Catch-up (in other words...too much to think of something clever)

Man, where do I start...

A *lot* has happened since I last posted.  D has left for Army training in Missouri for 5 months.  I turned 39.  Work has been busy.  I've been cycling more/running less (I need to reverse that a little).  And I am purchasing a new bike.

Now, there isn't much to say about D leaving.  It happens in military families.  I did it twice in the first three years of our marriage.  He was gone for a year while I was in nursing school.  5 months should be nothing, right?  Well, this time it was so much harder. 

In April, we will celebrate 8 years of being married.  And for the 4th time, we will celebrate apart.  And I think it really hit me this time.  I miss him, terribly.  And yes, people say I should be thankful that he's not in a warzone this time, it is very likely that he will once this school is finished.  And he wants to go.  And I will support him, as he supported me during my two combat tours.

A few days after D left, I turned the big 3-9.  And you know what, I was excited for it.  My 30s were awesome!  I met D.  I served honorably in the Army for 8 years.  I finally finished my nursing degree 10 years after I started.   I started running at 34 and have met a wonderful network of friends through it (and more recently, through cycling).  While D was not here to celebrate, one of my best friends with whom I *thought* I was having a quiet dinner, invited more of my close friends to celebrate with me at TRATA.  I don't think I can ever relay how much that surprise meant to me.  For this transplant, Rochester really felt like home.

"The Corporal's Breakfast"...essentially an Irish Car Bomb with bacon.

Oh.  My.  Cholesterol!  Buttermilk fried chicken with mashed taters!!!

Despite the blizzard on Friday (after working 3 nights in a row), I ventured out in my trusty Subaru to get fitted for a triathlon bike.  Now, the story behind this is interesting, to some. As some may know, my husband has a "hobby" in collecting large implement and equipment.  Think:  Backhoes, bulldozers, tractors.  And yes, this is silly when we live in the city.  But his thinking is that when we are ready to build on our land these will come in handy and save us money in subcontracting the house's foundation.  So, when he also purchased a used pickup truck (for a great price, I'll give him credit for that), I decided then and there that I needed to indulge in a toy myself.  After he did his test drive and asked if he could buy it, I said: "Sure, if I can get my tri-bike in time for next year's racing season."

And there you have it. 

I got fitted at Geneva Bicycle Center, and will pick up my new (two) wheels the first week in March.

And no doubt, I'll get more use out of it in the next four months than that bulldozer will!

Casseroles AGAIN?! - lament of a time cruched athlete-wannabe.

Many of my friends ask how I balance my training with my crazy work schedule, and with my "responsibilities" as a wife , (no, I'm not a slave, but the cooking, cleaning, and laundry responsibilities do fall on me).

I don't have multi-tasking down to perfection (D can attest to this).  Although as I write this blog, I am dual-tasking by spending quality time with my dog Fez in my lap (he likes to help when I'm on the computer by pointing to the exact key on the keyboard that I need).  Laundry and cooking is sporadic.  Cleaning, even more so.  Making sure D has underwear and socks falls ahead of mopping and vacuuming.  And thankfully I survive in either nursing scrubs or workout clothes so my wardrobe essentials are pretty minimal.

I'm thankful for the Elmwood Inn or the Otter Lodge to feed us when I don't have time (or just don't have the energy) to cook.  I've been known to have s'mores or a couple bowls of Cap'n Crunch for dinner and nothing else.  D lives off casseroles when I work - and I'm glad he really doesn't mind.

I don't have racing/training down to a science, either.  I'm not particularly fast (a middle-of-the-packer in mid-distance races), so I don't think that anyone looks to my mediocrity as inspiration, or a goal.

Although I "only" work 36 hours a week (three twelve-hour shifts), those shifts alternate between nights (7pm-7am) and days (7am-7pm).  I only have two patients, but as a Trauma and Burn ICU nurse, often those two patients will keep me on my feet all.  Shift.  Long.

