Tweedle Beetle Tri-Atheletle

A few things to note here...

1. I have only been dealing with this neck thing now for 2 weeks and I am already sick of doctors.  
2. I have learned when they don't know whats wrong, they prescribe drugs.
3. I am sick of feeling doped up from the muscle relaxers.
4. I am sick of feeling buzzed from the steroids.
5. I am sick of worrying about my kidneys from the ibuprofen. 
6. I am sick of not sleeping.
   
7. I am tired of booking appointments with specialists 2 weeks out, when I am in pain now.
   

I am taking on a new intention.  While I am not a doctor and I am not licensed to heal others, I truely believe that I have every right and every ability to heal myself.  I believe that a true intention has power and if someone has the intention to heal themselves, they can.

Tonight I took action and turned away from work, the kids, TV and other distractions and sat quietly and meditated.  I envisioned my body being filled with a toxic slag.  Something looking similar to coal sludge - a dark, toxic black crud which is eating away at my body, literally stinking inside.  This muck is synonymous with all of the negative thoughts, feelings and emotions I feel throughout the day.  The anxieties over money, the impatience with the kids, the fear over my back and neck, the pain I feel, the lack of sleep.


 While deep breathing, I imagined that my toes and fingertips were like screw on caps - unscrewed, this black sludge would flow out of me, slowly but steadily.  While much of my inner self is left a healthy, life sustaining pink - there are other areas which have retained some of the sludge - dried up and caked on.  These areas, corresponding with my most intense pain need be be scrubbed - even power washed of this toxic slime.  Once every area is clean and the walls of my body look like that perfectly healthy pink of a babies lips - I fill myself back up.

The refill is done in the reverse, starting at my toes, creeping past my knees, my hips, my shoulders and eventually my cranium.  The fluid is holy water, blessed by God for health and heeling - a pure fluid connection to my inner being, my soul.

This fluid represents health, peace and serenity.  This fluid is ultimately conductive - allowing for the energy of my physical body to flow, unrestricted from my core to my limbs and back again.

I then visualize my energy flowing - a white electric light flowing through my conductive paths within this fluid medium.  I visualize my body as the energy that it is and that the energy is moving without obstructions - especially in those places where I hurt, I am tight.  This is especially easy now as the pain radiates down my nerve - the main pathway for electrical energy to travel throughout our bodies.

The end result - after the 45 min mediation, my pain had gone.  The fire down the back of my arm had cooled.  The numbness in my fingertips was still there but it was able to be embraced.  I sat still for a few moments, relishing in the lightness that I felt.

Then, I moved - well the world is not perfect - and the pain flooded back in, but my mind was left in a better, more present place to deal with the pain.  I was better able to be kind to my wife and had lost the low grade anxiety that lives within me. 

Overall - a brilliant success, something I will continue to investigate and practice.  By the way, I am still going to the neurologist on Monday but until then - maybe I can take some of this into my own hands instead of depending on a doctor who really doesn't care about me...

That's it for now...  Happy New Years Eve!

Hello All,

Well, the diagnosis has been narrowed down to two suspects with the most predominant being "Acute Brachial Neuritis, C6 and C7".  The second being "Cervical Radiculopathy".  There are significant differences in treatment but the symptoms are very similar.

Acute Brachial Neuritis:
Acute Brachial Neuritis or Brachial Neuritis (BN), also known as neuralgic amyotrophy, is a rare syndrome of unknown etiology affecting mainly the lower motor neurons of the brachial plexus and/or individual nerves or nerve branches. BN usually is characterized by the acute onset of excruciating unilateral shoulder pain, followed by flaccid paralysis of shoulder and parascapular muscles several days later. The syndrome can vary greatly in presentation and nerve involvement. (http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/315811-overview)

FIGURE 1. Acute brachial plexus neuritis usually involves the upper plexus, which supplies the shoulder and upper arm muscles. Weakness is frequently found in the rhomboideus major and minor muscles (dorsoscapular nerve), supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles (suprascapular nerve), deltoid muscle (axillary nerve) and biceps muscle (musculocutaneous nerve). (http://www.aafp.org/afp/20001101/2067.html)



Symptoms: 

• Sudden onset of pain in shoulder
• Arm
• Neck or hand
• Weakness in arm and shoulder
• Difficulty moving arm and shoulder
• Pins and needles
• Numbness in arm
• Shoulder and hand
• Fatigue
• Malaise
• Headache
• Muscle aches and pains 
• http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/b/brachial_neuritis/symptoms.htm#symptom_list
  

