Be DQ'ed and still PR and smile

In 2013, I raced the Rev 3 Cedar Point half with a majorly bad attitude. I had PR’ed every race that season and went into this race believing that if I didn’t PR, it wasn’t a valuable race. Well, that race was drastically changed from the moment it began. The swim was moved from the shores of Lake Erie, over to the west bay of Cedar Point due to dangerous swells in the Lake, which equated to an extra .25 mile run from the swim to the transition area which I wasn’t prepared to run…...in sandals! With crazy headwind on the bike as well, I finished in a decent time, but NOT what I had prepped in my mind to race and thus at the finish line I emotionally collapsed. I wasn’t able to appreciate all that I had done and wasn’t able to celebrate the accomplishments of my peers. That day my coach held my crying face in her hands and said, “Amy if you expect to PR every race you run, you will NEVER last in this sport. You need to find the things that went WELL today.” Those words have run in my head ever since.

Just Tri gang for dinner! Early bird special! :)

Fast forward to September 7, 2014. It’s time for Rev 3 again and I'm racing the half distance….again. I went into this race obviously wanting to “race” it but also knowing it was meant to be a BIG training day for THE big day…..meaning IMAZ on November 16. The winds are always mighty at Cedar Point so I knew that going into it. The day before the race I got my race number, #343, checked in my faithful steed Killer (all pumped up with her new hydration system and fine tune up) and racked her for the night. I met up with some Just Tri peeps for dinner at TGI Fridays’ (always a fine establishment) and crashed at the hotel with Iron Ann and my family friend Jackie who was doing the half aquabike for the night. After some cursing at the standings in the Big 10, we went to bed.

Love the tri suit, thanks Wendy!!!

Race morning wasn’t super early as Rev 3 doesn’t start the half waves until at least 8:20am. My wave was set to leave at 8:45 and since the park isn’t open to the public until 11am, parking was awesome and aplenty.  I got all set up in transition and gave my pep talk to Killer, then made it down to the beach. The waves were huge and fast. The water was warm thankfully, but did I mention the waves were super big? I tried to let it out of my mind….had to get in anyway, right? Met up with some Balanced Tri/MIT gals and kept my cool for a while. Then it was time to line up. Peed in my wetsuit on the beach. That warmed things up a bit! Then we waded into the water before the siren went off. So far I was still good, but getting a bit nervous about the swells. They were big and often. My friend Nichole who was in my wave mentioned to me “I swear it wasn’t this bad on the warm up Amy.” Haha, yeah, ok Nichole. This was getting a bit scary.

My spot :)

The siren went off and I charged the waves. And lost. It was the most challenging .25 mile swim of my life. After hitting the second “sighting” buoy, I felt myself pulled underwater (slightly) by some current and lost my orientation of where I was and what I was doing. When I surfaced later, it had been at least 10 seconds and I was gasping for air and choking. The jet ski came up to my side and ordered me to hang on. I assumed this was for safety and to let me catch my breath. Sooner than I realized I was pulled onto the jet ski and we were headed for shore. I wasn’t fully sure what was happening but I started to realize my day was over. “No,” I thought. “I can’t be done!” When I reached shore, this guy named Eric came up and saw my number and whispered those fateful words: “I’ve got a DQ on #343.” Ouch. Punched in the gut. Eric then turned to me and said, “do you still want to do the bike and run?” “Really?” I thought. “I can still do that?” I said to him. “Yep, you’ve trained hard for today. You can still do the rest if you want.” “Ok,” I said. “I’ll finish.” He called someone on his radio to let them know I was continuing and I made the sobering walk to the swim exit to find my bike and continue.

On the way down the beach I wondered if I really deserved to continue. Should I keep going or just call it a day? I patted 2 other guys on the back who were making the same walk of shame…..it was sad and hard and humbling to not be out in the water with the rest. Whatever the circumstance, as an athlete your mind always starts to think what you could have done to prevent whatever happened.  I decided I HAD to continue….I had paid too much money and had come too far to throw away this training day. I was indeed going to find the things that went well today and celebrate THOSE things rather than my DQ on the swim.

