March 11, 2012

So sorry! It's not very nice of me to post a "dramatic" blurb about my mom's heart condition...and then never give an update. As it turns out, she has recovered beautifully. She received outstanding care from the surgical team at Concord (NH) Hospital. My family will always be indebted to them. Throughout the ordeal with my mom, I kept thinking about how nurses and doctors deserve every penny they earn. Nurses (like teachers) are not compensated well for what they do, but it doesn't stop them from working so hard every day. And my mom's heart surgeon...well...he should be a ba-jillionare (or some kind of "aire") when you consider how many lives he saves - every week, every day. The only day he doesn't perform life-saving surgery is Sunday - and when there is an emergency, he's there on Sunday, too. Incredible. Amazingly, her doctor also is such a likable, kind man.
Yes, the fall was quite a topsy-turvy time for my family, but we all made it through. I try to remember these lessons when I don't feel like going to swim practice or I want to sleep in on a Saturday morning. Being able to workout with my friends and my husband is a gift from God (or whoever you believe in). It's also a gift we give to ourselves. Some people call training for a triathlon "selfish"- and it is in a way. But it's also keeps me feeling alert, happy, and healthy.

Thanks & giving

What a month. And I don't mean that in a joyous way. 
I am lucky in that both my parents are alive and well - and basically just all-around awesome parents. They have always set extraordinary examples for me and my siblings on how to be kind & generous with others. Example: when I was in high school, my mom AND my dad (they are divorced) both took in teenagers who were having trouble with their families. Mind you, they already have five of their own children to look after - but they both graciously looked after young adults who needed help & support. Frankly, I'm not sure I always live up to their example, but I am going to try a little harder.
Anyway, my mom started to have some strange (and scary) physical symptoms this summer. She would suddenly feel absolutely terrible, sweat profusely, and then vomit. Of course, being a nurse practitioner, she did the logical thing: ignore the symptoms and keep them to herself. VERY bad idea, Mom!
Fast forward to September: she (finally) sent us (her children) an email where she briefly discussed her health concerns. She mentioned needing an angiogram, but made it seem like that was as common as getting a flu shot (umm...not quite). The ol' mother-daughter telepathy kicked in (sometimes we have that) and I sensed she was either not giving us the whole story or in denial about what was really doing on. Turns out, it was both scenarios. Again, not good.
I was able to get a few days off to fly up to see what was going on. After the angiogram, the doctor confirmed the worst. My mom had FIVE partially blocked arteries in her heart (3 of them were 80% blocked - including the one they call "the widow maker.")
Yup - my mom was going to need a quadruple bypass procedure - not the simple little stent that she thought would take care of her issues.
Thankfully, the surgical team @ Concord (NH) Hospital is just incredible. My mom made it through the bypass surgery with flying colors. She is now at home - resting & healing. She can't drive, can't lift anything yet, and is pretty fatigued. But, she is going to be with us to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. That's about all I could ask for.
Her experience has certainly made me think twice about what I eat, too. Suddenly, kale, spinach, beans, and carrots are looking really good. Take care of yourselves, my friends!

wishy washy...

Oh boy...you all may want to stop reading this blog. It's going to make you a little dizzy with my back and forth thought processes. Yup - that's right. I'm back to wanting to focus on just one big race next year. IMFL is what floats back into focus for me. And, let's be real here - what race I do really only matters to me. I don't think it's really a blip on anyone else's screen, with the exception of  Rick. The poor man  HAS to listen to me be all "wishy-washy" - it drives him up a wall. Sorry honey!

Maybe I can...

I had a conversation with a friend this morning @ the pool. It turns out she is every bit as crazy as me - maybe that's why I liked her from the moment I met her.  I admitted to her that I had also signed up for IMFL - and she did too! She's also doing that little race in Quebec. The fact that she has also signed up for 2 big races in 2012 gave me some kind of strange comfort. Misery loves company? Maybe I can do both....might as well try.

