FROM CHICAGOLAND---

With all the political hoopla going on with our ******* Governor, this seemed to be a fitting thought. I have seen the Senate seat up for grabs on Ebay!

Waddling in the state of Illinois..............

I have never known a Christmas season that has not been hectic for me. What is amazing is that this year has been as busy as ever and I have nothing done for the holidays. I have no tree, decorations, cookies, or even presents.

Every aspect of my life has been crazy busy. Work is out of control. We have started doing several new treatment procedures in our radiaton oncology department. One is stereotactic radiosurgery to the brain and the other is a new mammosite treatment to the breast. It is awesome that the number of these procedures that we do is increasing but it seems like my stress level has increased proportionally.

Hooch is doing better after being in an Auto accident las month. We are so glad that she was safe but she is still having lots of pain and having difficulty making it through a day at school. She started physical therapy today. I hope this will releive some of her stiffness.

Hubby is hanging in there. His RSD has been very painful and I am concerned that it has traveled more up his leg. He had another nerve block this week and did get several days of relief from the continuous pain and burning. The plan is to put a neurostimulator in his spine to help control the pain. We are due to have the temporary one put in soon hopefully.

Training has been on the low side this week. Lack of motivation was not a problem but time and energy were. I hope to get some good workouts in this weekend.

Waddling toward the weeks end.........................

COFFEE WITH COACH

Tonight after work, it was a meeting of the minds to discuss Ironman training. Tri-Sharkie, Coach Steve ,and I got together at Panera. I felt like we covered alot of topics in a short time and gained alot of information about the journey ahead.

First and most importantly, Coach said a discussion is very important with spouse/boyfriend. This discussion should cover the time involved and the commitment ahead. Most weekends through the summer and fall will involve long runs and long rides-so both mornings will be shot. Even when going early this will have a huge affect on your life.

We talked about different plans and training thoughts. Tri-Sharkie is looking at a training plan by Endurance Nation. I am looking at a plan by Don Fink-"Be Iron-Fit". It seems like they are alot different but I think we will still get alot of training together.

Another concern is nutrition. I think I lucked out and did well in my half-iron. I know that this is an area that will have to be solid going into the full. At Beach2BAttleship, they have Hammer products on the course. So my plan is to see how they agree with me. I also want to try their Perpetuem.

I feel like there will be many discussions ahead of us and it will be an enjoyable journey. On parting, I asked coach if the morning swim workout was going to be easy and he just chuckled as he walked to his car.

Waddling to rest up for training...............

The weather forecast on Saturday was calling for sub 10 degree temps on Sunday morning. My plan was to meet Snips for a 6 miler. I was aliitle nervous about the distance because I hadn't been running much. The temperature made my decision for me. It would be a Master's Swim day.

When I woke, the chill in the house made me want to pull up the covers and go back to sleep. I had already cancelled my run so I knew I had to go to swim. The thought of jumping in the cool water in the pool was flipping my stomach. I did get up and go and had a great workout.

Today is my mom's birthday. Pearl Harbor happened on her 21st birthday. She passed away 17 years ago. She loved Hooch so much. I will never forget the 2 of them on Hooch's first birthday. She never knew about Bino. He would have given her a run for the money. Dad still misses her alot also.

Waddling on a winter day..........................

THE SUCK ZONE

No this is not "TWISTER" !

Today at spin class, I had one goal which was to stay in zone 2 with my heart rate. This is extremely hard for me to do. I start listening to the music, competing with my neighbor, or just get caught up with the instructors enthusiasm. For my winter training, I want base build and stay in zone 2.

The 15 minutes went well. A friend was in front of me who has just done IMAZ and she was working really hard. Next the music began to rock out. Then the instructor walked around the room to pump us up. Before I knew it, I was in the suck zone. I was sucked right into zone 3 and 4. I pulled myself back several times. It is a challenge to stay in zone 2!

Waddling out of the suck zone................

What a story....

Check out Iron Snoopy and her story of IMAZ. I don't want to give it away.

I haven't set the world on fire with my training this week. I was reading a training book today and realized what my problem and frustration is. It is hard to explain though. I have been skipping workouts because I feel if I can only to a short one why bother. Not making any sense ---but I understand I need to drop my expectation of myself and accept where I am at.

Waddling into the weekend.............

THE JOURNEY BEGINS.....

December 1 is when the journey began. I got up early with an anxious feeling in my stomach. Today was the day that I intended to sign up for an Iron-Distance Race. The registration opened at 7am (my time). I was logged in to the event website by 6:15am. At 6:24 am, I checked the site and saw that registration had opened. I immediately grabbed my phone and called Tri-Sharkie. She was up also. I grabbed my credit card and within minutes I was signed up.

I called Tri-Sharkie back and she was also signed up for her first Iron. Her words to me were-"What did we just do?". We both were silent with a nervousness about the training ahead.

This month, I have several goals and groundwork to lay before official Iron training begins.

1. Start taking off several some weight to get to a loss of 15-20 lbs.
2. Weekly begin averaging 5-6 hours of training
3. Improve nutrition starting with drinking alot more water daily.
4. Keep training in heart rate zone 2

Tonight, I was at the gym and the dreadmill and realized how much work was ahead of me. I felt like I weighed one ton. My heart rate went up into zone 3 quickly and several time I had to walk to drop it down. I was glad when my 30 min. were completed.

Here we go---I am on my way!

Waddling to the start at the Beach.............