Couch to ATHLETE!

I have been very sporadic about posting this year. I'm trying to get back to my normal weekly posts, so I'll shoot for every other week for awhile, working my way back up to weekly. What drew me to the blog tonight? Well, a story of course. Let me start by sharing a story about my sister-in-law. Two years ago, a huge crowd of 'my people' came to Ohio to do an MS ride. One of the cool things about this ride is that they give all of the people who have MS a free bike jersey. Because of the expense of bike jerseys, I jump on the FREE in this instance. So, there were a lot of people riding with their I Ride with MS jersey during this ride, including myself. Quite honestly, I love the jersey not only because it is free, but also because of what it stands for. During the ride, it reminds riders why they are riding. It reminds riders that people who have MS want to continue to have the ability to ride long into the future. It also makes me proud to be able to say that I c...

Having a relationship with exercise is like having a relationship with an introvert; you should never expect them to invite you to the party... I liken this statement to something a wise woman told me recently; we teach people how to treat us. You know what sucks? When you really just want to be invited every once in awhile... I guess I haven't taught exercise how to treat/invite me? Anyway, I am a true extrovert, and so I'm going to always invite people to the party. The thing is, I don't want to over-invite, which is probably why I am selective about who I invite. I also don't want to have to beg people, or hear no all of the time. My family, one of my sister's in particular, has a reputation of being successful recruiters for athletic pursuits. There is a reason I like to exercise these days, and I can tell you it didn't begin by sheer personal will... but rather by being dragged kicking and screaming! Boy am I glad I crossed that first startin...

A Rubber Tree Forest  I can't tell you how many people have said to me, since I've been back from India, you mean rubber comes from a tree? Um, yeah... And then I get follow up questions: What do you mean rubber comes from trees? I mean, a rubber band is made from... uh, rubber? How do you get rubber out of a tree? I thought rubber was made from plastic, but you are telling me it is a plant? So, one of the many ways farmers make a living in India is by farming rubber. We were lucky enough to see the rubber making process from start to finish. I have posted pictures and the steps (that I remember) below! Step 1: Tap the tree. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of our host's family tapping the trees. I think I was too busy trying not to fall over from the heat. Basically, in this step, they carve out a spiral wedge in the tree and place a metal slide from the cut tree, which pours the sap into a metal bowl, that resembles cast iron. Picture of a tapp...

Our Bed for the Night Our trip in India included several flights around the country, countless hours in our vans, and an overnight train to a wedding. Since I have been back, people have asked me what my favorite moment was in India, probably expecting me to say seeing the Taj Mahal. While the Taj Mahal was spectacular, and certainly a highlight of the trip, the real response to the big question is that my favorite memory is of the 'train ride'. OK, so, let me be fully transparent here. I can't say that the sleeper car was my favorite experience, but I can say the experience will always be etched in my brain, and will be remembered as a great international adventure. So, while I was preparing for this trip, I paid close attention to our modes of transportation, and was knowledgeable about the weather. These two things are very important for a person who is traveling with special medication that needs to be refrigerated (but I'll leave that for another post). So...

The soundtrack from the van while we were driving around India: Person A: "Oh my, and ENTIRE family is on that bike..." Three people shout: "COW!!!!!!!!!"  Person B: "Look at that scenery." Three different people shout: "MONKEY!!!!!!" Person A then asks: "Do you have any aspirin." A combination of any three people shout: "DOG!!!!!!!!!!" Me: "How far is the next place?" And then another combination of people shout: "GOAT!!!!!!" And repeat... No seriously, repeat for 18 days... We all had an understanding that cows are holy in India, but it wasn't until we got there that we truly understood how holy the cow, and goat, and monkey and dog truly are... On the first day of our trip we encountered the first of the cows hanging out in the middle of the highway, while all of the cars gingerly snaked around the cow. In my mind, I thought it would make much mor...

Our first van I was messaging with one of my friends while in India, and to describe the driving I wrote this: '... Just crazy driving that has me praying for my life by the millisecond. You see the driving on TV and wonder if that is real? Well they are showing you the rated G version... Especially because I thought I lost my life about 100 times and woke up in driving hell, and then I saw Father's Cheshire cat grin and realized it was all just part of the adventure.' You may be laughing at the description above, but the reality is people endure this driving and traffic daily, just to get to work and make a living. What I learned while in India is that wide, well maintained roads, lane lines,enforced traffic laws, traffic lights, stop signs, parking spaces, etc. are all things that I have taken for granted, living in the United States.  When we arrived in India, our first outstanding driver picked us up from the airport at which point we learned that we w...

It has been a while since I have posted, but it is for good reason, I've been out of town for quite awhile. This vacation also meant that I have taken a break from my training schedule, which will need to begin with incredible intensity this weekend. Since I have taken a bit of an athletic break, I'm also going to take a break from my normal posts to share some stories from the Great India Adventure. As I get more into my half ironman training, I assure you I will get back to the norm, but for now I'm going to enjoy sharing my travel stories with my faithful readers. Since I can remember, I have always wanted to go to India. It has been on my bucket list, but always knew I wanted to go with a native of India, simply to temper some of my nervousness about traveling in a country with such a different culture than I am used to. The opportunity for this trip presented itself unexpectedly. My mom was planning to travel to India with her priest and several other parishione...