Couch to ATHLETE!

Have you ever had eye problems? My dad is blind without his glasses. With his glasses he can see well enough to have a 'normal' sighted life. I'd say he is pretty lucky. I used to have debates with people about which sense I would be most willing to give up. I feel like I have mostly swayed on the side of willing to give up my eye sight prior to my hearing. Not sure how I feel about this today. This weekend, while having lunch with my mom, I noticed a table of individuals sitting across the restaurant who all appeared to be deaf. I was then intrigued with the idea that perhaps not being able to hear would be better. I mean, with the loss of hearing, you can still carry on conversations with your friends who know sign language. All of this has made me think more in depth about Helen Keller. What an experience she must have had; no sight or hearing. She never had the option of the hypothetical/philosophical debate that I have so often dragged people through.  Than...

Is it possible to have the best and worst time all at the same time? I am here to tell you it is... This summer has been a challenge. I received information that has changed how I think about things and has explained why my athletic goals have been more challenging to achieve. I allowed it to get me down for a short period of time but during that time I also learned a heck of a lot about myself and my relationships. I can often be heard talking about the fact that I am a relationship person, after all I have also been heard stating that I should change the name of my blog to the social athlete. But what I have realized in all of this is that relationships are a priority it my life, and those relationships are what have made this shitty summer the BEST summer of my life. As I was learning how to deal with this new information, I have been blessed with the growth and development of some new and existing friendships. I have literally had the best time of my life this summer and know ...

It is no secret, for those who know me, that I have been furloughed for the last few of weeks. There was nothing I could do about the situation other than watch the news so rather than sit around contemplating the furlough I turned it into a time to get stuff done. The list of activities includes: 5 Doctor appointments Several runs 2 Illinois State Parks 2 Bushels of apples = 12 jars blueberry applesauce, 5 quarts apple pie filling, a few dozen jars applesauce 14 hours of volunteering for the Chicago Marathon 2 Shopping trips for work clothes (anticipating a return to that place) Washed floors New vent covers 9 Hats made The start of an afghan A 7 year old's swim meet Visit to a store that has a tag line: It's not just a store, it's an adventure Hanging out with my buddy from DC A ton of TV (next time this happens, I really hope it isn't premier week again...) Two bike rides A trip to the dump Two days of being sick Won 160 dollars Some quality ti...

But I didn't... This is what I did instead!!! Our stack of cups! This post is not to diminish what marathoners do... If anyone knows what it takes to run a marathon, I can tell you I am an expert. Well sort of. Being a slow marathoner, I can tell you the six plus hours I spent on my feet running my first marathon (I'm still saying first, meaning there must be another in me) was no easy feat. Two years ago I ran Columbus and I still felt the need to be part of another race even though I am in no shape to run one these days, nor do I want to. What I did instead is got suckered into about 14 hours of volunteering at the Chicago Marathon Expo and at a water station during the race. My good friend Ericc (who volunteered over 30 hours this weekend in support of the Chicago Marathon) called me up and asked me if I was going to be in town this weekend. I didn't have plans of it but when he told me he was volunteering and told me I should too, I quickly signed up. Janell ...

When at a loss for what to blog about, a story presents itself... I am going to start taking pictures of the ice cream treats I indulge in on Sundays. I mean I chronicle the rest of my athletic life so why not also chronicle the treats I get to eat because of the exercise I do? No seriously, one of my favorite days of the week is Sunday. I wake up, lay in bed until 8:00 (of course after Dukie goes out), I go for a bike ride, eat some weird lunch and then get ice cream. That basically sums up most of my Sundays.  Today was no different, I headed over to my friend's house to pick her up for our weekly bike ride and noticed I had a flat tire on my bike. We drove to the trail head, changed my tube and off we went for one of the most beautiful rides we have gone on (in my opinion). When we got to the turn around point, I noticed I had a flat again. I think these tires have a conspiracy against me!!!!!! Anyway, changed the tube again and quickly realized that the rest of this...