4 Amazing days.

I just got back from my trip and had such a great time I am going to wow all you readers by blogging again just 4 days later. I could go on and on about how much fun I had and how great it was but I will try and pick my favorite moments so you don't feel like you are reading a novel.

First and most importantly, the people on the ride. You get a bunch of wounded vets together and there is an instant connection. I met new wounded vets, re- connected with ones from a few years ago and was overly impressed by the attitudes and determination of them all. The ride was dedicated to the wife of a SGT Hart who was KIA in Iraq. She was along for the ride and to have her there with us made it that much more special. With her company, the number of other vets, all the people who make the event happen (Woody, Sean, Jb to name a few) and my incredibly awesome roommate and Sadlers companion, Susan Katz, I had a fantastic trip.

We started out in Santa Barbara where I met up with my CTS coach, Mike Durner and another rider Saul. I could write a whole new blog entry on Saul but to avoid another novel I am just going to pass along his website and urge you all to take a look at it. He is incredible. http://www.saulraisin.com
Mike, Saul and I spent the first day up in Buellton, CA where we did a 24 mile ride and then met with some of the other CTS coaches and riders. CTS was hosting a camp and a number of riders had gone out to ride for the week in Buellton. We then drove back to Santa Barbara where we met up with Soldier Ride. Coach Mike and Saul both joined us for the full Soldier Ride.

On Thurs we rode around Santa Barbara for about 15 miles and cut the ride short so we could drive up and see the ending of stage 5 of the Tour de CA. I have never been to a professional cycling race and the anticipation of waiting for the peleton to whoosh by at 40mph is exhilirating. It goes by in an instant but what an instant it was. After the race we got a meet and greet with Team Astana which is Lance Armstrong's team. We didn't meet Lance but we got to hold his bike and meet some of his teammates. A great, nice in a lifetime experience and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Fri was my favorite day. The night before we rode the bus down to Santa Monica and put up in a hotel right by the Santa Monica pier. In the morning we rode on the paved beach path right along the water, through Venice beach, in the gorgeous CA weather. The police escorts allowed us to set the pace and Katz and I were up in the front pushing ourselves to go faster. After the 20 mile ride, Coach Mike, Katz and I continued a but further and did some interval work that was VERY tough. 1 min on, 30 sec off 8 times. It was tough but Katz and I encouraged eachother and were motivated by the scenery and did great although Mike kicked my butt. A great workout it was.

We got to enjoy some of the Santa Monica nightlife that evening and got to meet the one armed Def Leppard drummer, Rick Allen. It was slightly embarrassing as I overheard him mentioning to someone he played the drums. So I turn to him and say, "Oh, you play music?" And he says, "Yes, I play for a small group know as Def Leppard". Yes, embarrassing it was. But he and his wife were extremely nice and supportive to join us for the evening.

Yesterday we started out at Balboa Navy hospital and took the ferry over to Coronado for a ride around the island. A teammate from the Greatest Relay team ever, Malcom, joined us for a bit and I was honored that he came. Thanks Malcom!
We ended the ride last night with a dinner hosted by some retired FDNY personnel. Always a pleasure to be in their company and they spoiled us with bagpipes, lots of food and free fat tire beer. Can't get much better than that.

Katz and I both had an early flight this AM so after a short 4 hour 'nap' we headed to the airport. I, of course, slept the whole way home.

One other piece of exciting news is that Woody, the head of Soldier Ride, is allowing me to borrow a hand cycle from now through Alaska. I have one already but it is much older and after riding this new one all weekend I realized how great it was. So he was generous enough to let me bring it back to Chicago with me and it's already set up and ready to go on my trainer.

I was worried about being gone from home for 4 whole days but as suspected, they went by fast. I was honored to be surrounded by the other riders there and can honestly say it was the best SR I have ever been on. Not to mention almost 80 miles of good training for Alaska.

I am now home for only a few days and I head down to Jacksonville, FL for the WWP board meeting. More warm weather. Yeah!

Soldier Ride!

I am currently sitting in the LAX airport waiting for my flight to take me out to Santa Barbara for the beginning of Soldier Ride. This is my first time out of Chicago in over a month which may be a record and I wasn't a fan of saying bye to Dick early this morning for 4 whole nights. But now that I am in LA, I am more and more excited for the next few days. When I get to Santa Barbara I am meeting up with my CTS coach Mike and I think I'll be meeting a few other CTS folks as well. Mike is going to take me on a ride and then we will meet up with the Soldier Ride www.woundedwarriorproject.org crew tonight. I am pumped to see my Sadlers buddy, Susan Katz among may others. Tomorrow the ride will start and we will make our way down the coast to San Diego. I am riding only an arm bike this time as part of my Sadlers training. I didn't even bring my clip in shoe to avoid any desire to ride a normal bike. It is about 25 miles a day and then we drive the rest but we have multiple events to raise awareness for wounded vets. It never fails to be a great time.

Since I've written last there have been a few exciting things along the way. First, I have officially started my residency. It will be a 15 month one opposed to the usual 12 month one to allow me to do things like Soldier Ride and other events I have planned. I am really enjoying it so far and am glad Scheck and Siress is willing to be so flexible with me. I really enjoy the patient contact and the more I learn and remember in the lab the more fun it is.

It was Dick and I's 6 year anniversary this past weekend. 6 years, I can't believe it. We went up to Lake Geneva, WI to a B&B for the night and it was fantastic. It's so strange to look back and see how far we've come and how much has happened since that trip to Vegas in 2003. I am so lucky to have such a supportive and loving husband to spend the rest of my life with.

