Seriously?

Life at the Jesse Brown VA

Most of you know that my fellowship program covers the UIC hospital and the Jesse Brown VA hospital. Last night I was moonlighting all night at UIC, while other colleagues worked in the ER at the VA. This morning I received at text from my friend Andrea in L.A. asking me if I was working at the hospital that the man had barricaded himself in. I had no idea what she was talking about. I checked my email and found three urgent police emails about the situation.

 

IRONMAN WISCONSIN 2009

(MANY MANY MORE PHOTOS TO BE POSTED SOON)

On Wed night we had a team banquet. I was awarded "Best Attitude" from the team for "always having a smile on my face, never complaining despite lack of sleep,etc." At that moment it became clear to me that this race was much more than a one-day treacherous athletic event. It helped me find a part of me that had been buried for a little while. It took me to both physical and mental high and low points, but the overall outcome was fantastic. It reminded me that I can do anything with the right outlook and a little dedication. Throughout the year, I found I was smiling a lot more, laughing a lot harder, enjoying time (although limited) with friends and family more and just plainly a happier, less stressed out but more fatigued version of the person I started out at the beginning of this year. I'm not trying to say something as strong as "The Ironman changed me," just that some of the negative attitudes and coping mechanisms I started to develop early in medical school were broken. In a lot of ways I feel like I am ten years younger.

So- the day after the race I sat and wrote about my experience. It was meant just to be read by myself. It's grammatically a mess. It is a stream-of-consciousness type letter that talks about people most of you may never meet. But I thought I'd post a link in case you're curious what a sleep deprived, food deprived new Ironman thought about her race. RACE REPORT UNDER PHOTOS TAP. (until staples tell me how to link things!)

And- sorry if you're sick of IM WI posts, but you can look forward to at least 2 more this week.

Ironman T-1

Pioneer Pride reaches to Madison


Pre-race preparations continued today mostly by enjoying spending time with my best support crew. I started the day off meeting teammates at Lake Monona for a quick swim and bike-my legs feel great and so rested!! Then I met my parents and old friends at the farmers market for some breakfast before checking in my bike/gear at the Terrace. My sister and Bryan made it in for lunch. Dave hosted us to watch Michigan pull off a tight win (the end of which Dad and I watched at the bar of a nice restaurant). Now I have some quiet time before tomorrow's big day.

I am so excited to see what tomorrow brings, both good and bad. I hope all those here have a great time watching. I have no doubt you will, as you always have a good time when hanging out together.

T-2 Ironman

I'm here in Madison. This experience has already been so much fun.
Here is a summary in list form so you don't get bored.
1. Arrived in Madison and had a nice dinner with Smooth Dave joined by Molly B.
2. Perfect night's rest at Smooth Dave's where he noticed a strange bump on my bike tire which was promptly fixed by a local bike shop hopefully avoiding a race day catastrophe.
3. Morning coffee with Filip on the square- a nice surprise!
4. Met teammates to register and the expo:
-waivers, weigh in, and Ironman gear galore.
5. Bike shop with Mom and Dad (see number 2)
6. Met team by the lake for some hugs and photos.
7. Athlete welcome dinner- oldest racer this year is 72. Youngest 18. One man has done 40 Ironman. One man lost 220 pounds while training. One man raised $250K for a charity.
8. Topped off the evening with some Coldstone with a teammate and his dad. Yum.
9. Packed all my gear and now off to bed for more excitement tomorrow :)

The hype surrounding this event is out of control and so cool to be a part of.
The phone calls, emails, texts and facebook status updates in my honor are overwhelming. I am so lucky to have such great/supportive friends and family!