Back to the beginning

In 2007, I completed Ironman Florida. It was one of the most terrifying, exhilarating and memorable days of my life. I have often wished that I could go back there one day - and do that race one more time. Guess what? Wish granted! I (along with some super awesome people) signed up to take on IMFL one more time. I had sworn off long-distance races in light of my creaky knees. But, after consulting with the ever upbeat & optimistic team of Mark, Grandison & Cyndi, I was reminded that in the world of Ironman, "Anything is possible." My marathon time probably won't be anywhere near the time I had in '07, but that's okay with me. This will sound cliche, but I honestly feel lucky to be able to do the race at all. This time around, I am not terrified (at least not yet). I am just plain excited for this experience. By excited, I mean flat-out, Christmas morning excited. I don't particularly love the state of Florida, but I just love that race.
Apparently, a lot of other people love that race as it sold out in 16 minutes. Thank goodness I invested in an iPhone. Rick and I were driving home from Deltaville - basically in the middle of nowhere when it was time to sign up. My trusty iPhone did not fail me (seriously - how awesome is modern technology?) I could not believe how nervous I felt just signing up for darn race. Imagine my surprise when I actually got in? Wow.
So...what does this mean for that little race in Quebec I am also supposed to do? Well...my heart is 100% invested in IMFL. I'm not sure there is much room left in it for Quebec. I know that many of my crazy friends have successfully finished two Ironman races in one year. More power to them, I say. As for me, I think I'll stick to one 140.6 race per year. Does that make me sane?

Chile

So...my super-cool niece Annie is spending her fall semester in Chile. She is already there - and has a most awesome blog. I'm fairly certain that the comics are even created by her - she has been wildly imaginative since she was just a tiny person (she's still pretty tiny). Enjoy!http://bylandbyseatravels.tumblr.com/

Priorities

I used to be such a devoted blogger. How times have changed!
I am enjoying my first summer off....ever. I know that most people think teachers lead the life of leisure in the summer (and some do). But, until this (blessedly peaceful) summer, I either taught, worked in a summer camp or took grad school classes. To stay out of trouble, I will do a little teaching at the end of July. I'm working with teachers brand-spankin' new to the culture of independent schools. This should be interesting as we have to stay in dorm rooms - not really looking forward to that whole scene. Oh well - it's not forever, just 5 nights. I'm also (with a colleague) revamping my entire writing curriculum. My teaching buddy and I meet every other week to discuss and plan how to improve our approach to teaching the little ones writing skills. I will admit to being ambivalent to recent trends like No Child Left Behind (not sure that did one thing to help schools) but I am huge believer in teaching children how to read, write, and think critically (and I guess math skills are important, too). Our schools spend far too much time and money on testing kids - it makes me crazy.
Anyway....
I traveled with Rick (and half of the Richmond triathlon community) to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to cheer him on in his 9th Ironman race (and his second go-round @ that particular race). While he didn't have a great day (he was more than 2 hours slower than the last time he did CDA), he did finish the darn race. The weather was perfect for biking and running, but not so kind for swimming (way too cold!). We did stay in a completely fantastic house (with a large contingent of friends) that sat right on the lake and the run course. We could stroll into the quaint town of CDA from our house.  While it was kind of fun to have so many familiar faces doing the big race, it was also kind of strange. I had heard there were 50+ athletes in the race from Richmond. I'm not sure what unusual forces conspired to make CDA "the" race for Richmonders, but it was. Sometimes it felt like too many people were worrying about how they did compared to this person or that person. Whatever.  I'm all about the effort at doing something big/scary/difficult, the training sacrifices and breakthroughs - at simply trying. Just attempting (and hopefully finishing) an Ironman is huge. Sometimes people forget that. And for Pete's sake,
don't take yourselves too seriously, folks. That is almost as annoying as No Child Left Behind.
As for triathlons and me - I have a few short races on the calendar this summer. I'm really looking forward to traveling to NH at the end of August to do the Timberman sprint with Rick and my brother Matt. We'll be able to cheer on the cool chicks from Richmond doing the half IM the next day. Now that should be a fun weekend. Please note how we opted for the Saturday race so we can eat, drink and be merry on Saturday night. I think I have my priorities straight.