Cervical Radiculopathy:
Cervical radiculopathy is a dysfunction of a nerve root of the cervical spine. The seventh (C7; 60%) and sixth (C6; 25%) cervical nerve roots are the most commonly affected. (http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/94118-overview)

Nerve root dysfunction, which is usually secondary to chronic pressure or invasion of the root, causes a radicular syndrome of pain and segmental neurologic deficit.  Cervical (neck) disk syndrome involves pain, numbness and muscular spasm of the neck, radiating to the shoulders, caused by irritation and compression of the cervical nerve roots by a protruding intervertebral disk. (https://health.google.com/health/ref/Herniated+nucleus+pulposus).



(http://www.orthogate.org/patient-education/cervical-spine/cervical-radiculopathy.html)


Symptoms: 

• Arm muscle weakness
• Deep pain near or over the shoulder blades on the affected side
• Neck pain, especially in the back and sides
• Increased pain when bending the neck or turning head to the side
• Pain radiating to the shoulder, upper arm, forearm, and rarely the hand, fingers, or chest
• Pain made worse with coughing, straining, or laughing
• Spasm of the neck muscles
• https://health.google.com/health/ref/Herniated+nucleus+pulposus

Comparison:

Graciously Stolen from (http://www.aafp.org/afp/20001101/2067.html)

TABLE 1 Comparison of Acute Brachial Plexus Neuritis and Cervical Radiculopathy

Condition History Examination Tests and results Treatment Acute brachial plexus neuritis Intense, burning pain begins in shoulder and upper arm. Pain is unaltered by neck or arm movements. Pain is spontaneous, often with no apparent cause. Gradual decrease in pain followed by marked weakness of upper arm. Neurologic deficits indicate that more than one nerve is involved (i.e., lesion in the plexus). Electromyography and nerve conduction studies obtained three to four weeks after symptom onset reveal abnormalities consistent with a brachial plexus lesion. MRI scan of the clinically weak muscles may reveal high signal intensity on T2 images; these changes may appear within days following onset of symptoms. Analgesics as needed for pain Physical therapy to maintain strength and mobility If deltoid muscle is profoundly weak, recommend a sling to avoid subluxation of humerus. Encourage patient that condition usually, but slowly, improves. Cervical radiculopathy Pain begins in neck and radiates down the arm for variable distances. Pain is aggravated by neck movements. Pain may begin spontaneously following physical exertion or trauma, but may have no apparent cause. Pain and muscle weakness occur simultaneously. Weakness and numbness in the distribution of a single nerve root (contemporaneous with the neck and arm pain) Cervical spine radiograph may reveal interspace narrowing and osteophytes. MRI scan or myelogram followed by computed tomographic scan may reveal osteophyte or herniated disc pulposus consistent with clinical findings. Analgesics as needed for pain Steroid therapy may help decrease nerve root irritation. Muscle relaxants for muscle spasms Physical therapy Massage and cervical traction Anterior and posterior surgical procedures to decompress involved nerve roots

MRI = magnetic resonance imaging.

So, assuming that the good doctor is correct - the condition is a result of a viral infection at the nerve root of the cervical spine.  What???  Really??? I guess the good news is that this won't kill me...  The bad news is, no one can really tell me what caused this but my research has surfaced the fact that many people who come down with this afliction have also suffered another viral infection in the most recent history (preceeding few weeks) as I did when I came down with the flue just before Thanksgiving.

Even worse - and no the Dr. didn't say anything about this... here is the bloddy prognosis... After the pain goes away, the condition is charicterized by extreme weakness and muscle waisting.  Ya, muscle waisting...

This isn't me... god please don't let this be me...



Speaking of the Doctor.  Wow, I felt so lucky!  I finally found a doctor that I really like.  I met with Dr. Karl N Kaluza on Wednesday.  I didn't realize this but this was his last day under Dr. Selby's roof.  He has left the practice to places unknown and the bitch of this is that Dr. Selby's office (for fear that I might jump ship) won't give me his forwarding information so that I can inquire about the diagnosis he delivered!   By the way, their fear is justified, I am tired of going to the Vicoden spiewing Dr. Selby.  All he does is write scripts for Vicoden and each time I tell him that I don't need it.  Haha, I got a vicoden sript for the flu! Note to all: Don't go see Dr. Selby.

Anyway, I finally find a Doctor that I really like and he has disapeared with all the answers to my questions!!! ARGUHHH!!!  MY MD IS MIA!!!