The training hasn't let up. I have decided that if I have to do anything over a 1.5hr ride it's best to get up early and do it before work. So last week I was up before 5am two days in a row and on the bike. it's nice to have it done but I am so exhausted by the evening that I'm ready for bed as soon as I walk in the door. As far as swimming, I did 100 x 100's for the second time in my life last Sun. My plan was to swim about 5,000 but I started doing 100's and then kept going. It got tough on #80, physically and mentally but I was so close I had to make it to 100. It was difficult to do on my own and was supposed to wake up early that AM and do it with a team but it was on a Sun so I slept in. Of course. I was proud of myself to finish them on my own.

I've been to a few speaking engagements, one at Oswego high school were I got to speak to the swim and dive team as well which was fun. They could relate with all the swimming so I got to talk swim times with those that understood them. I enjoyed myself.

I'm going to get some lunch before I head to my flight. Hopefully next time I'll have some fun Soldier Ride stories to share.

Motivated by chocolate.

Well, it's that time again. Time for another update.

I have officially started my residency and it's great. It keep me busy, real busy in fact, but I love it. I feel productive, I enjoy learning more about prosthetics, I love the patient contact and I love my co- workers... it is just great. It's been working out well with the part time. I am able to get my workouts in and still work a good amount. Last week it was about 35 work hours so more than part time which is good. My goal is to finish my 2000 hours and take the board exams next summer, 2010. So I need to work more than part time to do that especially since I will be gone for a few weeks in there.

I have turned 29 since I last wrote and it was a good day. Dick had a test on Monday so I thought he would be studying all day. He surprised me with taking the day off of studying and spending the whole day with me starting with a 0 degree sunrise on Lake Michigan. He had a whole day of plans ending with the now infamous Chocolatefest. Chocolatefest is exactly as it sounds and was absolutely wonderful. 200 people, 200 pounds of chocolate, 50 pounds of butter, and 30 of heavy cream made any and every type of chocolate dessert you could imagine. Now take that amount and multiply it, By three. That was the glorious amount of chocolate that was there and what a way to celebrate a birthday. It was sooo tasty. It was a well worth the 5 pound weight gain. The picture on your right is 1 of the 10 tables filled with chocolate.

At Chocolatefest I ran into a friend who just broke the above the knee amputee marathon world record by 40 minutes. Yes, 4-0. Impressive to say the least.
She gave me some motivation and on Monday I got on the treadmill and ran for 30 min and actually ran 2.1 miles. When I say run, I mean run a few min, walk one, run a few, walk one, etc.. But I was so so pumped about it. Hard, yes. Sweaty, yes. But the out of the pool sweaty feeling that I've missed was there and that was great. I have run 2 more times since then and am progressively getting faster. Just a little bit, but today I ran 2.19 miles in 30 min so that's progress. Little be little right...

I have been on the armbike quite a bit as well. The intensity is only going up and it's getting harder. Since I'm working now I have to do some of my workouts after work and that makes it more difficult as well. But I'm sure the last day or two in Alaska will be pretty tough too, so that's OK.

I think that's about it for now. This week I'm going to speak at a high school assembly and to there swim team. Then this weekend it;s Dick and I's 6 year anniversary. 6 years since we took the ride in that helicopter. Seems like it was only yesterday.

Until next week, have a good one.

I'm a flip- flopper

Well it's official, I have become a flip- flopper. Not in the political sense as you may be thinking but in what I am wanting to do with my life right now. Originally (and in past blogs) I have written about how I am going to train full time and do speaking engagements when they come up. Sounds glamorous huh. That's what I thought...

I have been doing just that for a few weeks now and it is much different than I was expecting. I was expecting my life at the OTC where I ate, slept and swam. It is much much different at home and it admittedly gets a bit boring and a bit lonely. So you understand what I mean let me tell you a typical day: Wake up at 5am. Swim from 5:30-7:30. Come home. Eat breakfast, watch Regis and Kelly. At approx. 10am I get on my armbike for 1.5 hrs and watch The View. 11:30- shower. 12- lunch. And then it stops. A few times a week I will swim in the afternoon as well and I will leave the house at 4:30, returning at 7:30 to eat dinner watch some TV and in bed by 9:30 to get up and do it all again.

Now this may sound like a great life to many of you and who am I to complain about having nothing to do. After all from 12:30 on I can do whatever I want. Read a book, see a movie, watch TV, sit on the couch, Anything. And I get caught up on my celebrity gossip with all my TV shows. But THAT is exactly the problem. Dick and the friends I have here all work or are in school so I am by myself this whole time and it gets rather lonely. Not to mention it can get a bit boring. I also feel very un- productive in the world. I am getting myself physically fit which is great. But as far as having an impact and doing something meaningful on a day to day basis..not so much.

I have also come to the realization that I'm not too fond of travel. Especially for multiple nights as being away from Dick isn't fun. I am going to be traveling so much for athletic events this summer that if I add speaking engagements in there I will be gone at some point every week. And I really don't want that. So, I have actually made a decision (WooHoo!) in that I am going to limit my speaking to the Chicago area unless something that comes my way that is really appealing. In March and April I will be out of town for speaking engagements I have already committed to but I am going to limit them from now on.