I made my way up the swim exit and signaled to Iron Ann that I was out. Poor thing probably didn’t understand what was happening! After fully utilizing the wetsuit strippers (LOVE THEM! EVERY RACE SHOULD HAVE THEM!), I was off on Killer and we were going to have a run ride, no matter what.  I decided I’d congratulate every full Iron athlete I saw and I’d encourage everyone I could. I’d make this a good day, no matter what! I utilized my new hydration system and found that I loved it. In the end, I smiled at a ton of volunteers, and I finished with a PR on the bike for the half distance, FINALLY getting under 3 hours. And I didn’t cheat, didn’t draft and didn’t quit.

Origninally I had thought I’d only run a few miles off the bike….this was of course when I was walking on the beach after my swim defeat. I knew I had to run the full 13.1 miles and I set out to do it…...started out at a good clip and kept on my nutrition and hydration plan which worked wonderfully. My only downfall: forgetting sunscreen. The temps weren’t that bad but the sun was relentless and we were in full sun for a LOT of the time. I’m fair skinned and that didn’t set well with my poor, white-girl complex. I could feel myself turning pink and wishing I hadn’t made such a rookie mistake!

Seeing Iron Ann and Randy around mile 7-8 helped. Ann ran with me for a bit and I filled her in on the mishap of the swim. She told me my coach had called her and ordered me to finish the day. Yes ma’am! There was obviously no other options!

I rounded the corner to the last 2 miles of the run and kept going strong. It was a slog, as I could feel myself chafing a bit under my left arm and the sunburn was increasing. But I kept going and rounded the familiar turn to the finish. The announcer butchered my name and I crossed the finish in the best “thank-god-i’m-done-you-have-no-clue-how-much-of-a-day-this-was-for-me-mentally/physically/emotionally” kind of pose I could muster. That cool towel on my back by that lovely volunteer meant everything.

Here I come!!!

I was offered a medal and finisher visor and I took it….ultimately not because I truly finished the ENTIRE race, but more beauce I finished MY race….my mental “not going to give in the towel, especially this week/season” race. And that’s something I’m very proud of doing.

This would have been an easy day to quit and make up some excuse to tell everyone why it went wrong, etc. But that’s all Fear-Based Amy and she didn’t get a role today. Badass Brave Amy got to race today, and she’s the gal who will toe the line at IMAZ. Today was a great training day and I can tell you many things that went right if you ever are curious….I took in EVERY grateful detail of the day which I honestly can say did NOT happen last year.

Be DQ’ed AND still PR AND smile. Be Brave.

Be Merging

My last big race before IMAZ is almost here….Sunday morning will be the Rev 3 Cedar Point Half Rev (a half Iron distance triathlon) up in Sandusky, Ohio. I'm looking forward to attacking this course with a better attitude than I had last year……..

Last year I went into this race negatively and it spiraled from that point. The swim start had been changed which meant all racers now needed to add a .25 mile run from the swim exit to the transition area…and guess who didn't bring a spare pair of running shoes? Yep, that "run" across the Cedar Point parking lot sealed my fate. The bike was incredibly windy, which is actually why the swim was moved. The wind that year was so crazy that the waves in Lake Erie made the original swim there too dangerous. The run wasn't horrible, but by that point I had been struggling for so much with the negative thoughts that I never really enjoyed it. My overall finish time wasn't horrible, but I had gone into this race believing I SHOULD get a PR, because that's what I wanted……period. When that didn't happen I was crushed. Looking back though I'm glad that happened…..yep, I'm GLAD I DIDN'T GET A PR. Wow, can't believe I said that.

I learned in that race that if I ever expect to stay in endurance sports for the rest of my life, I can't get hung up on time goals that I don't meet. If time is the only thing that matters, my enjoyment of marathons and triathlons will die very soon. Last year my coach really challenged me to think about all the things that went WELL in the race and focus also on the things I wanted to improve for the next time. Each race comes with its own set of rewards and challenges, depending on the day and the circumstances in our life at any given time.

Rev 3 2013: me and my badass tats! :)

So this time around I'm focusing on the process instead of the end result. I want to focus on the process of being in each discipline and grateful for the things that go well even if the swim is moved, the wind is crazy and the run is just monotonous. Even still, there are plenty of things to learn.  I'm going into this race coming off some VERY emotionally charged weeks, some crazy events at work and a heavy heart for a multitude of reasons. I plan to be kind to myself while also pushing for a great training day. I want to smile and really "play" up there this weekend, enjoying the gift of splashing in the water, riding a bike and wearing a funny helmet and running the streets of downtown Sandusky.

And plus, with the recent announcement of the merger of the Rev 3 company and the Challenge company, this will be the LAST Rev 3 Cedar Point race in history………so why not celebrate?

