The beginning...

Welcome to my 1st blog...ever!  I've been working on putting this together for the past few weeks, it's a work in progress, so be patient please.  If nothing else, I hope you find this mildly entertaining & can offer your input, suggestions, support or comments.  I've been in a bit of a state of disbelief for the past few weeks, since Jen Harrison announced I was going to be her 2012 Pay It Forward athlete to train.  Excited, nervous, scared...my head has been spinning & my mind going non-stop.  A bit worried that I will fail, or not live up to expectations, or disappoint.  I've only done a few triathlons...a few sprints, a few relays, one olympic, and some running races.  No 1/2 Ironmen & definitely no full Ironmen.  But 2012 I plan to do it all.  My "A" races are Muncie 70.3 in July & Ironman Wisconsin in Sept.  Oh my...I dream big...am I crazy?  I signed up for a full Ironman...that day a friend told me, yes, I am crazy!  So to say I'm nervous & scared is putting it mildly.


So, assuming many of you reading this 1st blog may not know me personally, here's a little bit about me:  I'm a 45 year old single woman living in Schaumburg, always been an athlete of some sort, didn't learn how to swim until spring of 2009 when a few triathlete friends & I were talking after a run session & I made a comment about always wanting to do a tri but not knowing how to swim.  They pushed me to learn & bam...looked into it & a few months later thanks to Coach Joe & Masters swim...I was swimming & doing my 1st sprint tri.  I've ran a bunch of running races but for the most part, each year I've been sidelined with some sort of injury.  The straw that broke the camel's back was last year, a week before my 1st 1/2 Ironman, I had a stupid bike accident & fractured my elbow.  Bye bye Muncie :(  Add to that a few other stressors in my life & being laid off last August, I have been living the past few years surrounded by stress & bad luck. 

So, needless to say, I'm excited about the opportunity & hope I will enjoy the journey.  I start training w/ Jen on Sunday.  I've never had a coach full time...and honestly, as much as I'm excited, the Type A personality in me is struggling with giving up control of my workouts...LOL  But I trust her & am ready to get started.  Bring it on Jen, and THANK YOU!!!