So 2019 is off to a roaring start! I can hardly believe the first quarter of the year has already passed and that it has been nearly four months since I last posted an update. So much has been going on that I don't really know where to start.
January and February were pretty standard here in Chicago - dark, cold, dreary, but with glimpses of great things to come. I continued working hard at cardiac rehab and improving my fitness level. I am proud to say that I graduated from cardiac rehab in mid-February with a lot of help from friends, family and the great staff at Swedish Covenant Hospital.
I have been keeping up with the workouts since then and it's getting a lot easier now that the weather is finally turning. So far this week I got in a 5.5 mile run at under a 10:30 pace (still slower than I was pre-surgery but I'm getting faster) and yesterday I logged close to 30 miles outside on the bike. It is so refreshing to be outside again!
In other big news I am currently unemployed. The company I co-founded decided in February to shutter operations after nearly 13 years. It's bittersweet because it's hard to see something you've worked so hard at fail, but the fact that we lasted as long as we did in an increasingly competitive marketplace makes me proud to have been a part of it. So I'm pounding the pavement, working my network and trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up.
On the dietary front, I've been doing pretty good keeping up my "vegan-like" lifestyle, but it's getting harder. From what I can gather the six month mark (which is where I'm at) is when people generally start reverting to old, bad habits. I have not been good at posting our recipes here, but I am going to try to start getting more up. It's therapeutic for me both to cook and to share with everyone, so let's do it together!
The spring and summer are shaping up to be as busy and fun as ever! Spring break is coming up soon and I can't wait for some sun and fun! Youth baseball and softball practices have started and the schedule starts in earnest in late April, the same weekend as my first post-surgery 5K, the Ravenswood Run! May means scout camping trips. June is full of fun school events, birthday celebrations and end of school year. Vanessa and I celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss in July in Spain! This is going to be an unforgettable year! I can't wait to get out and live this amazing life!