I'm Back...Well, Sort of

It's been a while I know, but I thought I'd post an update on what's been happening in my life. Three seasons have come and gone (almost) since my last post. I'll try to keep this relatively brief.

In a nutshell, I had a tough winter. I tried really hard to drop some weight--it didn't happen, and I'm really not sure why. Age, menopause, change of metabolism, not sure. I decided, for many reasons, not to race this season. I think it was a good decision. I had a good June, but had to stop running for most of July and all of August. I just started again, and I now know I will have to limit how much/far I run. But that's OK. The stairs and eliptical are OK for aerobic fitness, but nothing can replace the feeling of a good run--even if it is on the treadmill.

Lots of hours doing core and strength work hopefully have paid off. Maybe not in appearance, but in some ways I feel stronger than in the past. I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that I'm not in my 30's or 40's anymore, and I should be very grateful I can to as much as I can. Being a type A personality, however, I've always been really hard on myself and never seem to be happy with where I am physically. Always a work in progress.

I have put in a lot of miles on my bike this summer--more than ever before! And I just love it. Knowing I can ride whenever I want, whatever distance I feel like has been an amazing feeling. It's been warm and windy, but it sure beats cold and windy!

My kids are amazing. Melissa had a tough year in gymnastics--a couple injuries, major growth spurt, and moving up to the optional level made for some big changes. This will probably be her last year in club gymnastics. Bolingbrook HS does not have a team, and I would like to see her get more involved with school activities, which would be very hard with the practice schedule the team has. She turned 13 in August--an amazing young lady with a great heart and lots of spirit, in a very quiet package.

Ryan just started his Junior year at Bolingbrook High School. He had an amazing Sophomore year. He was inducted into the National Honor Society and received the award for Outstanding Honors Chemistry student for the year! I can't believe he will be 17 in October. He's not crazy about driving and is still working on getting his 50 hours of practice. We're not a hurry for him to drive. He wasn't able to find a job this summer, but kept busy with volunteer work and helping his mom around the house. This will be a tough year for him in school--two AP classes and two honor classes--but we know he'll do his very best and we are soooo proud of him.

I'm happy to say that many of my "tri" friends had/are having amazing racing seasons. They are an inspiration and have worked to hard to get to where they are. Several still have their "A" races coming up. Good luck to all of you!

I'm not looking forward to the cold weather.....I really would like to move someday to a warm, dry climate. But....I'll do my best to make it through another Chicago winter.

That's all for now--will try to post more often, maybe once a week or so, depending on what's happening in my life.

Have a blessed day and God bless!