Now, to get to the point. You may want to brace yourself but I am actually going to be starting my prosthetic residency in the near future..gasp...I actually made a decision.
Scheck and Siress is such a great company to both be a patient at and an employee that I would be really stupid to not do my residency with them while we are still living in Chicago. They are willing to be flexible with my schedule, allowing me to do all the events I have already planned on and I will be starting on as a resident as early as next week. I will still be able to swim in the mornings and then other workouts will be pushed until after work. If I have a particularly long one I may take off from work a few hours early. The typical residency is one year long but with all the days I will be gone it will take me up to 18 months to complete. I am very excited for this and happy to have finally made a decision. I have been in to help out in the prosthetic lab the last 2 days I feel so so much more productive. I get to start my residency out under David Rotter and he is my prosthetist as well. He is so passionate about his work and his patients (he even came to Beijing to cheer me on) that working with him will be fantastic. He's the one in the picture. Check out the company at http://www.scheckand siress.com.
Starting in the end of Feb I will be out of town frequently through the end of June and then a week in July. But Scheck and Siress is so gracious to accommodate my schedule and I feel lucky to be affiliated with them.

I keep thinking that perhaps I made a wrong decision a few months back but had I not made that decision I always would have wondered what this 'so- called' glamorous life was like. I am happy I tried it even if just for a few weeks and that I have the resources that allow me to flip flop. What can I say, I'm a flip- flopper.
So, that's the latest from my end.

Swimming is good but hard, armbike is good but hard, running is plain hard but prosthetics is fun. I can't wait to get started...

Filled with pride

Yesterday history was made. I was so filled with pride as I witnessed on TV the inauguration of our new president, President Obama. Just to thinking about how far we have come as a country and watching him give his speech the parade and all the other coverage, it gave me chills and I was just bursting with pride. What a day.

I have finally started on a training routine. Last week was my first week and I swam 5 times and actually got my handcycle out of the basement and set it up. It was quite the achievement... I am working with Carmichael Training systems (www.trainright.com) with Mike Durner as my coach on my training for the Sadlers Alaska Challenge. He puts my workout online and I check it off everyday as I do it. I started with 3 1.5 hr rides last week. When I first saw the schedule I thought he was crazy to start with 1.5 hrs and the first ride was challenging but the others 2 were a little better. I have ridden twice this week and am getting the hang of it. Hopefully by July I'll be all set to not only finish the race but feel as though I had trained well and was ready for it. That and not getting attacked by some sort of wildlife is the goal. This week I am stepping it up to 7 swim practices a week and a little more on the handcycle. I think I even get on the treadmill this week.

I have my race schedule mapped out for the rest of the year. I won't go over all of them but it is with the ultimate goal of completing a full triathlon on my own, any distance, but where I do the running portion as a run instead of on a handcycle. I am doing a few half ironman's but they are all as relays and I am usually the swimmer although one I will be biking as well. The full one I am going for is the Chicago triathlon which is in Aug. Hopefully I will feel comfortable running by then. I plan on starting with a few local 5K's once it gets warmer and seeing how it goes. I did just sign up with 2 others for the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in June. I am again the swimmer and my two other relay members are those that I did the CAF triathlon with last Oct. We affectionately call ourselves 'the greatest relay ever'. Which we are. This is quite the challenging race starting with the swim which includes getting on a boat at 4:30am, riding out to Alcatraz, jumping off the boat at about 6am into freezing water with a huge current and swimming to 1.5 miles to the mainland all the time praying that you out swim the sharks. It's a blast. Once I successfully Escape from Alcatraz (it IS possible , David Lee will move onto the grueling bike course and then pass on the chip to Malcom will run up sand stairs and all around San Francisco to finish up. So why do we do we put ourselves through this torture you may ask. Because the greatest relay team in the world can do anything. That is why. The picture you see above is of my teammates and I at the CAF race. Alcatraz here we come.

I am excited about this race (Alcatraz) in particular because it is during one of Dick's breaks from school after his 1st board exam. So not only will he be with me in San Francisco but we will leave from there for a Hawaiian vacation. Hawaii is one of the places we may have the opportunity to move for Dicks residency so we are anxious to check it out to see if we would like to live there for 5 years. And it's Hawaii, who wouldn't want to go there for a week.

Aside from training, I was in Lake Tahoe for a speech to some Oklahoma bankers last week. I was only there for one night so I didn't get to explore much but I saw the most beautiful sunset from my hotel room. It is so gorgeous there, mountains and a lake, it can't get much better than that.

I just got done with an exhausting swim practice this morning and it's time for me to make my coffee. Until next time, stay warm.

Our Roman New Year

So much for the once a week post...

The highlights of my past few weeks were the holidays. Duh. I guess that's a given. Mine were especially great since I got to spend time with Dick without his textbooks and we had a great time.

Before I begin with the holidays, I got to go to NY and attend the Heisman awards gala. I ended up leaving my dress on the plane and had to make a quick dash to Macy's to get a new one. But other than that it was a fun time. Getting to spend the evening with some friends was the best part and we got to meet Geraldo Rivera himself, big mustache and all.

We started off the holidays in Colorado for the New Year. His parents just finished their new house and had the whole extended family over. 17 people one day, 13 the next. The house is awesome and spending time with his brother and the rest of his family were the highlights.

