Chicken With No Head

I received a call tonight from a friend who became a friend only by chance.  She's really sweet & always made me laugh & I have no idea how I came to know this about her, but her brother was killed on 9/11.

September is always a rough time for many of my friends.  It's a time where I'm always left feeling like a chicken with my head cut off.  I never know what to do to give back for all the sacrifices that people made that day.  I've spent 11 years trying to think of ways to keep the memory alive of my friend who died that day & for my other friend that got out of the building.  It's hard & I keep it to myself & I spend time with my friends that survived that day, but I really always feel like I never do enough.

For years I didn't know what to do or where to go or how to celebrate the life of my friend who was killed.  It was a weird feeling, one that I never really share with many, because I always felt that there were so many others who suffered much more than I did.  I jumped at the chance to become a 9/11 Memorial volunteer because it gave me the chance to be close to Jerry & to keep him close by.  I know many don't understand why I do it, but it's to give back.  It fills the void of not being able to do something meaningful for the past 10 years.

When she called me tonight I knew she was hurting.  I haven't thought about September yet, even though August is over & Septmber is less than 48 hours away.  I think back 10 years & wonder what would have happened if he had come to Ireland with me, since he had never been, or if he had answered his cell phone while I was at the airport.  I guess you can spend your whole life wondering about what ifs.

So when I spoke to my friend tonight, we tried to laugh & tried to be funny, but I know she is hurting & even though my lame attempt at humor made her giggle, I can't take away her pain.  I was so touched that she called me to tell me she was thinking of me, such a selfless thing for someone who has been through so much.  It's an odd feeling, but there's something that makes me so grateful that I met her.  I think of her & her brother when I work at the WTC & I hope that brings her comfort.

See you Tuesday MD.

Training Plan

Last year, before I went to San Francisco to race in the Alcatraz tri, I signed up for a trainer, which turned out to be a complete disaster.  But I did take away a really good training plan.  Well, let me correct that, I found a really good online training website, the plan was deleted out of my account by the oh so spiteful trainer.

But I recently received an email from this training site, inviting me back to try them out again.  But this time I did some digging & found out that you can purchase the plans directly from them. Wow, if I was only as informed last year!  Anyway, I am thinking about trying it out again.  The website is called http://home.trainingpeaks.com/  it's a really great site.  There's so much information you can put into it & get out of it.  My one favorite part is that it is compatible with my Garmin watch.  You run, swim or bike & when you are finished, you can load that information right into the website & it will track your performance.

I'm not that much into technology, but this site is really cool & I really need to get back into shape.  Especially if I want to do any kind of triathlon next year.  I just skated by in NYC this year.  

I have a few more races planned for September & I know that I haven't been running, so I guess it is time to get back out there.  If only exercise was as excited as shopping!

10,000 hits & the MS Mudruckus

10,000 hits!  I can hardly believe it.  When I started this blog, it was only for fun to track my progress in training for a 70.3 Ironman.  Many have read all about my crazy journey to become a triathlete.  Not sure how it is turning out, but I can say I've participated in some really great races.  My goal for next year is to really work on my personal best times.

I have run a few races this summer, mainly in the horrible NJ heat & humidity & I've had a lot of fun.  This weekend a bunch of my friends are doing the MS Mudruckus.  5 miles of muddy fun for a good cause.  & as the summer winds down a race that is dear to my heart the Tunnel to Towers 5k.

It's been a fun summer & I want to say thanks to everyone who has logged in & read all about my crazy life.  I suspect that many have logged in to read about my Dallas updates, which I am totally remiss in reporting lately, so stay tuned!  I have a season wrap up coming later in the week!