For example, one day I had two patients who each had hourly evaluations (other than their vital signs) due to their mechanism of injury.  Add their medications, hourly vital signs assessments, charting, and helping the nurses to my left and right - it can get REALLY busy.  And often my legs feel like dead weight afterwards.

Thankfully I don't have to work a lot of weekends (two weekends out of every six weeks).  But that said, following a prescribed training plan is pretty much impossible.  I don't get to do my "Long Run Saturdays" or "Tempo Thursdays".  It just gets fit in whenever it gets fit in.  I miss out on doing community stuff, like Monroe Milers - something I would really love to do if I had a normal schedule.

I try to work my "three days" back to back, so I get some consecutive days off in between.  So on those working days, I concentrate just on the running.  I've found running tired (especially after a night shift) to be very beneficial.  I don't often have a goal for these runs, but I hardly call them "junk miles".  At times they turn into 5-mile tempo runs and I surprise myself.  Running tired helps you realize what you can push your body to do - something I learned a lot about when I was training for Sehgahunda 2011 (which was by far my worst race in terms of how I fell apart, but one from which I learned from).

On the days I don't work, I often cram in brick workouts (swim/bike or bike/run) or two-a-days.  I don't do specific "speedwork", and only occasionally get in a hill workout.  Over the past year I haven't been running trails as much, although I love running trails in the wintertime the most, so I see this changing over the next few months.  Once or twice a week I hit the pool at UofR.  I don't have a specific triathlon in mind right now, but as my body has responded well to multi-sport disciplines (both in health and my weight), I see this as being my direction go forward (my dream was once do to trail ultras, but as my ankle has been re-damaged annually on trails, I see 26.3 as my max limit on trails).

At times, I feel guilt for not being a better wife - I honestly do try my best.  D is busy too.  And our schedules do not mesh together:  We spend very little time together when you look at how many hours are in a week.  Often I may skip a workout altogether when he gets the rare early night home.  And so be it.

So, there is my (albeit poor) balancing act in a nutshell.  But over the past few months I can't say that it hasn't worked for me:  Since September, I placed third in my age group at a super-sprint duathlon, and I PRd in the half-marathon and 5k (both by over 90 seconds).  I guess these personal triumphs just affirmed to me that quality over quantity will reap decent rewards.  I know that my "success", as others may define it (i.e. consistent AG placing, or winning), will be very limited because I can only dedicate X-hours a week to training - and I refuse to sacrifice family and sanity any more than I have.  But considering that this girl only started running 4.5 years ago, I'm pretty darn happy with how far I've come.

Drink to old Ohio, 'till we wobble in our shoes!

I went back to Columbus last weekend ("I wanna go back to Ohio State, to old Columbus-town...!"), both for Mother's Day, and for my cousin David's wedding.

While Rochester has grown on me - I have fantastic friends, a great job, and doing things I'd never thought to do before - Ohio always has a special place in my heart.  It's familiar, and there is a pride in Columbus that transcends any economic woes.  I grew up living a mile from the Ohio State University campus.  Woody Hayes was my neighbor as a child - I would go trick-or-treating at his house, where his wife Anne had full-size Hershey bars (your pick of regular or almond).


Our first stop when I got to Ohio was the Giant Eagle Market District for their Friday Wine Tasting.


Wine and some booze can be sold in Ohio grocery stores, which is a reason why Giant Eagle Market District OWNS Wegman's.  Yeah, I said it!


Seriously, not just for the booze, but this place is simply amazing!  And you see some pretty cool t-shirts on customers...

On Saturday, Mom and I went to "High Tea" at the local grocery store, Huffman's Market (where I worked as a cashier during high school, hosted by Mr Huffman and his wife, Glenda.

That evening, my cousin David married Julianne.  A great couple, a beautiful wedding that reflected the caring, personable, and goofy individuals that they are.  I'm still reconciling who squirted tears more - Julianne, David's mom Teresa, or my cousin Chelsea!

