• Dancing has become a bigger part of my life than I anticipated. Salsa and Bachata are quite addicting. Dancing challenges me in completely different ways from triathlon. I’m in no way a natural, which has been difficult but rewarding over the past several months. Besides the challenge, I’ve made several friends and have SO much fun going out “dancing the night away”.
• Training is semi-consistent. I’m keeping a decent base and starting to incorporate speed now that tri season is officially here. My first triathlon of the season was moved from May 4th to September 29th…which means I need to start signing up for races for motivation. I have a love-hate relationship with my night shift schedule and training. While not impossible, training is just more complicated. Throw in a new found dancing addiction that keeps you up to the wee hours of the morning and my beloved early am workouts become unreasonable. Balance, strive for balance.
• Visited the lovely town of Savannah, GA with coworkers on a girls trip in January. Such a great city and I had an incredible time.

• Met up with some of my best friends from college in Charleston, SC. Couldn’t have asked for a better time with some great women and I fell in love with another city. To be visited again!

• Took a mountain trip with my triathlon friends to Blue Ridge, GA. Relaxing weekend in a cabin with awesome friends with s’mores, hiking, and charades.

• Followed by spending “spring break” in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico with one of my favorite friends from high school. We mostly stuck to the beautiful beaches but ventured out to see Las Cataratas waterfalls and horseback riding along trails. Of course, with my love of all things Latin, Puerto Rico made an impression on me and I will be back to explore. Mofongo is now my new favorite way to eat plantains.

• Lastly, on the trips (my goodness I’m already exhausted sharing this), I went to Augusta, GA a week ago for MedWAR (Medical Wilderness Adventure Race). This was AWESOME. Already added to my annual race calendar. Basically, MedWAR is an adventure race involving running, mountain biking, kayaking, wading through a swamp, orienteering, and medical challenges for 6-8 hours. I joined UCF College of Medicine students and had a blast. My body was wrecked. My shins were torn up from thorns. I got muddy and can’t wait for next year. The medical scenarios involved our team of 4 being split up into patients and health care providers. We could only use the equipment, such as suture kits, airway kits, medicines, etc., that we had on our bodies. We also had to carry water and nutrition for 8 hours. The race organizers were AMAZING. Such a well run event that involved a ton of planning, creativity, and hard work.

• Random, I cut off 9 inches of hair to donate. 20 inches total towards Pantene Beautiful Lengths!

• I’m starting to volunteer with hospice. I’m drawn to this area of health care and am looking forward to the opportunity to help people and their families during a difficult process. Find something that is truly meaningful to you and figure out how to get involved. To me, this is the best way to add purpose to your life. Give love in a special way to others.
• So my biggest update…medical school! Originally, I wasn’t planning on sharing with many people but studying for the MCAT, the entrance exam for medical schools, requires a lot of dedication. By saying my intention out loud, I am helping hold myself more accountable. For the time being, I’m just applying. My prerequisites are already done and hopefully I’ll get my application and a kick butt MCAT score in this summer/fall. Planned start, if I get accepted, will be August 2014. This decision was extremely difficult because I really do love nursing and I love my unit. Medicine, however, keeps popping up in my heart and I ultimately need to pay attention to that because I don’t want to regret not trying 10 years down the road.

Phew! So any updates from you? As always, I hope life is treating you well.

]]> http://passionate4life.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/quarterly-update/feed/ 0 fishontherun 132 146 155 120 111 262 IMG_3506 IMG_3521 IMG_3571 IMG_3614 IMG_3627 IMG_3667 med IMG_3028 http://passionate4life.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/just-poppin-in-to-say-ello/ http://passionate4life.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/just-poppin-in-to-say-ello/#comments Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:58:15 +0000 TriCourt http://passionate4life.wordpress.com/?p=1066 Continue reading →]]> I haven’t forgotten about the blogging world. This has been (and will continue) to be a blogging hiatus. Life has been exciting and challenging the past year since graduating nursing school. Next month marks my official 1 year anniversary…as an ICU nurse! My mind feels saturated with the new information and experiences I’ve encountered at work and outside of work. It would be nice to have blogged throughout to share with my friends and family but there was a much needed period of reflection and personal growth. Who knows when I’ll be “officially” back but it will happen eventually.