71 days to IMAZ.

Be Merging. Be Brave.

Be Catchin': IMKY Part 2

The night before IMKY this year it poured. Hard. All those bikes were racked and ready to go on the great lawn by the Ohio river for the next morning and they were getting soaked. Made me hope that the transition bags were tied up tight for everyone the next morning. By race morning the rain had stopped and it actually felt a bit cooler than the previous day’s humidity (although it’s Kentucky and the humidity always returns). I woke up early at Julie’s house to make it down to the race start and see my friends off as the race started.

As I arrived down at the swim start it was about 6:30am and the race was set to begin at 7am. My mind got flooded with memories of my own start in that same line 2 years ago. The IMKY swim is usually never wetsuit legal and this morning the temp in the water was 79 degrees, so again no wetsuit. As I stood in that same line and the gun went off, we were let into the water two people at a time and my heart was pounding, my hands were literally shaking. This was the start of what would be a very long day, something I had spent months preparing myself to begin.

IMKY Swim Start

I found my teammates and some others I knew were racing, along with my coach who would be vying for a spot in Kona. There were a lot of us down there to cheer the Columbus triathlon peeps on and it was fun to be around all that excitement. I snapped a few pictures of the scene and once everyone was in the water I made my way around to the start of the bike course to see folks off. EVERYONE had amazing swim times this year! Not only are folks good swimmers but the current in the water this year was stronger which helped tremendously! PR’s all around!

Just Tri selfie :)

The start of the IMKY bike course takes athletes out of downtown Louisville and out east of town around the city of LaGrange, KY. It’s a hilly and challenging course, with over 5000 feet of elevation change over the entire 112 miles. It’s the longest part of the day and spectating on a bike course is challenging if you don’t know who you’re looking for or if you’re doing something else while your athlete goes by! My poor parents missed me twice on the bike course just because I flew by them on both loops! I got to see some of my friends out on the bike course and then decided to make my way back to Julie’s for my own 12 mile run before my volunteer shift that afternoon at the finish line!

12 miles in the Kentucky heat=rough! Julie managed to find the flattest 12 miles she could for me which meant there were still some serious hills to climb. Again, I was amazed by her athleticism. Like I mentioned in a previous post, she’s a runner and she seriously kicked my butt. Loved to have that time with her. We finished that run (miraculously for me) and grabbed lunch before I had to leave her again to get downtown to volunteer at the IMKY finish line. As you cross the finish line in any Ironman race, you are greeted by a “catcher” who makes sure you’re OK before you leave the finish line chute. It’s a really nice touch, especially after such a long day. I was scheduled to be a “finish line catcher” from about 2:30pm-7:30pm and I was excited! This meant I would be able to “catch” my friends who would finish in under 12 hours and that included my coach!

The finish line at IMKY is amazing and (thankfully) shaded. The temps were reaching in the upper 90’s by this time and the humidity was unreal. It was getting rough. The male and female lead winners were due in around 8-9 hours which was getting close. The lead male who won the race last year finished first and immediately collapsed. He was rushed away to the medical tent ASAP. Second place went to a guy who had been chasing first place for the last few miles of the marathon and almost caught him. I got to catch this guy, a pro athlete from Chicago named Thomas Gerlach. Really nice guy. First  place female went to an amazing 46 year old pro athlete named Nina Sharp. Just goes to show you that age is just a number!

Me and 2nd Place Male Thomas Gerlach, photo from Louisville Courier Journal

Catching the first couple of people who I knew, my buddies Bryan and Andy, was amazing! Super fun to receive them in the line and help them navigate the finish. They both had amazing races despite the heat! Next scheduled to finish was my coach Carrie and she was holding on tight to a second place finish in her age group which would mean a spot to Kona! As she neared the finish line I was right up there to grab her….she slowed down and did the infamous Blazeman roll across the finish line and I ran up to grab her off the ground. “You’re going to KONA!” I screamed at her….her reaction was priceless! “WHAT?!?” she screamed. And the rest was pure celebration. She hadn’t known where she was at in the finish line ranking for her age group and being able to share that moment with her was best part of my day. She worked hard for that slot and in some challenging conditions….it was H-O-T.