On Sunday, I took my mom to brunch at her favorite place - Spagio.  Unfortunately I was too hungry to remember taking a "before" shot of my Eggs a la Maison...

Now, for progressing into current times...I am now an iPhone owner (my stepdad didn't want his anymore, and gave it to me).  And now, I can't stop taking pictures with Instagram!  I was always amazed how my friend banjokelly took pictures ALL THE TIME.  Now I'm "that (same) person"!


A big reason why I wanted an iPhone was because I *do* want to take pictures.  After our beloved dog Moe passed away, we realized a lot of pics we had on our "flip phone" cameras, well, sucked.  And a lot of our memories can never be put in a 3 x 5 photo.


A few of my "masterpieces"...

 

 Coming up:  I'm working three nights this week.  And then Friday I'll embark on my first "century ride"...The Ride for Missing Children.  Nervous, but ready to go!

Rest In Peace, SGT Snyder - my first Patriot Guard Ride

It's taken me a few days to process my emotions from this day...

On Saturday, my husband and I participated in our first Patriot Guard Ride down to Cohocton, NY to pay final respects to US Army sergeant Devin Snyder.  SGT Snyder was a military police officer killed with three others in a roadside bomb blast in Afghanistan on June 4th.

When Dave and I talked about what his "20 Year Letter" (a form a service member receives after serving 20 years in the Armed Forces, indicating eligibility for retirement) gift to himself would be, we considered our desire to be involved with PGR.  When Dave picked up his motorcycle last fall (a 2011 Harley Davidson Ultra-Classic Electraglide Limited), we were anxious to get out and ride.  This PGR ride was the first extended ride we made together, which seemed fitting as both Dave and I are combat vets; he of Afghanistan, me of Iraq.

I felt a slight connection to SGT Snyder:  we are women who served in a combat zone not from "inside the wire", but going on dangerous missions nearly every day.  I also was in a vehicle that was hit by a roadside bomb, back on Thanksgiving Day 2005.  I survived with injuries which I deal with to this day.  I was sad that I survived but she, and countless others, do not.  I wish in terms of her final mission she was as lucky as I was.

Dave and I went to the meet-up point in Rochester early in the morning, where we were greeted by a fellow Rider named Dan (but he goes by "Gunny")  Gunny gave us a quick synopsis of how the organization works, what we do, how we hold our flags, etc.

As we were talking, someone riding a Vespa scooter pulled up to the group - a group full of Harley Davidsons and sprinkled with just a few Yamahas, Kawasakis and Hondas.  Gunny laughed quietly when he was the Vespa, and said "there's one on every ride."

At 8AM we left the staging point for the hour-long ride down to Cohocton; riding staggered, our group of about 100 stretched as far as I could see down the curves of Route 390 South.  Dave and I were staged a little towards the back of the group, as the Ride Captain asked for those with EMT or medical training to do so.  I tried to capture the moment on a camera phone, but there was no way to focus on how far the group stretched...

We arrived at the Wayland-Cohocton School complex at about 9:15 and found at least 200 more riders from other parts of NY, including a fellow soldier with whom I served in Mosul back in 2005-2006.  We listened to the briefing by the Ride Captain and were instructed that we were to stage only at the cemetery.  The family asked that the funeral be community based, which may make them vulnerable to any protesters but we were told that there were at least 50 PGRs within the community that would certainly take care of any business.

The Ride Captain made himself, and the PGR's mission clear:  Although Westboro Baptist Church members were not seen in the area despite their verbalized intent to show up, we were not to engage ANY protestors.  SGT Snyder's service drummed up enough interest that over 300 people signed up to join PGR in the past 24 hours, and the State Captain and Ride Captain were concerned that many did so that they may counter-protest (which is not the PGR's mission) Many municipalities in New York have recently passed resolutions expanding the "buffer zone" to nearly three football fields, nothing could be guaranteed...and particularly Westboro Baptist Church are well versed in their constitutional right to protest.