I was feeling so stir crazy today, I had to get something which might resemble a workout...  I hit the gym and decided that the pool would be the most gentil way of increasing my heart rate.  Here is the extent to what I was able to accomplish (by the way, I am happy about this - 5 days ago, I was bound to the couch in physical agony).

* 50 M Pool running
* 50 M Kick board (this hurt as I had to hold my head up out of the water)
* 50 M Pool running
* Hot tub therapy
* Steam room therapy

... Well... its better than nothing!

Hello All,

Well the neck and back pain is improving although I am no where near 100% and don't expect to be for another 2 weeks (just guessing).  Last Thursday, I finally broke down and went to my MD.  The final diagnosis was something akin to a enlarged/swollen/irritated/potentially herniated disk in either C6 or C7 (most likely C6).  I was prescribed a combination of medicines which seam to be doing something as I am finally sleeping through the night.   The first, Pregnizone, which is a steroid to reduce inflammation and the second is Tizanidine which is a muscle relaxant.  Four days later, I was really hoping to be further along than I am but I don't want to seem ungrateful that I can now move and sleep.  I think the scariest thing is the numbness remains in my thumb, index finger and middle finger.   This really indicates that this is more than simple muscle spasms and will probably require a longer recover.  I still have radiating pain down the arm and localized ache in between my shoulder blade and spine - this pain though, as compared to 4 to 7 days ago - I can live with for a while.

Tomorrow, I am looking forward to getting back into the gym on a VERY limited basis.  I am thinking that I will simply strap on the shoes and peddle on the spin cycle for an hour while sitting straight up...  Anyway, I will see how that might feel.

To be honest, I am not terribly concerned about the triathlon.  I feel like I had a good base going into this injury and it won't take me too long to get back into condition once I recover from this.  Right now, I am simply feeling so stir crazy that I can hardly stand it!!!  The past 4 days have been gorgeous out here - 40s and 50s, sun shining and tons of riders out on the road taking advantage of this Indian summer.  

Thanks for listening!

Merry Christmas Everyone,

Well, the hysterics are calmed, the blizzard of wrapping paper recycled, the gun fire from Buz Lightyear has quieted and the whistles from the new, high tech automated steam engine have slowed to a stop.  One child is asleep and the other has been forced into quiet playtime (with the condition that he can hold watch his "New" Car's DVD while sitting quietly).  Our living room is fraught with toys, Christmas underwear, Train Tables and Thomas The Train tracks.  While we probably should be picking up and reorganizing our space to accommodate all of these newly acquired items - us grownups have decided to retire for a bit of rest ourselves.

While I can't speak for everyone, I received a truely unexpected and terribly wonderful gift this morning.  As a stocking stuffer, I received a new cycling magazine (ROAD - The Journal of Road Cycling and Culture).  In an attempt to escape for a few moments from the chaos of Christmas Morning, I opened to an article ( The Pablove Foundation: A Father, a Son and a bike. By John Madruga) and began to read.  What I read brought me to tears at our kitchen table, witnessed by my wife and mother in law - and is continuing to bring me to tears as I write this.  It was a story about a father, who in discovering his 4 year old son's rare form of cancer and subsequent passing on June 27th, 2009 starts a wonderful foundation called pablove.org and continues to blog about his experiences, thoughts and emotions as he deals with his tragic loss (PLEASE VISIT THIS HIS BLOG - http://getwellpablo.blogspot.com/).

During my reading, my crying and my grieving for a man and his son, whom I have never met - I received a wonderful and unexpected gift.  As I watch my 4 year old son get frustrated with his new Thomas The Train track set, I became truly terrified with the realization that both of my sons' lifes, my wife's life and my life are not guaranteed and are finite.  I became terrified that I too might loose those that I love, infinitely more times than anything else in my life.  The terror though subsided and was replaced with a feeling of true gratitude, a feeling of serenity and of peace.

I am grateful that at this moment, this day, I am blessed.  Rather than living in terror of what might happen, I will (at lest for today) live in the moment and appreciate what I have.

 I received a gift today of Serenity.  The type of serenity that comes from living in the most immediate presence.  Living without fear of the future nor guilt or regret of the past.  In the present, I find peace.

Most of all though I realized that my greatest gift is my family.  To my boys and my wife - I love you all so much. 