From CO we came back to Chicago for a night and then headed off to spend the New Year in Rome. After a few difficulties with Alitalia and our flight there we had such a great time. The Colosseum, the croissants, the wine, piazza's, the pantheon, the weather, Tuscany, and of course the good company made it one of our best New Years ever. We had seven days and got to spend it with our friend's Brian and Jen. My favorite sight was the Colosseum and just hanging out in the piazza's with the markets of fresh vegetables. I love the pizza, gelato, cheese,the good tomatoes. We started out everyday with a cappuccino and a proceeded to snack and eat a number of foods throughout the day ending with a dinner #2 at about 11pm. I had to brace myself before stepping on the scale yesterday.
I have never seen a more rowdy New Year. We spent it in the Piazza de Popolo where there is this big statue in the middle. We stationed ourselves by the statue and as midnight approached mobs of people came but they surrounded the statue leaving a large 'zone' in the middle of empty space. This was where all the fireworks went off, cherry bombs and more. There were all these fireworks that would be illegal in the USA that kept going off. In order to get to the bathroom we had to run through this 'zone' and we would look for a firecracker that had just gone off and go that direction as quick as we could. It was crazy. But a great way to bring in 2009!

On New Years Day we rented a car and drove to one of the hill towns in Tuscany which was awesome. Just to see another part of Italy and experience a small, local town was great.

We are now back in Chicago and Dick has started back up with school. We are busy moving, just a few towns closer to his school and to the city so it's only about 15 min away. We are taking a trip or two every day and will move all our large furniture on Sat and be fully moved in. It is a much smaller place so we are making many trips to Goodwill but the place is great and we can't wait to move in.

I swam for the first time yesterday in a few weeks and boy am I out of shape. I am going to ease myself in lightly by only swimming once a week this week and starting out with a few doubles next week. I am going to be here for most of Jan which I am excited about. I have a number of different things I am doing in the Chicago area and then only one night gone for a speech in lake Tahoe. I am anxious to start in some sort of routine once we are moved.

Right now it's back to continue packing up the boxes. Such fun.

Update...

It's time for another update. I am going to try and attempt a weekly entry from here on out but we'll see how that goes.

Where to begin...well, Dick and I spent Thanksgiving at my parents house in SC. It was great to see my parents, my sister Amanda and her family. Amanda's kids get so much bigger everytime we see them and they are so much fun to be around. I wish we all lived closer so we could see them more.

From SC I went to MN for my 10yr high school reunion. The reunion didn't bring as many people as we thought it would be I went with 4 of my best girlfriends from high school. To all be together with them again was worth the trip. I made a quick trip to Grantsburg, WI and got to go around with my friend Brandi, the vet, to all her appts which was awesome. I visited my first real farm, saw Brandi fix up some cows and gently shove a uterus back into one. It was thrilling to say the least.

I've done a few speaking gigs along the way, one in DC and one this week at Thornwood high school in South Chicago. Craig Renaud, the guy shooting the documentary Warrior Champions was there to film my high school talk so I assume I'll be seeing part of it on a big screen at some point. Hopefully I sounded OK.

I finally went and tried a few organized swim practices at UIC swimming. It is a masters/ college team where at certain practices a week everyone does the same workouts. I did one of the college ones and thought I was going to die. It was the hardest one I had done since Sep and I felt it. I am way out of shape. After the New Year I plan on starting up again in full force with that team. I'm thinking 8 in pool practices a week along with some weights and other training.

Speaking of other training, I am starting to get a little nervous about this Sadlers Alaska Challege I signed up for. My friend Susan Katz who is also doing it has a blog of her training (http://idontlikefunpeople.wordpress.com) which makes me feel like such a slacker. She has been at it for a while and I'm thinking maybe I should have started by now. Luckily, I have a coach with Carmichael Training Systems that is going to help me with workouts after the New Year and get me ready for the race. I'm thinking I may at least get my bike out of the garage sometime next week. That's a start right...

Dick has finals next week and is busy studying all this weekend and next week. I am SO looking forward to next Fri when he will be finished and we can go away without his textbooks. We are headed to CO for Xmas and then to Rome for the New Year. We haven't had much time to think about Rome but are really looking forward to it. We are going with another couple and are super excited to see them for a week of too much food and too much wine. I'll really need that training to get rid of those extra pounds when I get back...

Tomorrow I am headed to NY to attend the Heisman awards gala/ dinner thing and then to DC to take part in a study at Walter Reed and to help with a swim clinic with Jimi, my OTC swim coach.

But today, it's time for some Xmas shopping. Time to go battle the crowds. Wish me luck.

Living in the moment

I figured its about time for an update.

Let's see, let me start with a new development in my life. Until last week I had plans to start my residency with Scheck and Siress in Jan. After lots and lots of thinking, going back and forth and a slight early mid- life crisis I have decided that I am going to postpone my residency indefinitely. This is for a few reasons. First, I am at a point in my life where I have a lot of opportunities to do many things that I enjoy including; motivational speaking, various events with non- profit organizations such as the Wounded Warrior Project and the Challenged Athletes Foundation, and continuing to train for swimming and other athletic events. All of these events that I go to, athletic and others I enjoy so much and by doing a full time residency I would be unable to go to most of them. I am trying to live in the moment and do what truly makes me happy. And for the time being, it is being able to attend these races, speaking and other veteran events. This is not to say that I will never go back to prosthetics as I do want a career at some point, but its not my time quite yet. I feel unbelievably lucky to have the opportunity to be at this point in my life where I can do what I enjoy in the moment.

That being said I have decided that 2012 is the long term goal for now. After watching the NBC Paralympic special and seeing myself race on USN I realized just how unhappy I was with my performance in Beijing. I don't want to go out that way and although I am going to take it meet by meet and see how my times are, 2012 is the goal.