Knowing how passionate Dave is about stuff like this (especially since he is a State law enforcement official), I turned to him during the briefing and said "Dave, you aren't a cop today.  Remember that."

Interestingly, many of the members of WBC are attorneys - they know the law, know how to spit hairs with it, and often will have someone videotaping their protests in the event that anyone so much as says "boo" in their direction, so they can sue.  But what makes PGR so awesome is to see hundreds of hard, rough looking bikers who can kick anyone's ass simply turn their backs on these assclowns who call their organization a church (even though they are not part of any Baptist convention in the country).

We left the school complex and headed to the cemetery.  As we travelled through Wayland and Cohocton, citizens stood on their porches, sidewalks, and street corners.  They were waving flags, had their hand over their heart, or both.  These were cute towns, but I could see how an 18 year old would join the military to get out of it and see the world.  While I don't know much about the job opportunities there, I can see where the military may be a kid's only way out.

Zion Lutheran Cemetery sits along side the small access road and exit ramp Route 309 - what a sight for passing motorists to see - over 300 flags waving in the stiff breeze, and a caisson, bagpipes and Honor Guard from Fort Drum bringing SGT Snyder's body into the cemetery.  I wondered if they knew exactly what they were briefly witnessing.

The ceremony was as beautiful as I would only expect.  I've witnessed only one other military funeral in my lifetime; sadly that of a classmate when I was in the Army Practical Nurse School who died from complications of mononucleosis.  I was sad then, and I was sad now, especially seeing a Major General present the folded flag from the casket, "On behalf of a grateful nation", to SGT Snyder's mother.  I remember the tears that my mother-in-law shed when we buried my younger brother-in-law three years ago when he was killed in an auto accident.

I mourned this solder, but my heart ached for her mother.  No mother should outlive her child.

I encourage anyone - motorcycle or not, veteran or not - who wishes to be part of this organization, to do so!  PGR missions also need cars (or "cages", as the Ride Captains call them) as support vehicles on these missions.  You can join, for free, at http://www.patriotguard.org/ .  Once you join, please e-mail the state captain with the subject line "NEW MEMBER" so you can receive local updates.  PGR not only supports services for those killed in our current conflicts, but also veterans of past wars such as WWII, Vietnam, and Korea.  Thank you.

My uncle, the hero

Video Link


LAS VEGAS -- From his hospital bed inside University Medical Center's burn unit, firefighter Quentin Aukeman said he's had some time to reflect since the deadly fire in Pahrump on Wednesday morning.

Aukeman, a firefighter with the Nevada National Security Site, said that when he pulled up to a burning house in the 3400 block of Prospector Lane, he knew the situation was critical.

In the front yard, he saw a woman screaming.

"I said (to the woman), 'Is everybody out?'" Aukeman said. "And she goes, 'No, my babies are in there.' You know, firefighters react to those terms."

Aukeman teamed up with his neighbors, breaking windows and fighting their way through the thick, black smoke. Aukeman said he headed straight for a crib.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find that baby in the crib, which is my regret," he said. "Whether or not that baby would've survived, I don't know."

Overcome by the smoke, he said he was forced out of the house when he heard another child deep in the darkness.

"The other child crying back there was just the most haunting sound," he said.

In the end, the death toll included three children: Elliot Broadhead, 1, Zachary Broadhead, 4, and Branden Smith, 6, as identified by the Nye County Sheriff's Office. Also killed in the fire was Crystal Smiley, 24.

Aukeman was flown to UMC, where his wife, Teresa, joined him by his bedside.

She said she admires his heroic effort.

"It just comes natural," she said of her husband. "It's an honor to be married to him."

Doctors told Aukeman that he will probably remain in the hospital over the weekend, but he said he can't wait to return to work.

The Pahrump Valley fire chief told FOX5 that two Nye County sheriff deputies were treated for smoke inhalation while fighting the fire.