year are:
in 139 days…as preparation for:
in 215 days…to get ready I’m working w/:
Chris Martino, Owner 
As my dad always says; “Plan the work & work the plan.” Best advice I ever got!!
Yesterday was day 1 of my working out…nothing too serious…just a little race on the Towpath:
We did the 5 mile option…it was a beautiful day on the Towpath-cool & crisp. Tonia & I walked the mostly flat course @ a rapid pace (shorter stride w/ faster turnover) & did better than we expected. My ankles felt good-no stiffness or swelling-& we felt @ the finish line that we could have gone farther @ the same rapid pace… Not a bad 1st day back
the view @ the turnaround…
a Great Lakes Brewing Co. The Wright Pils @ the end!!
Completely shifting gears…despite being off-and-on sick since I started…I STILL LOVE MY NEW JOB!! I can’t say enough about how connected I feel to the work I do!! I have to say that I truly didn’t realize how miserable I was in my previous job until I was out of there & into a career I truly feel a passion for..
This is a company I truly feel proud to say I work for…I don’t even mind working the occasional weekend 
Every day I am excited to go to work-even after a long & stressful day, I still feel motivated to go back the next day!! This is one area of my life where I really feel like I am doing what I am meant to do.
Hello World!! Today is the day I am finally getting my new “.me” blog site going!! I hope for this to be the site to capture my journeys in both my work & IronMan arenas. There are so many positive changes & opportunities in my life right now that I can’t wait to capture & share with you all!!
This is a process…bear with me