Just a few updates of things I’ve done and places I’ve visited since my last post -

• Finished orientation and became a baby nurse all on my own!
• Visited Georgia for another celebration of my brother getting married
• Flew out to San Diego to reconnect with old friends and visited Palm Springs for the first time
• Vacationed with my family in the Keys for some lobstering and spear fishing
• Road tripped up to Vermont for Age Group Nationals with a few fabulous friends
• Participated in my first Ragnar in Napa and enjoyed wine country so much I contemplated giving up nursing to learn how to make wine
• Got a gorgeous Giant time trial bike…my new love
• Took a break from traveling to enjoy gardening, raising chickens, light training and reading
• Witnessed my roommate and dear friend get married on their new farm
• Took up salsa lessons
• Witnessed two dear friends marry each other and celebrated yet another friend’s wedding only a week later
• Contemplating another marathon finally and starting to take the next step in my career

I hope everybody has been great…until next time!

When I swam, I never lacked motivation and dedication. Triathlon has proved an interesting experiment of turning the obsessed perfectionist into somebody who enjoys training and competition. Sometimes this borderlines being lazy if left to my own devices and don’t set up enough training dates. Reflecting on the past few years, my schedule and life has been in a constant flux, which also presents difficulties with training consistently. I’ve moved a total of 8 times in 3 different states since 2008. I’ve been a high school science teacher, swim instructor, administrative assistant to a chiropractor and a medical school, nursing student and finally a night shift ICU nurse all since 2008. I wouldn’t change any of that for the world. I discovered so much about myself as a person and finally found direction in my life and career. Now is a time to relax, grow spiritually, relax, focus on training and my job and find some type of stability.

So far with coaching, my body and spirit feel broken. The Dunedin Sprint Triathlon was embarrassing because my body wouldn’t race, and I love that feeling of racing. And this was only two weeks after starting training! Now, in the middle of the fourth week training under a coach, I still feel like crap but am starting to gain a more positive perspective. The rest of this season will probably feel like a failure in terms of performance but will be full of lessons about my body, natural ability, and will to persevere. Age Group Nationals in August might be miserable but it that’s still two months away which means I will be two months stronger, so who knows.

This post sounds negative but underneath the fatigue and feelings of failure, I am excited. I am excited to see what my body is capable of in triathlon. I’m excited to finally be consistent with training and follow a true training plan. It’s a wonder I pulled a 5:24 last year in my half-Ironman because there was no rhyme or reason to my training.

Besides reaching out to a triathlon coach, I recently contacted an registered dietitian for a consultation about weight issues. I’ve shared with a few friends my frustrations with steadily increasing weight and finally decided to make real changes to my nutrition. Twenty pounds ago (yikes), living in San Diego made it incredibly easy to eat right and find a healthy balance with my love of food and training. Moving back to Florida brought challenges that threw that balance off and then we throw working night shift into the mix. I still love healthy food but I also love baking and cooking not-so-healthy food.

Just a few examples…

Basically, I want to learn how to continue to enjoy food but in a way that lends itself to a healthy weight. My biggest challenge is overeating and indulgences. So I’m looking for somebody to help me with mindful eating so I can be happy with my weight in a bathing suit or while running.  Nobody should feel self-conscious about their weight while running! By mentioning this, it’s important to state that all people have a different weight that makes them comfortable. My point isn’t to offend anybody that has been battling significant weight struggles for the past few years. Weight has always been difficult to discuss among my friends because we all have different histories, weaknesses and metabolisms. It’s a topic I usually avoid for that very reason but here I go writing about it on the internet for all to read.

This should be a difficult and interesting next couple of months as I continue this road of trusting somebody else with my training and learn how to develop a new and healthier “relationship” with food while balancing full-time night shift position and other aspects of life. Does anybody else have recent or recurring struggles they are taking real steps at changing?

Danskin holds a special place in my heart since it was my first triathlon back after I graduated high school in 2004. I need to scan some old pictures and talk about that experience sometime. Basically, I was first out of the water by a minute or two and then was dominated on my mom’s mountain bike before jogging to the finish. My love affair with tris didn’t start until 3 years later when I was a junior in college. To say I hated the bike was an understatement. Now I tolerate that sport…sort of.