Carrie immediately told me she needed to get an IV in the med tent and so we made our way there from the finish line. As a volunteer I was able to get into the tent with her and get her set up for some much needed care and hydration. We got her IV in and some good chicken broth and protein into her and after about 10-15 minutes Carrie started to feel better. It’s crazy to say, but in those moments with her it was kind of nice to have her need ME. Does that make sense? I so often NEED Carrie, for a multitude of reasons. To have her need me with her in those moments, to talk to her while the IV was running, to get her into dry clothes, to text her family and advocate for her needs with the medical staff…...it was an honor and I was grateful for the chance to give back.

In the med tent :)

Feelin' better!!!

After getting Carrie all set and meeting up for some celebrations with the team, I made my way back to meet up with my friend Andy to bring his bike back to Columbus for him. I went down to transition and got his things, made it back to my car and began the long trip home. It was a crazy long day, but I was glad I went….glad I got to see such amazing victories at the finish line and grateful for a renewed sense of energy for my own upcoming IMAZ journey.  I think I’ll always feel a fondness for IMKY, being my first Ironman…..and who knows…..maybe one day I”ll be back. After all, it is in October in 2015. Should be MUCH cooler!

Be Catchin’. Be Brave.

Be Inspiring: IMKY Part 1

Back in July of 2012 when I was training for Ironman Louisville, I took a trip down to Louisville to ride the Ironman bike course with my training buddy Tim. This local guy named Bob set up these weekend rides on the actual course all summer long and would recruit his friends and others he knew to set up aid stations along the way! This was definitely worth the drive down, just to be able to ride the course and be a bit more prepared on the day of the actual race. On that day we met up with other riders who were training for IMKY, one of which was Julie Farman. Julie and I hit it off right away….she has an amazing personality, a warm smile and she’s fierce…..this girl had done IMKY 5 times…...FIVE.TIMES. Crazy.  She was one of the swimmers who bumped into the athlete who had a heart attack and sadly died during IMKY in 2011. Julie and others formed a call around this man to protect him until he was able to be removed from the water and the race could continue.

July 2012: Tim and I take on the IMKY bike course

Since that time we’ve stayed in touch. I love the people that IM has brought into my life. Julie and I have been meaning to meet up and finally the time had come! I was volunteering as a finish line catcher for Ironman Louisville the next day and so I drove down on Saturday to spend the night with Julie, catch up with her and be ready to go on Sunday afternoon. I was super excited to see her again!

Julie and her pup Zeus

We share a love of good wine :)

Zeus can keep up with Julie and run with her for 20 miles! 

Julie’s story is pretty remarkable. She was born in South Africa and grew up in France until age 14 when her family moved to Louisville. Julie became a French teacher and coaches cross country and track teams. Like me, she was a runner before getting into triathlons. She met her husband Michael and he signed her up for her first sprint triathlon. They were active and shared a love of travel.

Julie got a call one day at work from Michael’s brother who was at the hospital. She was told to come quickly and by the time she reached the hospital, Michael had died of a heart attack. It was so completely out of no where and sudden. He was a healthy guy and there were no symptoms of concern in the days leading up to his death. Suddenly Julie was widowed and only in her 30’s. Tragic. Julie recalls the day like it was yesterday.

Time passed but Julie never really processed everything that she had just went through. She went back to work and pushed ahead. And suddenly one day she broke and the floodgates opened. The shock wore off. Julie grieved and she grieved hard. The summer I met her was the first year she had started to feel as though the pieces were coming back together and she was moving forward.

Triathlon is a big deal for all of us who challenge ourselves to go the distance. We do it for a lot of reasons, some of which are deeply personal.  

Julie is one of those women who inspire me to greatness. She’s been through more pain and sorrow than I can even imagine. She’s traveled the world, embraces life and continually challenges herself. She opens her heart and her home to a this random gal and I am beyond grateful for that hot, sticky, hilly ride back in July of 2012 when this amazing lady came into my life.

Be Inspiring. Be Brave.

Be a Mingoman

Another nice thing about having a later “A” race this season (Ironman Arizona, November 16, 2014, 85 days….!!!), is that I’ve had the chance to participate in a lot of various hometown Olympic triathlons this summer. My last Olympic triathlon this year was the inaugural Mingoman Triathlon, a point-to-point race…..a .9 mile swim in Delaware Lake at Delaware State Park, then a 25 mile bike from the state park to downtown Delaware, then a 6.2 mile run around downtown Delaware. I’m not a super big fan of point to point races, it’s kind of challenging to have 2 different transition areas to set up, usually at the crack of dawn. But the Ross Tri-Fit Challenge was a point to point race and we were able to drop our bikes the night before. Not so with Mingoman which equated to a VERY early wake up on race morning!