I am in the process of looking for a competitive swim team here in Chicago. It is hard since I have been traveling so much but I have a few ideas. Once we get back from the New Year I will start in full swing. Hopefully with a good swim team, weight trainer, possible triathlon coach, etc...If my job is going to be to continue as an athlete I might as well put everything I have back into it. I am also a definite 'in' for the Sadlers Alaska Challenge so training needs to start for that as well..

So, yeah, that's the latest...

This past week I was in NY for a WWP/ DSUSA dinner. My mom joined me and we had two days as mother and daughter in NY which was nice. We went to Central Park, saw Chicago on Broadway, saw the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, got to go on the floor at the NY Stock Exchange and attended a wonderful dinner put on by the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project. It was a dinner celebrating the success of veterans and athletics and I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it. General Petraeus was there as well and it was a huge honor to meet him. (See above pictures)

I am heading out tomorrow to visit a friend in TN and then go to my parents for Thanksgiving. I doubt I will write again before then so Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Oh and if you get the chance on Thanksgiving night watch CNN with Lou Dobbs at 7pmEST. You'll see my smiling face.

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day and I wish I could personally thank all those who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for my freedom. I know a simple thank you is never enough for the loved ones of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, and to them I owe a lifetime of gratitude. It's days like today where I sit back and think about just how good we have it. The freedoms we have that are much too often taken for granted. I will fly my flag high and look at the red, white and blue of which I respect so dearly, and in my heart thank all of those who have served and continue to serve this great country of ours. Thank you.

Since I have last written I have been to DC where I got to attend a book release party for a book titled Returning Wars Wounded, Injured and Ill. If you look closely you will see that I am on the cover with my physical therapist from Walter Reed, Bob Bahr. The book can be viewed and purchased on many sites, just type it into the search engine. I enjoyed being in DC to speak at the release party and met lots of wonderful people.

This past week I was in Little Rock, AR and Memphis, TN as a part of Soldier Ride, a program with the Wounded Warrior Project "http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org". Soldier Ride events take place nation wide throughout the year and it's where a number of wounded vets all come together and ride our bikes from one place to the next to raise awareness for WWP and the vets coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. This particular ride we started out in Little Rock, AR where we rode 25 miles and ended up at the Clinton Library for a nice reception. I got a nice certificat being honored by the Daughters of the American Revolution which added to th day. We then drove to Memphis where we began the ride the next day. I cut out early to be home for the weekend but the ride continued onto Nashville the next day. As usual, the support was awesome and I had a great time. I am going to be joining in on another ride this Feb. in order to train for this insane event that I, with the help of Ms. Susan Katz, got me involved with.

The Sadler's Alaska Challenge it's called and it's 267 miles of hand cycling across Alaska from July 19- 27. The longest wheelchair and handcycle race in the world. Now Susan Katz currently works at the OTC and is a former wheelchair basketball Paralympian. I met her for the 1st time a few months ago and knew from the start that she rocked. She announced that she was doing this race and I glanced it over a few times thinking it would be pretty cool but never thinking I would actually do it. Well, turns out there is 1 spot left for a female hand cyclist. After going back and forth and making Susan reassure me I would not be left in the wilderness to be eaten by a bear I have sent out the email that I would like to fill the last slot. I guess it's not a guaranteed yet, but the email is out.
Before I go any further you should all go check out the course. go to "http://www.sadlersakchallenge.org". Find the race route and look at the elevation changes. We are climbing mountains, pure mountains, on a bike with our arms. Challenging, very. But it is doable and the feeling of accomplishment of finishing each day will be worth it all. And really, what's life without challenges anyways?
Normally I would sign up for something, maybe train a little and hope that I can finish. This, however, is a little different. In order to not embarrass myself and be miles and miles behind, I will need to put in the proper training. Until now, the furthest I have gone is 26.2 miles and that hurt. bad. Jumping up to 55 miles in one day with a mountain thrown in there... It's gonna be tough but I'm excited for the challenge. Thanks to Susan for encouraging me and giving me a friendly push to do it.

I am continuing to train in the pool and do weights, but now I'll be on my hand cycle a little more as well. I'll keep an update on my blog as to how training is going once I find the right coach to push me along.

Until then, I hope you all said your thanks to a soldier, past or present, at some point today. We owe all that we have to them. God Bless America. And good night.

Chicago marathon

I had a friendly reminder (thanks Alisha) that I forgot to mention the Chicago marathon in my last White House post so here it is.

This past weekend I competed in the Chicago marathon on an arm bike. It was my 3rd marathon, the other 2 being NYC. This one was especially awesome because fellow veteran Tammy Duckworth and another friend, Alisha Middel did it as well. And it was a flat course which is always nice when you ride a bike with your arms. We did it with a group called Achilles and a number of other wounded vets. We all finished the marathon, completing all 26.2 miles and got the reward of the medal put around our neck.

I had a slight issue at mile 8 when my handle broke off my bike. Luckily one of the crowd was able to wheel me into his garage and fix my bike so I could continue. Then on mile 24 I took a turn a little sharp and fell off my bike hurting my leg (the short one) in the process. Luckily it's feeling better after some relaxing this past week. This was the first I had been on my arm bike in about 2 years and I felt it. My shoulders started to burn pretty bad about halfway through but it was an awesome day with a ton of crowds to cheer us on and I did my best. My time was 2:08 across the line.

It was a great time and I enjoyed myself. Being in that atmosphere makes me realize how much I want get better at running. I would love to cross the finish line on my feet someday...

The White House

I've been home for a month now and I wasn't planning on continuing my blog but decided I would update it occasionally and when anything exciting happens.