In 2007, my mom stepped up and said she’d like to give triathlons a try. She’s a runner at heart and has kept really fit playing tennis over the past few years. I always brag that she kept running through her pregnancies (before it was cool) and managed to run up to 10 miles a day with 2 young kids and a full-time job. Yeah, that’s my mom.

My fit mom and me in the Keys for 4th of July. Notice the hand painted scuba divers for the tire cover. Dorky parents.

The fun thing about the Orlando Danskin Triathlon is it always falls on Mother’s Day. With the exception of a few races, my mom and I have raced every year since 2007. We’ve seen the race move from Disney’s Magic Kingdom to Disney’s Ft. Wilderness and finally to Clermont this year. Disney is no longer accepting third party vendors to put on races so Danskin moved to a different location. At first I was nervous how the logistics would go with a new venue but Sommer Sports put on a fabulous race this year. I’ve raced several times at Sommer Sports triathlons and respect them a lot as a company. This year Danskin and Sommer Sports listened to concerns and suggestions participants made about the race and actually made changes. Thank you for listening!

Here are a few pictures from previous years…

This year my parents came to Tampa for a Mother’s Day Tea at my church. My dad visited with his mother while my mom and I enjoyed a fun tea with my aunt and cousin and a hundred other ladies. We listened to a touching story about how God worked in one woman’s life while eating cucumber sandwiches and pastries and sipping tea.

That night we drove to Clermont and prepared to race the next morning. The race itself was well run and went off without a hitch. It was my first race of the season, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. My dad and I watched my mom’s wave go off and then talked until my wave was up.

The swim felt sluggish but gave me a good lead on my wave that I managed to hold onto the rest of the race. My bike was decent with the exception of a few steep hills thrown into the middle of the route. Finally the run felt good. I gradually got faster with every mile. One girl shot off in the first half mile and I remember thinking there was no way she could hold that pace with that form (because I’m such an expert about good running form). Sure enough, I passed her within the next half mile and kept gaining speed. I was surprised to find out I was 2nd overall and more excited to see how proud that made my mom. To me, placing is partially about how fast you are and partially about who shows up. This race was one to share with my mom, so I wasn’t paying too much attention to competition.

Swim (800 meter or 1/2 mile) : 10:50

Bike (12 miles) : 40:32 (18 mph) <— really? really?

Run (5K or 3.1 miles) : 24:02 (8:02 min/mile)

Total Time: 1:18:58 (1st Age Group, 2nd Overall)

My mom and I will be back next year because this is a sweet tradition to share with her and not many people can say they’ve done races with their parents.  I’m grateful she instilled a love for exercise from an early age. Hopefully, my dad will join for a triathlon one day. For now, he and I share a love for books and food.

Up next, I want to share how training under a coach has been. I had a lackluster performance at the Dunedin Sprint and my body and spirit have felt broken down a lot lately. It’s been a rough ride but you don’t get better without hard work. I’ve had to readjust my goals for the season, especially Age Group Nationals. More on the topic later.

I’m off to clean, bike and swim. Our group is getting together for beer and pizza after practice…yessss. Is anybody else excited about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter coming to theaters on Friday? I read it a year or so ago and couldn’t put the book down. It’s a historical fiction that portrays Abraham Lincoln as an obsessed slayer of vampires. Vampires were a huge driving factor behind him becoming president and the Civil War in this book. The best part is the author does a great job intertwining true facts with fiction and there were times where I had to remind myself Lincoln was NOT a vampire hunter.

Backtracking a little to the start, it was an early wake up since I drove about 1.5 hours to Crystal River. Arriving with about an hour until start time, I was ready to set up, warm up, and mentally prepare to race.  Sometime around this point, it dawned on me my race belt was sitting at home on the counter.  Apparently nobody brings spare race belts so I had to get creative by pinning and tucking my number into my tri shorts. So much for successfully utilizing my checklist.

That hour flew by and I was near the start waiting for my wave with Jess, Steph, and Meghann. This was actually my second tri of the season, so I wasn’t quite as nervous about getting back into the swing of racing. I competed at the Danskin Triathlon on Mother’s Day as a tradition my mom…report to come later. While waiting for our wave chatting about the course or how we felt, I reflected on how incredible it was to have a group of women I could train and race beside without the competiveness that can sometimes interferes with friendships. Swimming in high school brought out the cattiness in my group of female friends. Not proud but it was high school right?