Thank you Pablo and Thank you Jeff.  The passing of this wonderful child will not be in veign - even in death, Pablo has been granted with the power to make another Son's and Father's relationship more powerful and fulfilling.  Your family will be in our prayers and thoughts.  I prey that you and your family also find peace today.  I prey that your family will also have a Merry Christmas.

I am feeling so frustrated. Last night was a bad as the first (4 days ago). While the sharp pain which I was whimpering over a few days ago has dulled, it is now a constant and consistent ache. The muscles in my back, chest and arms are firing at strange times, fluttering and shocking me fire that runs down my arm. The numbness has not left my left hand and if anything has gotten worse as it has creeped up my forearm.

I think the hardest part of this is my inability to be the husband and dad I want to be. A hundred times in the last 4 days, my four year old has asked "Dad, play with me!" A hundred times I have tried and had to return to this bloody chair.

Anyway, I am trying to stay positive but with only 2 or 3 hours of sleep last night and the polar feelings of pain and numbness in my left arm and shoulder are taking their tole.

Anyway...

Am I better? ...well yes and no. The good news is that I have considerably less pain in my shoulder, my arm, my rotator cuff and pectoral muscles. The bad news is that the numbness in my thumb, my index finger and my middle finger has not subsided at all. I have to see this as progress but I can't say that I am not seriously concerned with the numbness in my hand. As I have been told, numbness is always attributed to nerve stresses. Worst case scenario is that the stresses are induced by some sort of disk issue - this is bad... really bad and can require time off to heel, steroid bursts, steroid injections or surgury. Best case is that the inflamed, angry muscles surrounding the nerve are so swollen that they are affecting how the nerve is working. The chiropractor really believes that the nerve issues are due to issue #2 (swollen and angry muscles), as opposed to a disk issue. Technically, I believe this to be referred to as [scalene myofascial pain syndrome].

Take a look at the following picture... see the blue and purple... ya I could have drawn this photo myself based off of my symptoms...

Further research while writing this entry has surfaced some other scary things. My symptoms match (almost exactly) a condition called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Here is a description:

Thoracic outlet syndrome is a rare condition that occurs when there is compression of vessels and nerves in the area of the clavicle. This can happen when there is an extra cervical rib or because of a tight fibrous band that connects the spinal vertebra to the rib. There may be pain in the neck and shoulders, and numbness in the last 3 fingers and inner forearm. Thoracic outlet syndrome is usually treated with physical therapy which helps strengthen and straighten out the shoulders.

Here is what it all looks like (see photo on left):  
 
It is important to note that I broke my clavicle on the left side twice which could be the skeletal contributor of these issues I am having (word to the wise - don't try to compete with telephone poles!) I spoke to the chiropractor this morning and annoyingly he said "oh, well it sounds like the symptoms match - we can do some tests for that!" Maybe we should have done the tests first...

I just got off the phone with a orthopedic surgeon who is a close family member of mine. While he is 2000 miles away and couldn't examine me personally, based on my comprehensive description of my symptoms he is inclined to believe that this may be a herniated disk issue. I am more confused than ever and more frustrated than ever. I would hate for this blog to turn from the battle with a triathlon to a battle with a bad back...

According to one article I read, {Scalene Trigger Points: The Great Imitators: By Donald Murphy}, Scalene myofascial pain syndrome is easy to confuse with the clinical presentation with that of cervical disc herniation, thoracic outlet syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, peripheral neuropathy, subclavian venous thrombosis or subclavian atherosclerotic disease, all of which are relatively uncommon in comparison. Of course, these disorders must be ruled out before a definitive diagnosis can be made.

I do have another acupuncture appointment this afternoon which will be a much gentler treatment for the pain. I think at this point I will take it easy through the holidays and get into orthopedic specialist ASAP when the holidays are over.

Hi All! This is what I look like when I am not crippled with back pain! This is not what I look like now...

I suppose I should count my blessings, today I am NOT looking for a kind soul to end everything for me - so that is a plus. Although, I can't say I am far off. I credit this improvement to two incredibly talented individuals:

1) My chiropractor - Dr. David Corll (http://www.completecare.us/): While this is only the second time I have seen Dr. Corll he seems to have the healing touch! My fingers on my left hand are still numb but I am not crying anymore!