I'm a week and a half overdue in my something exciting but I have to share it anyways. Every four years after the Olympics and Paralympics the entire Olympic and Paralympic teams get to go to the White House. This year Mr. Bush gave spoke to all of us and since I was one of the flag bearers I got to present a gift to him and his wife. Never in my life did I think I would say into a microphone, Mr. President and Mrs. Bush, but that is exactly what I did. He shook my hand a number of times and gave me a hug and a kiss on the head which is what the pictures are. In the few minutes I met him he expressed gratitude and seemed genuinely appreciative. I was impressed... Along with meeting the president we got to see all sorts of other Olympians and got pictures with Shawn Johnson, Nastia Luiken, Ryan Lochte, etc... It was a great trip with the main highlight being the chance to see my teammates again.

Other than that excitement I we have been to MN for a wedding, to visit some friends and family in NC and SC, camping, etc... This Wed. I am leaving to go to CA for a military sports camp and the annual Challenged Athletes FOundation triathlon which I look forward to every year. I have no doubts I will come back inspired by what I see as I do every year.

The days I am back at home are a little strange. Since I'm not starting work until Jan. I don't really have anything I have to do so I tend to sit around a lot thinking abut the things I should be doing. I have been back in the water a few times but I'm not committed to it again yet. We'll see about that.

All right, that's it for now. Have a good day.

Pictures.

I have been back in the states now for a few days and getting over the jet lag has not been easy. I think I brought something back from Beijing with me as I haven't been feeling that well since I've been back but I am getting better as the days go on. I am still in CO but am leaving tomorrow to drive back to Chicago. I am really looking forward to finally being at home. Since we can post pictures now I wanted to post a few of my favorites from my time in Beijing. I can't figure out how to put captions on them but they are of opening and closing ceremonies, our time in the cube and one of my room in the Olympic Village. Enjoy.

My last days in Beijing.

Tonight was closing ceremonies. I was nominated to carry the flag for the US delegation and got the honor of doing so. It was such an honor, I can't even explain it in words. Standing in the tunnel with all the countries and walking out into the sold out stadium carrying our flag was amazing. It adds even more to the whole experience and was the perfect way to end the trip.

Our team finished up in the water cube on top of the medal count. We got the most overall medals in the meet ahead of China and Ukraine. It was incredible, I only wish I could have added to the count. But being part of the Team has been the experience of a lifetime.

I finally got to get around and see some of China. I went with my parents and a tour guide who showed us the sights. We went to the Great Wall and it was sooo cool. We took a gondola up most of the way and then walked the rest of the way up. What a sight to be on top of the wall. It was a for sure highlight of the trip. After the great wall we went to this back alley restaurant and got some Peking Duck. We walked in and saw the ducks roasting in the fire. The cook brought them over to our table and we got 4 plates of duck meet that we wrapped in these real thin pancakes with cucumbers. It was soo tasty. Then we had quite the experience at the silk market. It's this indoor mall with hundreds of stalls that have anything you can think of and you barter back and forth for the price you want. I got a few knock off purses and some jewlery. I enjoyed myself there. It was an overall great day being able to get out of the village and spend some time with my parents.

We already had to pack our bags and turn them in for the flight tomorrow. We leave here at 12:30 for a 4:30 flight. As much as I am looking forward to getting home I am not looking forward to the long day of traveling tomorrow. From here to Chicago, to Denver, 2 hr. layover and then finally Colorado Springs. We will all be exhausted once we finally get back. I will be in the Springs for 4 days while I pack up and then make the drive back to Chicago. I can't wait to get back there.

I doubt I'll be writing too much anymore once I get back. I will post pictures and post the website where you can go to see those.

Thanks for all the cheers and the support from you all throughout this journey of mine. I wouldn't have gotten here without it.

My last swim

My best time going into prelims was 5:03. That time would have put me in finals. My time today was a 5:09. That put me 11th. As I got up on the blocks I saw that a girl in the heat ahead of me had gotten DQ'd. She was one of the ones ahead of me in the rankings and I thought, this is my chance. The 1st 200 went well but then my body and my muscles got tight and I slowed down. I was ranked 3rd in my heat and could see a girl across the pool getting close to me. I tried to hold her off but it didn't work. I came in 4th on my heat and knew right away that my time wouldn't be fast enough for finals.

I am disappointed. I knew medaling was going to be tough but I thought for sure I would make finals and even more sure that I would get 3 best times. I only got a best time in 1 event. This just wan't my meet. Trials was, this wasn't.

I am trying to put it all in perspective since my main goal was just to make it here to Beijing. I am here and swam on the biggest athletic stage I've ever been on. I'll take the memories of it all back to the states with me. Opening ceremonies, the village, my AWESOME cheering section, wearing the USA uniform, the great swims of my teammates... I will carry them all with me and they can only make be stronger on whatever I decide to pursue next. Everyone here has the dream of standing on the medal podium hearing their national anthem. I've dreamed it a hundred times. Maybe it will happen for me somewhere down the road, Beijing just wasn't my time.

After my race I got to see Dick and my family. I've never wanted and needed a hug from Dick and my family so badly. The tears flowed from all of us and it was with a mixture of emotions. For me, it was mostly disappointment in myself and my times but also that the journey to and in Beijing is over for me. It has been an unforgettable one filled with both ups and downs and I would do it all over again. But hopefully with better results this time...:)

I had so much support here. 20 incredible family and friends that came all the way here to see me swim (and check out the sights of China..) I am trying not to feel bad that they didn't even get to see me swim in finals. But it is what it is...