My main goal for this race was to race. That and get a feel for where I stood with my training before officially starting to be coached. Oh by the way, I just had my first week of training under Felipe, the coach for XP Multisport. Felipe and I have known each other since a Crystal River Sprint I did my first triathlon season back in 2007. He’s a great triathlete and knows his stuff. For a long time I’ve resisted being coached because I’m stingy with my money and triathlon is already an expensive sport. With such a wonky schedule working nights and 12 hour shifts, I decided it was time.

Crystal River, May 2007

Swim

The swim felt great for the short 400 meters. I’m finally getting more consistent in the water and have enjoyed pushing my body during practice. Steph has been a great lane buddy in the pool because of her swimming background so I was excited to be racing along side of her. She had a better start with dolphin dives and pulled a few yards ahead at the beginning. Before the first buoy I pulled up next to her. We swam stroke for stroke for maybe 25-50 meters and I pulled ahead. Knowing Steph would be really close I didn’t let up pace the rest of the swim and caught up to a few other waves. I popped out first for women with Steph 5-10 seconds behind me. Mary and her husband came to cheer all of us on so it was motivating to hear my name cheered throughout the course. She also captured some great shots along the way.

Swim Time: 6:09 (400 meters) 9th/ 275 Overall

Bike

As usual, I need to work on the bike. This is one of the main reasons I’m excited about being coached. Somebody to force my sometimes lazy butt to actually put time in the saddle to get the bike speed I always talk about needing.

Since the bike was 15 miles I knew it was a matter of time before I lost my lead. Here’s to having confidence on my bike . Currently my bike odometer is with another friend so I hoped the mile markers along the course were accurate and I shot for 3:00 min/mile using a stopwatch which translates to 20 mph on the bike. On a sprint I should be going faster but this is where my bike fitness is currently. I averaged around 2:50-2:55 min/mile and was passed by the first female maybe 5 miles into the race. There was that inevitable middle aged man that  I played yo-yo with on the bike. We went back and forth the entire race and I was annoyed and afraid of getting a penalty. I kept having to drop back when he passed me and then speed ahead when I felt his pace was slower than mine. Argh.

At mile 9, Jess zoomed past me and I was excited she was close to placing overall. By the way, it’s her first tri season and she is kicking major butt, mine included. Couldn’t be more happier to have another female to push each other in training. My legs were burning by this point and mile 15 couldn’t come fast enough.

Bike Time: 43:27, 20.7 mph (15 miles) 94th/275 Overall

Run

The 5K felt long with the Florida heat and no shade. Coming off the bike I was still first in my age group but I didn’t know where second place was. Of course I should be “racing my own race” but I’m competitive and other people always provide that extra push when I’m tired. Out and back runs are always fun because you can see people you know and spot competition. Mary incorporated taking pictures of us into her training run…that’s multitasking for you. At the turnaround I saw second place in my age group 1-2 minutes behind me but couldn’t determine if her pace was slower/faster. I refuse to look behind me in a race so I just assumed she was faster and braced myself every time I heard footsteps coming up.

With half a mile to go I developed one of those annoying and terribly painful side cramp. One of those that digs into your diaphragm and makes you question the fun of racing. Since I was sure the next girl in my age group was right on my heels I refused to stop and cursed my diaphragm instead. Is anybody else motivated by talking to different body parts? Is that just me? Grateful for the finish line in sight I sprinted in and finally felt relief from the cramp. Mission accomplished…I raced the whole time.

Run Time: 22:28 (5K/3.1 miles), 7:29 min/mile, 66th/275 Overall

Total Time: 1:13:09 1st in Age Group, 10th Female

DRC Sports puts on a solidly run race. I highly recommend any of their races if you are looking for a competitive local race.  This race in particular promoted the youth triathletes and had several international racers. Kaitlin Shiver, a pro triathlete originally from Melbourne, Florida, raced as a way of supporting the junior triathlete talent identification program since that’s where she got started. One of the swimmers from the team I grew  up swimming for and then coaching was there and actually won for his age group. He has really blown me away by how far he’s come in the sport.

