This time, I've lost it for sure . . . .

Nuts. Bonkers. Bananas. Loopy. Insane. Mental. Wacky.

I am officially crazy.

Being sick as much as I've been sick makes you have life-or-death experiences on a daily basis. Going through the scary experiences I go through, as often as I go through them, tends to make you see things a little differently. (Think: chest pains, heart palpitations, near-fainting spells that last for weeks, dizzy spells that threaten to drown you while you're in the middle of a lake, heat exhaustion that makes you hallucinate on days when normal people don't get heat exhaustion, hospital visits, CTs, MRIs, blood tests for various cancers, urine tests, sleep tests, ear tests, eye tests, gynecological exams that would make the most physically comfortable woman squirm, and the list goes on.) I have seen my life flash in front of my eyes. I've reconsidered the people and places and things in my life with new concern for their true value and worth. I've established a strong bond with nature and with God. Yoga is practically my religion and I've been known to burst into tears during a training ride. I've decided to apply to every grad school program I ever wanted to apply to, even if it means moving halfway across the country without my husband (that's a different subject altogether anyway).

So, it shouldn't come as a shock that I am very likely to sign up for Florida Half Ironman on May 18, 2008.

Pros
It's in Orlando, so I wouldn't have to travel and I could probably ride the course weekly. It would be a wonderful graduation present, as I should graduate with my BA right around that time. The month before is St. Anthony's (Oly) and the month before that is Subaru (Sprint), so the timing of training is good, even with practice races. Training makes me feel better physically, and I'm on my medicine for a straight 6 more months and the ENT has solidly demanded that I am not to come off of it until the 6 months has passed, so I'm virtually guaranteed no relapses until after then. I have 8 full months to train, and the training level at which I left my Oly training is as high if not higher than the training level where I'd need to pick up for HIM preparation.

Cons
I'd be risking getting sick while training. I'd be going to school while training. I have to complete a half next month and a full marathon the following month before full-time tri training can resume, which means I may need to drop one or both of those races to allow recovery. I'd have to come up with the $225 soon.

Looks like the Pros outweigh the Cons. I'll probably be signing up soon.

Shortly thereafter, the nice young men in their clean white coats will be coming to take me away, haha.