There are 3 days left of swimming and I will be there to cheer on my teammates. After that we get a day off before closing ceremonies. We get to go with our families to see the city so I'll be out with my parents for the day. I'm sure we'll see the Great Wall and hopefully I'll get to see the some of the city and try some authentic Chinese food. I am looking forward to that.

SO, my time swimming in the cube is over. I wish I could go back and redo all my swims but that'll have to be done in my head. When I take a bigger look at things which will get easier as the days go on, I am still honored to have worn the USA uniform over here and be part of Team USA. This has been an incredible experience and I am proud to have made it this far.

GO USA!

Sept. 11th

I got to sleep in today which was awesome. The 400 free is tomorrow so it was decided that some extra sleep might do me some good. I thought 3 days off in between my races would be so long but my race is tomorrow already. How time flies...

The past 2 days have been as exciting as the first few with the races of my teammates. I believe the USA is ahead in the medal count for swimming. China has gotten the most golds but we are on top for all medals. Yeah USA!

I've been at the pool for the majority of the time the past 2 days. I've gotten in to warm up and swim about 3 times and I am feeling better in the water. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be feeling great and ready to swim myself into finals. I am hoping I am feeling a little better by tomorrow. I have been loosing my voice for the past few days and originally I thought it was becasue I was screaming for my teammates so much but yesterday came the runny nose and headache and such. I saw the doctor here and got some things that should make me better by the morning.

Two days ago now my sister, Amanda, and her husband, Gavin, came into the Olympic Village and yesterday Dick and his brother, Mark got to come in. There are a limited number of visitor passes each athlete can get so I have limited it to family coming in. I wish I could bring all 20 of my family and friends in but that wouldn't work too well. It was great to spend more time with my family and show them around the village a little bit. There's actually not too much to show but they saw my room, the dining hall and got to see what it's like inside here. It was great to see them and I'm looking forward to my parents coming this Sun.

Today is Sept. 11th in Beijing. I think when I post this it will still be the 10th in the states. With all that is going on here, I am embarrassed to say that I didn't realize it until this morning. I hope all of us can stop for a moment today and remember the lives of those lost on this day 7 years ago. It is with their lives and those lost since then that we can enjoy the liberties that we have today. As I walk around the Olympic Village I have such a sense of pride being a part of team USA. I am honored to wear the red, white and blue and will think of all those today who represent the US in a different uniform.

TOmorrow is the big day. It will be a good one, I know that. Next time I write will be with how well my race went. Until then, I get to watch my teammates race tonight and I know they will make us all proud.

GO USA!

Day two

Well...today was a little better than yesterday. I did get a best time by about .7 seconds which I was happy about. I would be happier if I went a bit faster but a best time is what I was going for so I will be happy with that. I obviously didn't make it to finals...again...but Friday is my best race and I am going to focus on that. The goal is to make it back to finals. I'll start there...

As they did yesterday, my teammates blew the competition out of the water in finals. Once again, world records were broken, national anthems played and I was a proud member of the US Paralympic swim team. Hopefully on Friday I'll be down there in the pool also.

Now I have three days off until my next race and I am going to focus on just trying to relax and get the 'good feel' in the water back. Ive been missing it these past couple of days so hopefully with a 3 day break I'll be feeling great by Fri.

ANother day down. I'll be back cheering for everyone tomorrow.

GO USA!

Day One

This is going to be a short one again as my bed is calling my name. First let me say that opening ceremonies was incredible. Walking into the stadium, seeing the sold out crowd and trying to soak it all in, saying it was awesome is an understatement. We stayed for about 45 minutes after we got in there and since I was in a wheelchair we had amazing seats. I wish we could have stayed for the whole thing but we got out and back here by 11pm. It worked out well.

Today was the 100 fly. Unfortunately, I don't have any exciting news about my race to speak of. In fact it was quite the opposite but I'm putting it behind me. I have to say I was quite caught up in the moment of being here. Walking out to the starting area and seeing my 20 family and friends in the stands was one of the greatest moments I have experienced. I felt so lucky and so honored to have them all here. After the race I saw my time and was a bit disappointed that it wasn't a personal best. But seeing everyone up there cheering me on regardless of my time made it all OK. I got out of the pool and just tried to soak it all in. When I got back to my room it set in that I really really wished I had done better. Just to prove to myself that I could do it. I know I am capable of doing better, of doing a lot better, it just wasn't my day. Two more races to go... tomorrow the 100 free and then Friday is the big one, the 400 free. They will both be better than today.

Again, I can't name names but my teammates tonight did outstanding. I was so proud to be a teammate and part of the USA. Since I didn't make finals I was up in the stands and screamed my head off. World records were set, national anthems were played and amazing things happened. It was awesome.

ALong with the success of my teammates, the highlight of my day was seeing my family and friends at the cube. They came in before finals and I got to talk with them for about a half hour. Many much needed hugs were had and I'm looking forward to seeing them tomorrow. The 20 of them are the greatest cheering section in there. At least to me they are. They have flags and signs and shirts and banners. They are amazing.

Time for bed now. It's late and tomorrow is another early morning.

GO USA!

Again, I can't name names here but my teammates

It all starts tonight

I am going to try and be quick here so I can get to napping before the opening ceremonies TONIGHT. Yes, tonight..it is finally here and I couldn't be more excited.