A side note, there was a little mix up with my registration/check-in that morning. One of the volunteers didn’t see my name on the online registration list. So they had me “re-register” as a day-of racer. No big deal. Turns out my name was really on the list which meant I had two race numbers. DRC Sports called my name to the registration table 10 minutes prior to race start to clear everything up. Again no big deal, I just kept my day-of registration number since body marking already done and race numbers already set up. Well, when I checked the results after the race my time was a few minutes slower and I was second in my age group rather than first. Bummer, I must have gotten a time penalty. I found a DRC employee and asked to see the penalty list so I could find out what I did or if there was a mistake with my time. She was really helpful and took me to the tech guy to figure things out. Within minutes they determined my number was placed in the wrong wave which was why my time was 3 minutes slower. Problem solved. Thank you DRC Sports for being helpful and putting on a fun race.

After waiting around for awards our training group took a trip to Rainbow River for some relaxation and tubing down a beautiful spring fed river. Felipe and I did this with fellow Tri-Knights and TriGators (the triathlon clubs for UCF and UF) back in 2007 so we thought it was worth repeating. Even though I had to be at work that night I was really excited for the afternoon. The fun time was totally worth a little sleep deprivation; I got a short nap in before my shift started at 7 pm but I crashed hard Sunday morning. Check out Meghann’s recap of tubing Rainbow River.

Rope swing on Rainbow River

Well off to make today productive…errr read, train, and clean. I’m looking forward to British Trivia tonight at a local pub with my cousin and her husband. She’s working on her PhD in British history and one of my strange passions in life is King Henry VIII and all things Tudor (this was well before he was made cool by “The Other Boleyn Girl” and “The Tudors”). We are going to rock Trivia night.

What are some of your quirky passions? Have you ever done anything cool because of them? I studied at Cambridge one summer taking a class on King Henry VII…one of the best summers ever.

Well it’s been a few weeks now and I am loving night shift. Two main reasons: I have more time to workout since I’m sleeping less (mostly 6-7 hours during the days I work) and more importantly, there’s more time for quality care for my patients. Day shift is hectic! Phones ring off the hook, doctors write new orders, families visit, and you basically never seem to have a minute to breathe. Seasoned nurses have their routine down pat and work more efficiently but as a new nurse I like having the time to do a thorough assessment, plan my shift, and really dig into the patient’s chart.  Surprisingly, my body has adapted beyond expectations. It sleeps when I go to bed. No black out curtains, ear plugs, or sleep aids needed. I’m still playing with just how much sleep is healthy for my body and I’ll post about it once I establish a true routine.

There are times when my body is physically exhausted. I’ve been affectionately been referring to it as “the fog” because that’s the best description. Nothing a good nap can’t cure. One downside is my workouts, when I have back-to-back shifts, are limited to 8:30 am – 5:30 pm which means Florida heat and humidity are unavoidable. No real complaints here, however, because it beats not working out altogether. I’m excited regardless and realize that no schedule is perfect for training. We all do what we can do.

Here’s a quick update on my race calendar:

5-26/12 – Crystal River Sprint (1/4 mile swim, 15 mile bike, 5K run) <—tomorrow!

6/10/12 – Dunedin Sprint,  (1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 5K run)

7/28/12 – Top Gun Sprint (1/4 mile swim, 10 mile bike, 5K run)

8/18/12 – Age Group Nationals Olympic Distance (1500 meter swim, 40K bike, 10K run)

9/15-9/16/12 – Napa Ragnar Relay

10/28/12 – Marine Corps Marathon

11/3/12 – Volunteering as nurse in Medic Tent at Florida IM – registering for my first full IM for 2013. It’s time to commit to true triathlon endurance!

It should be an interesting race season. I’m sure there will be one or two other races thrown in as they come up but this is what I’m currently signed up for and that keeps me busy once every month. 2013 is shaping up to be an endurance year since I’ll start officially training for an Ironman. This has been a few years coming but ultimately I didn’t want to race that distance on immature or lackluster training. When did you first commit to an Ironman and what ultimately pushed you to sign up? If you’ve never raced that distance, are you curious or think it’s just plain crazy?

