First and foremost, I'd like to thank God. . .

Next, I'd like to thank the throngs of fans - both of you - who wanted me back - the two of you who wanted me to post something new on my blog.
I feel so wanted, so missed. Oh, it does feel good indeed.

So - let's just do a short recap of the past - gulp - three months: I am now almost 14 weeks post-op!!!! Time does fly.

I had resumed my swimming 3 weeks post-op, started biking approx. 6 weeks post-op & still no running. The biking was "no out-of-the-saddle" type of biking. I was to stay seated. Which I did. I was even doing hills - in my granny gear, but hills all the same.

So this was going along pretty good . . . until the end of August, at which point I developed some abdominal pain with "rebound tenderness" in the right lower quadrant. Well, you know what that means, right? Yup, you guessed it . . . appendicitis!

So, I went to my doctor, who sent me to the E.R., where the surgeon ordered a CT scan of my abdomen. They took me down to get the scan, the tech asked me if they told me that it was a "contrast enema CT?" HELL, NO!! They failed to mention that I needed to have a TUBE stuck up my butt & have my abdomen filled with a few liters of fluid!!!

At this point I am going to err on the side of decorum and not describe this feeling to you!!!

Anyhoo, the test was not 100% conclusive so they admitted me to the hospital for observation, kept me NPO & decided to let me go home the next day with a diagnosis of chronic appendicitis. In other words: "We're not sure what the hell it is; come back if the pain comes back. Have a nice day."

After a couple days rest at home, it was back to getting back to getting back to working out!

Swimming, biking & some very short walks. Until the itchy, watery eyes & sore throat hit me. Then it was the chest cold - to bronchitis & a dose of antibiotics. Lots of Dayquil, Nyquil & Kleenex. That bug knocked me on my behind!

After a couple more days of rest at home, it was back to getting back to getting back to getting back to working out!!

Here it is Saturday the 10th of October & this past week I've gotten a decent amount of working out done. Here is a rundown:

10/3-swam & walked 5 miles.
10/4-swam 2,400 yds. & rode 19 miles.
10/5-rest day
10/6-swam with Masters . . . good strong workout!
10/7-back on the trainer for a session with Coach Troy. "Enter the Red Zone - Anaerobic Training" Yeah, that was tough.
10/8-hiked 5 miles. That was tough, too.
10/9-swam with Masters . . . yucky slow workout!
10/10-hiked/walked over 7 plus miles.


Well, those are a few of the things that have happened in the past few months.
OH, one more important thing . . . I am now the proud parent of an 18-yr.-old!! That's right, my firstborn baby girl turned into an adult. Eighteen yrs. old!! Yet again, time flies.

Oh, and one more thing . . . I would like to thank Vit, Lola & my hubby/editor for being some of the best people in my life!! The best support a gal could ask for!


Peace & love, TracerX