The past few days I have been feeling real heavy and real slow in the water and was getting a bit discouraged. My shoulders seemed a little too sore. However, today I felt much better and I know tomorrow will be even better so I am pumped about that. We got our heat assignments and in the 100 fly I am heat 3, lane 7, next to a teammate of mine and the infamous South African. I'm not supposed to be saying names here so you'll have to figure it out on your own. My goal is to do my best, obviously, and to make finals. To be top 8 and make finals I have lots of time to drop but I can do it. I know I can.

Tonight we leave for opening ceremonies at 6:30 which is much much later than we thought. Gives us time to eat, take a nap and relax before we go. I am so excited to walk into the stadium, I get goosebumps even thinking about it.

For all those back in the US, I will be on a segment with ABC news and Bob Woodruff either Sunday or Monday night. Keep a look out if you like. And a picture on the NY times website: http://olympics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/the-starting-line-the-benefits-of-the-paralympics/?scp=1&sq=Melissa%20Stockwell&st=cse

I need to nap now so I can get some rest before we leave. Just being here is such an honor for me and everything I have dreamed of for these past 3 years starts tonight. I have so much pride walking around the village as part of the USA and I know the rest of my team and I will make our country proud as the competition gets under way. Thanks for all your support and GO USA!

BEIJING!

What can I say, this place is incredible. Everything about it. I don't even know where to begin other than I thought this place was pretty cool when I saw it on TV. It didn't do it justice as everything is just awesome. I feel as though I have to pinch myself to remind me that I'm not dreaming and that I am actualy here. Here in Beijing.

We got here yesterday and as we flew in you could see the organized and structured building structures and it all looks so neat. As we drove out of the airport we passed these thousands of perfectly spaced planted trees. Everything is so clean. Even the highway was spotless. We got to the village and it feels like we are in a resort. Everything from the rooms, the landscaping, the volunteers that jump up to do anything and everything you'd ever need, the food, it's all fantastic. Our rooms have 6 people in tham, 2 to a room with 2 bathrooms. I really enjoy my suitemates. For practices we have about a 5 min. walk to the bus terminal where we have about a 10 min ride to the pool. Our practice times vary depending on the day but we are still going twice a day but doing very very little in the second workout. We are trying to get adjusted to the prelim/ final schedule.
The dining hall here is absolutely enormous. It has any type of food you could imagine. Really, think of anything and I bet they have it. I don't know how many people it seats but probably 5,000 or so. It's huge.

This morning we practiced at the water polo pool and to get there we drove a little further so we got to see a bit more of the city. At 6:30am there were people out flying kites on these things that would be parks if they had grass but they are concrete. People out riding their bikes which are everywhere, doing Tai- chi. We drove past this really cool totem pole and cool thatched houses. And it's all SO clean.

The water cube left me speechless. Seeing it from the outside is one thing but walking in and seeing where we will swim the biggest reaces of our lives brought tears to my eyes. It is incredible. We swim in the competition pool for the first time tomorrow. There is a practice pool too which we have swam in a few times which feels fast. I bet the competition one is even better...

The big thing here is pin trading. I had no idea this went on but it's like wildfire. We got about 15 pins each to trade and I wish we had 100's of them. Everyone wants the pins from every other country. It's fun and I gladly take part in it.

I have taken many pictures but due to the super strict blogging guidelines I'm not going to post any. It was recommended that we do that to be on the safe side. I can, however, e-mail pictures which I will do in the next day or two to all of you on my long e-mail list that get e-mails from Dick or I some times.

Dick and my family and friends get here on Friday. I am really looking forward to seeing them. Even though it will be a wave from the stands, I'm excited.

As usual, it's time for me to go to bed now. I didn't get much sleep last night and I felt it today so hoepfully I can sleep better tonight.

Good night!

Beijing Bound. Literally....

We are loading the bus to leave for the plane in about 2 hours. I can't believe the time has actually come and we are going to be in Beijing in the Olympic Village later today. We have had such a great time here that it's as if we've been on vacation. Going into Beijing with a relaxed mind set and already accustomed to the weather and time change is awesome. We couldn't have asked for a better pre- Beijing trip. Now it's on to bigger things...

Yesterday we had a farewell dinner and a big thank you to everyone that has helped us out this week. It was a good time and they had these Japanese style karate/ drummer people that were put on a pretty cool performance. As we leave tomorrow I think we can ll say we've gotten a good taste of not only life on Kadena, but the island of Okinawa as well. It is a place I would definitely recommend. Here are a few pictures from us all of dressed up in some of our cool clothes that we wore to the closing dinner last night. We looked like quite the team. Here is another with my sponsor Shelley and I. She was awesome. She gave me my first gold medal...:) It's a 'medal' hello kitty necklace that is also a notebook. I may wear it everywhere I go...

I also got to talk to my parents last night which was nice since I haven't had the chance to talk to them since I've been here. I can't wait to see them and the rest of my family and friends in Beijing.

I tried the fancy LZR suit in the water yesterday for the first time. It was fantastic. Really fantastic. I think part of it is mental after seeing how fast the Olympians went wearing the suit and just feeling fast before you get in the water. But whatever it is, it helps and I can't wait to wear it in my races.

The bus left this morning at 5am for the pool. It was an early morning just trying to get a swim in before we left. We took a last team picture before we left the pool this morning. I've never swam outside much but I really enjoyed it. Even this morning when it was still pitch black when we got in the pool.

The next time I'll write I'll be in Beijing.Once we get there hopefully I'll be able to sleep from all the excitement. At trials I barely slept a wink because of all the excitement.

Until next time I'm Beijing Bound. For real this time.

GO USA!