The class consists of five moves focusing on maintaining a consistent heart rate while using a combination of fast and slow twitch muscles fibers. The core, calves, and hamstrings are engaged throughout the entire workout. Within five minutes, my body already warmed up to the point of breaking a sweat and I could tell this was way different than any group fitness class.

The instructor immediately pegged me as a newcomer and paid special attention to perfecting my form for each of the five moves. Don’t ask me to demonstrate or describe the moves because I’ll just make you laugh or confuse you. I’d say they were similar to plyometric exercises done over and over and over again for 90 minutes.  There were all shapes, sizes, and ages in the class. Most everybody had great form and were successfully accomplishing the moves I struggled to get right the entire class.  I was definitely humbled by the 70 + year old couple right next to me.

At the wise age of five, I realized my future career in dancing was dim and therefore stayed far away from any sport that involved a ball or rhythm.  There are videos of me at recitals dancing to my own moves because I couldn’t stay with the other dancers. About once a year, I’ll attend some type of strength aerobic class just to remind myself and be humbled. The reality is these classes are terrible forms of exercise for me because my lack of coordination inhibits me from ever getting my heart rate high enough. Enter the beauty of “The Challenge”, all I have to master are five moves, which the instructor says will take one to two months.

After class, a few participants hung out and started talking…triathlon. Ahhhh my heart swooned…group rides and open water swims, I’m in love. Little did I know, my new place is exactly one mile from the meeting location for multiple South Tampa rides that hook up with group rides in St. Pete. Basically, I could ride any morning or late afternoon of the week with strong riders. Did I mention I’m in love?

South Tampa is a fun place to live and there are tons of active people but the riding has been dismal for me since I moved here. Too many stop lights and traffic. It’s a concrete jungle with few, if any, open roads. I been yearning for long stretches of road with minimal cars. This morning, my newest triathlon friend, the class instructor, took me on a 20+ mile route through St. Pete and told me about all the various rides, routes, and good people to meet in the South Tampa/St. Pete community.

While it’s a little late for me to just now get pumped about riding seeing that tri season is gearing up, at least I’m there. Running has been great since moving thanks to a few motivating women running partners. Swimming has been great whenever I’m not working because there’s a solid group of triathletes meeting MWF. The missing component, biking, finally took a positive turn thanks to my Sunday workout whim.

As for “The Challenge”, I’ll be back this Sunday even though the past few days consisted of hobbling around on sore calves. There’s something about this class that brings out my competitive nature and desire to be pushed.

For the rehearsal, the bridal party drove out to Cocoa Beach to practice walking down the dock to the Indian River Queen. The plan was for the guests to arrive and stake out a spot on the triple decked Louisiana-style paddle boat with the ceremony on the dock below. To be perfectly honest, I was a little wary about the logistics working despite practicing a dry run through. Fortunately, this wasn’t the first time the owner had put on a wedding and she had everything under control.

The Indian River Queen

The aisle

The guest’s view of the ceremony

The incredible thing about the wedding, besides the obvious boat part, was the package included everything. This means the venue, cake, flowers, caterer, DJ, photographer, open bar, etc. For some people this set up wouldn’t work because they wouldn’t want to be restricted to specific vendors that may or may not be able to pull off their specific vision of the big day. Rachael and Clay simply wanted the wedding to be meaningful and for everybody to enjoy themselves. Rachael worked with the individual vendors on the little details and seemed very happy about the entire process. Seeing the minimal stress she appeared to experience and the finished product, I’m half tempted do the same thing in the future for my wedding.  Clay’s input for the wedding consisted of the rehearsal dinner taking place at my parent’s house with food catered from a local favorite BBQ restaurant and the bridal  party walking down the aisle to “The Final Countdown” by Europe. Yes, that actually happened.

My mom did a great job organizing a fun BBQ themed night at my parent’s house with picnic table covers, chalkboard painted decorations, burlap, and carnations. The day before she made her delicious Key Lime Pies I have yet to replicate (meringue is finicky stuff). Over 60 people came and enjoyed some amazing food.

Most of the guests

Rachael put together the greatest gifts for the bridal party. There was a beach mat, adorable beach bag, Kino sandals to wear for the wedding, a cardigan for the windy boat ride, Tervis tumbler with our initial, a cute frame, and Swedish Fish. They were thoughtful and functional. Kinos are a handmade leather sandal from a factory  in Key West. They come in all different colors and even started making different styles. They are a staple in my wardrobe and were an EXCELLENT choice for the wedding.