2) My acupuncturist - Monica Mathews (http://www.mathewsacupuncture.com/): Monica is our families miracle worker. You think I am kidding... keep reading. Monica has healed more of my illnesses than any other health care worker I have been to. To put this into perspective, the only 30 min of pain free serenity I have had in the past 4 days has been while laying on my side in Monica's office. I would have done anything to simply stay there all night and the next day looking like a pin cushion. Monica seems to have discovered the cure to the common cold (as she has now shortened my cold time to 2-3 days instead of my usual 10), fixed my rotater cuff in 3 session (which had been ailing me for over 10 months after a rock climbing injury) and exorcised malicious spirits, hahaha... haha.. ha... uh :-/.

I hope to add a massage therapist to this list on tomorrows addition - stay tuned!

As you may know, I have two little boys. One is 4 and the other is 2 and both are 30 lbs plus. You take their unsubstantial size and weight for granted most of the time, casually lifting their squirming mass in and out of the car, onto the couch, into the crib, off of the couch, off of the dining room table, off of the back of the easy chair, off of the counter top, off... off... off. Well, just wait until you can't pick up your left arm and then contemplate lifting 35 lbs of kicking screaming flesh off of anything! No offense to anyone but don't think God did much child rearing before he designed the human because if he did - our backs would be made out of carbon nanotubes (if you don't know what this is, watch the science channel at 4:00 AM like I was this morning via pain induced insomnia - supposedly these things are 30x stronger than the strongest steel alloy and are being designed to hoist huge bulks into space via a "space elevator"). Needless to say, NASA should employ parents of toddlers to analyze the stresses and strains of what real hoisting is all about... You think a space station compartment is tough to get off the ground, you should try these two!


See those smiles? Ya, they look cute now but what those smiles are really all about is the satisfaction of VICTORY!!! A few minutes before we took this photo, half of their face was painted with blue Scottish war paint. Despite all of the hoisting, dragging, tickling and just plain yelling, the two of them have managed to avoid capture and continue to hold down the fort.

Well needless to say - without all pistons firing at full capacity, there is no question that parenting is a loosing battle. I have yet another chiropractor appointment today as well as a massage scheduled. With any luck at all Santa may show up on Christmas Eve with a pain free night!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

OH MY GOD - PUT A BULLET IN ME NOW BECAUSE I AM IN AGONY.

So for the past 4 days I have had a bit of a neck/back ache. It was tight but nothing too terribly bad for the first two days - I even went for a ride on Saturday (Details below) and felt OK. At about 4:00 this morning though, I woke up unable to move without excruciating pain. I have been thought allot of painful things... broken collar bones, broken ribs, hernia surgeries and a whole bunch of other ailments. Very infrequently does pain cause me to well up with tears and whimper like a baby. It is 6:52 AM and in the past 3 hours I have done this twice. At 6:30 I left a pleading message with my chiropractor to get me in at whatever cost. This is true agony...

Well, to try and distract myself, I thought I would at least communicate my last ride on Saturday. It was actually really fantastic (besides the dodge ram that tried to run me off the road). Temperature was a brisk 50 degrees but no rain and intermittent fog (which was actually really cool to ride though). There were two huge elevation changes in the short 20 mile ride which allowed for fast descents into cloud banks and that amazing feeling of going from 20 ft visibility to blue sunny sky at the top of a climb. Overall it was gorgeous!!!

I think my favorite part of the ride was the last climb - this was one of those where your HR is over 180 and you look down (while standing on the peddles) and your speed is 5.2 mph.

Here are the stats:
Ride Time: 1:34 total
Ave HR: 166 BPM
Max HR: 188 BPM
In target HR Zone: 25 min
Above target HR Zone: 108 min
1613 Kcal burned
Distance: 20.4 miles
Ave Speed: 13 MPH
Top Speed: 36 MPH

Here is a map of the ride with elevation.

Anyway, I will keep you all updated on the state of my back... thanks for listening!

So, I have received a question about the name of the blog...

In essence, after quite a long conversation of what a Tweedle Beetle was - it really comes down to this.  My oldest son Aidan love the book "Fox in Socks" by good old Dr. Seuss. 


I have now read this book a sufficient number of times to be able to project these terribly tight, trembling, touchy, tongue twisters without error.  My favorite section of this book has to do with the Tweetle Beetles and their incessant battles in every medium from a puddle to a bottle on a poodle with some fairly dangerous paddles.



I guess I relate their battles to the same sort of battles that athletes will engage in the water (puddle) the run and the bike section of a triathlon.  Besides - the name helps me feel a little closer to my kids, a huge motivation in completing this challenge in my life.



