10 Years

Oh, that's right, I have a blog. And I used to be pretty good at keeping it updated. I have two big race reports to post (spoiler - they involve Chrissie Wellington AND 70.3 Worlds) but yet haven't made the time to post them. I guess that's what happens when you have your wallet stolen, an earthquake, a hurricane, turn 30, celebrate your 5th wedding anniversary, do two half ironmans, and go on vacation to Ireland, all in a matter of weeks. So much to write about, I hardly know where to begin.

I went on my run today - the first run since 70.3 Galway on September 4th. I felt slow and jiggly (thank you Cadbury chocolates) and the weather was MUCH warmer than what I had been experiencing for the past 1.5 weeks in Ireland. But all that didn't really matter. This run wasn't about shaking off the cobwebs or seeing what I was made of. Instead, it was for running the three miles down the Columbia Pike to the Pentagon. And then standing there and thinking about 10 years ago. I think about it anyway, every time I run by the Pentagon and its memorial on my usual weekend run. But ten years is a big deal. Just like it was hard to fathom how much life was going to change after 9/11, it is now hard to remember what life was like before that day. And my life hasn't really been directly affected the way the lives of my close friends in the military have had their lives affected. 7 days before 9/11, I flew to France for my semester abroad. I flew out of Boston's Logan airport and my parents got to walk me through security, all the way to the gate. That's now a thing of the past, like so many other things. And without brave people like Erin, Ashley, and Katie - who have all spent time in Iraq and Afghanistan while the rest of us went on with out daily lives in our comfortable homes - there would be no triathlon, no comfortable, safe life to lead. So to them - thank you (AND a big congrats to Erin who just got her nursing exam results back and is OFFICIALLY an RN).