Afterwards, we headed back to Cocoa Beach and enjoyed the night with some of Rachael’s family and friends. The next morning, I ran 5 miles a little after sunrise and couldn’t believe the gorgeous weather. Most of the guests stayed at the same hotel so it was good to visit with family at breakfast before heading out to the beach for a few hours. Rachael’s friends and sister, Alison, were so much fun to hang out with throughout the weekend. We simply enjoyed each other’s company and were excited for Rachael and Clay to get married. They truly are a great couple.

After almost five hours of showering, eating, hair, make-up, talking and listening to the Spice Girls Pandora station, we were ready to celebrate. I have to say, we all looked fabulous and Rachael was stunning. Have I mentioned how excited I am to have her as my sister-in-law? She’s a beautiful woman inside and out and she makes my brother happy.

Here’s the bridesmaids after the ceremony in our rainbow of ocean blues and Kinos

Groomsmen in tan linen suits (Clay is the tall blonde up front and my youngest brother, Carson, is behind and  to the right)

It was touching watching Rachael get anxious about marrying Clay. The night before she described the feeling “like Christmas only so much better”. There was a bad Florida thunderstorm with black skies and fierce wind two hours before the ceremony but fortunately it blew over as most Florida storms do.  The day was coming together and the bridesmaids waited in the Captain’s room while all the guests arrived.

Rachael told us to just have fun walking down the dock, so we all decided to stop and dance for a few seconds at a pre-designated boat marker. There was a ripple of laughter from the guests after the first couple broke out and danced.

Walking with my youngest brother

When Rachael appeared with her dad, the sun shone just a little brighter.

The ceremony was simple and touching. I couldn’t help but tear up because it was such a happy tender moment to witness.

These are a few pictures captured by guests on the boat

Caught on camera crying…

After the ceremony, we went upstairs to the top deck for some photos and proceeded to enjoy the next few hours at sea. The boat looked fabulous lit up at night decorated with gorgeous flowers. Everything was incredibly well done, including the music (strict instructions to not play “Shout”, “YMCA”, or the “Chicken Dance”), food, service, and cake. I’d recommend the Indian River Queen to anybody…even just for a fun dinner night.

We danced…and danced…and danced…

The boat docked 4 hours later and the night ended with one of the Groomsmen singing an impressive rendition of “Night Moves” by Bob Segar. We continued the night at the hotel in a reception room reserved for the after party. I didn’t get to bed until 4:30 AM and somehow managed to lose my voice. A few short hours later, Clay and Rachael left for the Bahamas. The weekend was everything I had anticipated and couldn’t be happier for the newlyweds. Rachael is welcomed with open arms by our family and I’m excited to be a part of her family as well.

The reviews about the book are definitely mixed and I won’t even pretend to be qualified to offer my analysis. Basically, don’t read the book if you are easily annoyed with excessive use of hyperboles or if you are looking for read insight into the culture of the Tarahumaram, a Mexican tribe living in the Copper Canyons. McDougall tells inspiring and interesting stories about various ultra runners and the Tarahumara with their incredible ability to run long distances. Reading this book had me lacing up my shoes and in search of the nearest trail to run.

The characters’ love of running had me realizing I might not love, in the purest sense of the word, triathlon as much as I previously thought. There are days where I have to drag my butt out the door to get in even an hour on the bike. Running is only enjoyable when I’m in shape and have speed in my legs. It’s almost as if I love what triathlon does for my life more than the actual act of swimming, biking, and running. This isn’t good or bad…just a realization. Quotes from the book float through my mind during recent runs and I try to concentrate on the act of running rather than the usual streaming thoughts about life and its various issues to be solved. 

The runners in McDougall’s book seem to get lost in the act of running rather than suffering through 6 or 8 miles like I do. My life was often so busy that I couldn’t afford the time to get lost in the act of anything. My days would get scheduled down to 15 minute intervals and workouts got crammed into one or two hour blocks of time in between errands, class, clinicals, etc. My mind spins even thinking of the days when I’ll have to be accountable for a family too.