Race morning I woke up at 3:45am and stumbled around pulling myself together. I need more time than usual “waking up” in the morning before races so the extra time helps. I got myself together and having packed up stuff the night before, I was pretty much ready to go. Left the house at 4:30am and made my way to transition #1, where I’d drop my bike and bike gear. I’ve never been to Delaware State Park and even if I had, it was so dark I had no clue where the lake was….so following the other cars arriving as early as me helped and I finally found T1. After finding my spot and arguing with the newbies around me about which way my bike was really supposed to face, I racked my bike and went back to my car to drive to downtown Delaware to set up T2. It was a straight shot, about 5 miles from the park and I found it easily. Parked and set up my T2 gear then parked my car and found the shuttle to get back up to the start of the race. The shuttle (school bus) finally got us back up to the start of the race and the sun started to peek out of the clouds.

I found some other Just Tri teammates who were racing and did my usual pre-race bathroom stop and pulled on the wetsuit. Being able to do more races this summer has made me more confident of my transition setups….I”m not spending tons of time agonizing over what I’ve got out and set up…..I know what I need and forget the rest of the fluff. The lake was pretty calm and the swim was a 2 loop rectangle course. My wave, Olympic women and relays were first. The amazing Tracy Hendershot (aka my swim coach) was racing so my #1 goal became: keep Tracy in your eyesight…...don’t let her get too far away, then you’ll know you’re doing well. This was tough….she’s one fast lady in the water, but I was able to keep an eye on her up until the end. Tracy got out of the water about 4 minutes before me because stupid me decided I’d try something new on race day…...BIG MISTAKE. I tried to take my wetsuit off in the water to save time in transition, but all I ended up doing was struggling in the water, going under a few times and embarrassing myself in front of the sprint wave that was trying to get into the water. Sigh. Live and learn. Amazingly enough I found out later that I got a PR in the swim….my fastest swim of all my Olympic races this summer: a SUB 30 min swim! Yay!

Another piece of good news…..my T1 time was the fastest I’ve had this summer too! Woot! I got my swim gear together and put it in my marked bag to meet me down at the finish and took off on my bike. After a few miles in the park we were out on the side berm of highway 23 north, a road I’ve driven MANY times to go back to Michigan. Was very strange to be riding right next to that traffic, but after we made the turn east the traffic cleared a bit. The bike was a big square and for some reason I never really found my “groove.” There was some headwinds as I turned south to get back down to Delaware and my end finish time on the bike wasn’t a PR, but it wasn’t awful. I’ve come to find out my fastest bike split back in June at Ross Tri Fit was mostly due to the fact that the course was downhill. Too bad they all can’t be like that!

After making my way into T2, I was greeted by some Just Tri teammates cheering me on and other familiar tri-faces! Katy Perry’s “Roar” was booming on the speakers and I was super pumped...the announcer noticed my Just Tri jersey and called me out by name…..a buddy of mine told him I was doing Ironman Arizona and he gave me another shout out. Surprisingly enough, my T2 time was the fastest I’ve ever had too! I was out and on the run!

Off to the run!

The run course was a 2 loop, 3.1 mile run and the first portion of the run was gradually uphill. I kept along at a good clip and thankfully there were about 3 water stops on the loop which meant good hydration for each loop. The sun had come out strong by this point and it was getting warm. After making it to the turnaround I was greeted by cheering teammates again and made the turn for the second loop. Tracy was ahead of me by a little bit and I never really caught back up to her. The good news about the uphill portion of the run course is that we got to run back down it on each loop. That second descent meant I was nearing the finish line and I couldn’t wait! I finished in about 2:42, which wasn’t a PR for me, but I was OK with that…..the smaller portions of the race including the swim AND run AND both T1/T2 were all PR times for me and that’s a win in my book.

Heading towards the finish!

Running it in!

I made my way through the crowd, got my medal and met up with teammates and other tri peeps, had some good food and drinks, cleared out my transition gear and hung out a bit with everyone...the weather had turned out to be perfect! When the results were posted, I was elated to see I had placed 2nd Overall Female in the Olympic Tri division! And of all the gals who beat me, I'm glad it was the amazing Tracy, by about 4 minutes!

Just Tri peeps!