Oh and I just realized that I am a bit of a dunce and in the spelling of the name "Tweedle" I put a "d" instead of a "t".  I suppose it should read "Tweetle" instead of "Tweedle".  Um, for those of you who really know me... you really won’t be surprised as I feel lucky every time I spell my name correctly as I cant accurately spell much else!



Here are the Lyrics to this section of Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss.

Let's have a little talk about tweetle beetles....


What do you know about tweetle beetles?  Well...
When tweetle beetles fight,
it's called a tweetle beetle battle.


And when they battle in a puddle, 


it's a tweetle beetle puddle battle.


AND when tweetle beetles battle with paddles in a puddle,
they call it a tweetle beetle puddle paddle battle.


AND...


When beetles battle beetles in a puddle paddle battle
and the beetle battle puddle is a puddle in a bottle...
...they call this a tweetle beetle bottle puddle paddle battle muddle.


AND...


When beetles fight these battles in a bottle with their paddles
and the bottle's on a poodle and the poodle's eating noodles...
...they call this a muddle puddle tweetle poodle beetle noodle
bottle paddle battle.


AND...


Now wait a minute, Mr. Socks Fox!
When a fox is in the bottle where the tweetle beetles battle
with their paddles in a puddle on a noodle-eating poodle,
THIS is what they call...



...a tweetle beetle noodle poodle bottled paddled
muddled duddled fuddled wuddled fox in socks, sir!


Anyway - for all of you out there who are looking for a new blog name... this one is now taken and you can't have it back!

Good News!

Today (as compared to yesterday) I actually know what I am getting myself into...    I came to the conclusion that while I can run and I can swim and I can ride a Bike - I am no where near being able to swim 1.2 miles straight... run 13.2 miles straight or ride 56.3 miles.  I am certainly no where near being able to put them all together and start with the swim and finished with the run without stopping... seriously, you have to be kidding me.  Not only am I no where near being able to do this, I have no idea how to get there...

Here is my problem... I have 5K patience.  What is 5K patience you might ask?  Well here is how I might define it.  When someone tells me to run 60 min at a level 3 or 4, in my heart of hearts that means run for 60 min at about 5.5 mph (12 min miles, I think).  What I do though is translate that simple request to run 60 min at 3 or 4 into, I want to run 8 miles in 60 min!  Can I do that?  Well yes I can I found out today, but with a heart rate that started at 162 and climed to 190 by the time I was done... I don't think I met the level 3 or 4 expectation.... 

Well just to keep honest and because I think that part of this should be a training journal, here was my workout today.

Run: 8.5 miles
Ave Speed: 7.6 mph
Time: Aprox 70 min with warmup and cool down
Ave HR: 173 BPM (162 BPM first mile / 188 BPM last mile)
Push Ups
Situps
Back Extensions

Overall I felt fantastic...  I am feeling super motivated and excited to do this (lets see how long that might last)

On June 26, 2010 - 1000 hopeful Tri-Athletes will pour into Wickiup Reservoir near Sun River Oregon...  their breath falling short and chest clenching from the near freezing temperatures.  They will pull their way through a 1.2 mile swim, peddle through 56.3 miles of mountains and run another 13.1 miles to the finish at Sunriver Resort outside of beautiful Bend Oregon.

I am going to be one of them. 

Assuming I finish (this is a bit iffy at this point) 4 to 9 hours later I will stumble across the finish line, collapsing into a bliss filled coma at the feet of my very overwork wife and two terribly impatient toddlers.

With any luck I will be so exhausted that I will be unable to hear or maybe comprehend the whining that will inevitability accompany my two wonderful children after waiting at the finish line for hours on end...  I have to admit, I hope they will be there.

First off - who am I?  What a messed up question is that???  Eight years ago, I would have answered with something like, "Oh, I am a Chemical Engineer."  Six years ago, I would have blurted out, "I am an Operations Manager!" Three years ago, I would have proudly said, "I am a small business owner."  Recently, I have come to realize that all of these things are all about what I do and not who I am.

Who I am is a imperfect soul who loves his family more than anything.  My two little boys have showed me who I should be and my wifes forgiving love keeps me on track.  I am the reflection in my families eyes.

What am I doing?  I am trying to get some accountability around a very serious challenge.  My wife and children will love me regardless of whether or not I finish this race... all of you - I hope not!

What is this blog about?  Taking a 10K race ready athelete to a 1/2 Iron Man ready athelete, all the while maintaining my marrage and continuing to be the Dad my boys deserve.  This journey will last 6 months and will come to completion on June 26th, 2010.