For the moment, my life is different and I have the ability to get lost in the things I love doing. I think it’s time to have a love affair with triathlon. Maybe if my mind focuses enough on the ground beneath my feet or the water being pushed by my hands, I’ll fall wildly in love with the sport. Maybe not. We’ll just have to see.

Before I launch into my main topic I wanted to provide a few life updates…

• I completed the Gasparilla Challenge! At the time, I wasn’t in blogging mode so no race recap or pictures. It was an incredible experience and despite the pain of running 30 miles in two days undertrained (I took a break from longer runs after the Miami marathon), I am contemplating signing up again to see how much I can improve. For a great rundown of the event please check out Mary’s race recap. She kicked butt and I’m excited to see how well she does in her upcoming marathon in  6 weeks.
• I moved (again). Only 10 minutes away but I’m excited about my new place and roommate. It’s perfect for this season of life and I am beyond grateful and really enjoyed living with family the past few months while I found a job and saved money.
• My brother is getting married in 10 days! Couldn’t be more excited and happy for them. I was able to rearrange my schedule to have 6 days off. A few weeks ago, I went to Oviedo for a bridal shower and made his fiancé a handbag with her new initials stitched on the outside. It was fun making and learning a few new sewing techniques. They are getting married on a boat…hence the anchor. The next day I went fishing with my family and my brother caught a huge red fish while I studied for the NCLEX with my feet in the water and a beer in hand (classy).

• I am reading up a storm! Currently, I’m finishing up Complications by Atul Gawande and just picked up Born to Run by Christopher McDougall from the library.  Complications includes several pieces written by Gawande about the world of surgical complications, ethical dilemmas, various cases about surgeons and patients. One of the first stories is about inserting central line which is placed into a large vein from the neck, chest, arm, or leg giving direct access to administer medications, draw blood, or take measurements to/from the heart.   I was able to assist a few doctors one my unit this past week and was probably too excited to finally see the procedure.

• I signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon for the end of October! Miami redemption here I come. I’m also participating with a team in the Napa Valley Ragnar Relay in September and heading to San Diego to visit old friends in July. Now it’s time to decide on some triathlons for the season. To focus on distance or sprints? 

Ok, so here are my two new mantras lately: “Give Yourself Grace” and “Keep it Simple”.  My preceptor at work keeps telling me to give myself grace as a new nurse. She reminds me on a regular basis that after a year, I will start feeling like a competent newbie. For somebody that attempts to excel at or master anything I do, this is tough.

My coworkers have been great with encouragement and advice. Thank goodness they tell stories from when they were new to the unit that make me feel like I’m right on track. Often somebody will offer help without me asking, it must be the deer in headlights look I’ve perfected. This is a phrase I repeat to myself whenever I make a mistake or feel like I’m moving like molasses going through the daily routines and assessments.

I’m also trying to apply this phrase to other areas of life at the moment. Training is great on my off days and not so great when I’m working…have you heard me say this before? I continue to beat myself up over this obstacle and am scared about not being prepared for tri season. All I can do is my best during this life transition. Night shift picks up in less than 3 weeks! Oh my goodness.

Having moved twice in the past 5 months, I realized the amount of “stuff” acquired during the past year and a half in Tampa. I can no longer fit all of my belongings in my Honda…I needed one and a half trips this time.  Over the last few days, my mantra of keeping it simple includes dwindling down unnecessary items and trying to avoid new projects. My list of things to do and try is a mile long. Reading blogs/books and talking with other people excites me about sewing, cooking, painting, gardening, etc. As much as, I was sucked into Pinterest over the past year, I stopped because I was “pinning” rather than actually living and doing. Part of me thinks my Pinterest addiction was induced by NCLEX avoidance.

My new roommate doesn’t have cable or internet, not because she couldn’t afford it but because she doesn’t really need it. At first, I thought, “Cable is easy to live without but there’s no way I could live without internet.” Well I’m going to take it a month at a time and see if I’ll finally finish my race t-shirt quilt that has been half done for a year or if I’ll finally make a dent in my reading list rather than continually adding to it.

So, this post has been brought to you from my local public library.   Now I’m off to swim for my second workout of the day. Hopefully, the pool won’t be 83° like yesterday. It’s March in Florida…there is no reason to keep the pool heated and covered.