Mingoman was a great race and despite the point to point obstacles, I had a good race. These smaller Olympic races over the summer have been challenging at times though...I”m learning that as someone who trains for longer distances (half-irons and Ironmans) it’s harder to do the small races which require a lot more speed. It’s like a perpetual marathoner racing a 5k. You can do it, but it’s different. Overall, I’ve love the chances to race more this summer….it’s given me confidence in the sport and a chance to really practice my transitions. I’m grateful and frankly kind of shocked with the results I’ve had.

Next up is the Rev 3 Cedar Point race….a half-iron distance race that promises strong waves in Lake Eric on the swim and noticeable winds on the 56 mile bike. The run course takes you out and around downtown before a finish right by the coasters of Cedar Point. I did this race last year and remember it well. It’s a good tune up race and will be my last before the big dog….IMAZ.

Killer is getting a lot of use this summer….just as it should be. And she’ll be ready. Hopefully I will be as well.

Be a Mingoman. Be Brave.

Be at 100 days

100 days..........

Be at 100 days. Be Brave

Be Ready for August

Sometimes you just need a month to be OVER. While July as a whole, wasn’t a horrible month, the last couple of weeks were a lot….on a lot of levels.

I’m trying my hardest to see life in shades of gray and not completely fall into a whining pattern when things get challenging day after day after day. One skill we try to teach some of our clients in my practice is that a way to help them handle their distress (which at times can feel unmanageable), is to encourage them to find some sort of meaning in their pain….this isn’t a “turn lemons into lemonade” type of therapy, it’s more of an exercise in helping clients see that everything isn’t always black and white. And obviously I need to be reminded of this at times too (ok, lots of times).

The last couple of weeks of July brought the following:

-saying “see you soon/not really goodbye” to some dear friends traveling abroad for months :(

-my colonoscopy bill from April (saves my life every time, but…...$$$)

-my car insurance company saying they weren’t letting me renew my insurance past the end of August due to a car accident I had in 2012 (nice, eh?)

-a letter from my condo association insisting I weed my yard and get my deck stained and painted (yeah it probably needs to be done…..but grr…..$$$)

-an unexpected air conditioning repair (major $$$)

-a painful dog bite (WTF? Ouch!) with prescription for antibiotics (thankfully no rabies vaccine needed)

-poison ivy rash w/visit to Urgent Care for much needed steroids ($)

-a visit from a national accreditation agency at work for 3 days (not a huge deal but made EVERYONE turn anxious for most of the month)

So needless to say I was ready for July to be done…..financially….et al.  But if you remember from an earlier blog post, I’ve been writing at least 3 things daily that I'm grateful for since the end of May, at our triathlon team’s annual Just Tri camp. This never stopped, even in those last challenging weeks of July, when I felt like I was bleeding money and hurting emotionally.

So a few gratitude tidbits from the last few weeks of July:

-grateful for technology and FaceTime (allows me to talk to my pals who are far away and I miss deeply)

-grateful friends who support and love me through a particularly challenging day in July (one Iron-sister told me to reframe my challenging day and make it something new….so I got a pedicure with sparkly polish!)

-grateful for Franklin County Animal Control who helped me file my complaint with the owners whose dog bit me

-grateful for my doctor who called in an antibiotic for me when I was bit without fail

-grateful for my superiors at work who affirmed my work with the accreditation agency

-grateful for wine :)

-grateful for actually feeling like I have a summer (my IM training will get intense here soon, but for now having a later IM has been nice….I get to hang out with peeps, attend socials, etc)

-grateful for a friend who let me house-sit while she was away for a while in July to earn extra $$$

-grateful for a realtor friend who set me up with a guy to stain my deck for a reasonable price

-grateful for urgent care clinics and health insurance...and for medical procedures that are a pain in the butt to do every 2 years (haha, pun intended), but actually do save my life every time

-grateful for an office colleague who kept me laughing during those 3 days of accreditation review at work….sometimes a laugh can make you feel less alone

-grateful for my roommate who was willing to pay rent in advance if I needed it for the unforeseen expenses

-grateful for a running buddy who did some landscaping for me in exchange for a race entry (gotta love bartering with runners!)

So obviously the blessings still outweigh the challenges...which is probably true for much of the time, even when it’s hard to see it through the pain.  I’m sure August will have it’s own challenges (in fact I KNOW it will), but even still there is much to be grateful about….and some days this is easier to see than others. Some days are just sarcasm and wine days.

Be Ready for August. Be Brave.