The rest of the story.......

Now for the rest of the story as Paul Harvey used to say...
In my last blog I was telling how I signed up for Ironman Wisconsin 2010. Well this is how it went..
For me Ironman Wisconsin is a emotional event. Let me explain... ( director please roll flash back to 2006 Ironman Mo). I was prepared really well ..emotions where there.. my mind set was ready. It was cold 50 degrees and raining.

The cannon went off.. 2400 people all start the swim...then it hit... the feeling of not going any where.. why.. what the hell is going on was running through my head. I was having a tough time with the what I thought was a rough water swim. The swells where knocking me all over the place. One thing I did not prepare well for was rough water swimming. My day was done my mind game had won. They pulled me from the water...( ok mr. Director cut to Sept 2009)

I got to my Office at The School of Holistic Massage and Reflexology the Monday after IMwis 2009. It was about 1230pm and I went on line to see if entry into the race was full yet. So I went thru the application form thinking when I hit accept the Race would be full as in the year before.
I hit the button to accept... waited.... then a message came up That I was not expecting.. YOU have been succesfully been entered.. I remember saying out Load" Holy Shit". That is not what I really wanted to read. I know my Students heard me... Now I going to have to talk with Star..

That night I took her out to a Real nice dinner. I had started the conversation like this: "Honey have you ever bought anything on Inpluse?"( ok If I spelled the word wrong let me know) . She started to tell me of some of those purchases. Then she looked at me and said "Ok what did you do"

She was mad not because I signed up.. she understand that I have need to complete the course. we had just talked about it weeks before.. She was upset that I did not communicate with her before hand that I was going to try to see if I could get in...

I did however the next day call and tried to get out, I thought that there was a 24 hour time frame to get your monies back... No way you only get some monies back... so as my Sweet heart said to me that day...." Guess you are doing it" Guess I am. Going to bring my Buddy Tom Swatek with me.... That is another Blog.. stay tuned..

it has been a long time so much so little time

Wow!!so much has happened since the last time I blogged... What can I say... I can say a lot but won't.
Our Daughter Lauren got married in Sept. to a real Nice man his name is( Ready for this) Tode.. or we just call him Todd...It is differant sayin Son-In-Law. He has a job so that is a good start. He treats Lauren with respect so that is good also.

So what else is new..hmmmm lets see.... I signed up for Ironman Wisconsin 2010 .... that in it self is another story kind of Funny now... it was not at the time... I will share that later, (Just really really Really glad Star is a good sport..)

Oh!! I know what else.. The father- daughter dance was Great it was so much fun.The whole day was a Dream come true for any father... It was a beautiful day sunny and not a cloud in the sky... okay there was a couple but they stayed away.. Lauren looked..... I do not know if there is a word that can discripe how Beautiful she looked that day. when I saw Our daughter for the first time in Her wedding Dress. I could not speak... this was the day we spoke about when she was a little Girl, we would go out on daddy/ daughter dates and she would talk about this... okay not all the time , she did talk about "boys"...... she did ask me not to Cry because as she put it "My make up is to Expensive" to let it ... what ever it does... so I did not cry... she did let me give her some Fatherly Advice... no not about the wedding night.....but about communication, respect, honor..


In Oct. I went up to Minneapolis on Massage Business I was asked to be on a pannel of educators to review the National Certification test that massage therapist need to take. Our Job was to come up with a "Cut score" ... don't ask It is a Math. thing...my head is still spinning...

I have not been up to Minneapolis in 30 years... Wow Now I feel old... don't go there any one.....
Now that city has Changed. It was enjoyable to be there I hope we made a differance. made some new friends which is always nice to be able to do.
The real cool thing I took away from this was The program We have developed at The School of Holistic Massage and Reflexology is working real good... I really Thank God for this.. it is all good..

Today My best friends daughter gave me some of His remains.... I will be bringing Tom Swatek with me when I do Ironman Wisconsin 2010. Tom Knew that Bike course better then anyone...

Till next time...

what a cool week so far...."The Wedding", Mini golf. Dance lessons

It has been a real cool week. It all Started Sunday morning on the Illinois Prairie path in Glen Ellyn Il. Where My Students from Sohmar( School of Holistic Massage and Reflexology) worked on The Glen Ellyn Runners. I am so happy that the students are really " getting it". They are understanding my passion for Massage.. I can see it in their faces....and I think the runners are feeling it also... the other cool thing is we started 3 more students to the Massage Program..Yeah God..... he does Provide.....

Later that morning Star and I where wanting to enjoy the beautiful weather that we are having, so we thought ( or I insert here Star Thought) hey lets go Mini-golfing and lets ask Lauren our Daughter if she would like to go....... so we did and we went mini- golfing in Geneva Il, but before we did.. we stop by and saw where The "Wedding" will be taking place..(insert- I cried a little). Not because it is My daughters Wedding.... okay it is... It is every Parents Dream to see Their Children happy and In Love and even better yet to see their children best of Friends....Hey! Star I think we did good... Thanks....

So we finally got to the Mini- golf place and of course every one in Geneva Il. had the same idea.
We had a lot of fun, had a lot of laughter... the best laugh was when Lauren putted the ball.. it hit a rock and bounced up in the air and without even thinking about it..... Star caught it in her bended arm.. it was like a split second that all this happened.. I guess you had to be there... trust me it was Funny....

As for my running things seem to be so far so good with the Blood pressure and Heart Rate. (I am working with a friend of mine Dr. Todd Bowers of Bowers Chiropactic) still doing the herbal thing... I have been able to get in some nice long runs in. Eight miles has been my longest to date. I am am getting closer to 3 hours on the bike 2.5 hours is the longest. I am not to worried about that right now. I just want to be healthy... I am.. just want to make sure I stay that way... The swimming is just that... it is swimming,maybe twice a week.. and thats a big maybe...

Now most important is the Dance Lessons.. The Waltz... just to remember the steps will not be a issue.. it will be holding back the tears.... till next time.. step together step,step together step.. turn.....

what a great start to the week... then...The Dance lesson

It has been a real good week over all.I have been able to run longer before my Heart Rate spikes , it now takes up to 20 minutes before it goes up to high.. I will take that ... at my slow pace now a days that is at least 2 miles Yeah!!!! Monday I got 8 miles in, Wendesday I ran 6.5 mile... Yeah!!!! in between I got some riding in 1.5 & 2 hours....

I have been able to start to "Train" for That race that seems to be always just right around the corner.
Getting 2 hours on the bike a couple of times a week seems like a no brainer, swimming has been 2 days a week at times.. got to get the running ......back to speed so to say..

I have been successful with using herbal supplements for the Blood Pressure I am thankful for that.
Today I had my Blood pressure check......... not good today.... to high .... Why!!!!.. I can try and blame my sinuses and using Tylynol sinuses meds to help me breathe.... Yup! I will blame that...Taking that is like drinking 10 cups of high octane coffee..... that is not good. it also made me a little cranky... and I am NOT a CRANKY person..... going to try Herbal supplements now..

Oh!! I had two new students start the Massage Program here at Sohmar ( School of Holistic Massage and Reflexology) this week I am so excited about that.
Welcome to my world...

My daughters wedding plans are in full crasiness.... So glad to be the Father. I just sit back and smile niclely..and let it all happen...

My Big part in "The Plans " is getting the dance lessons set up.. you know, the Father daughter Dance, that all Fathers dream about.. I shed a tear when I think about it...Not about Dancing which I can do... it is the Father Daughter Dance... Danceing with my little Girl, my little angel..
okay I am crying now thank you very much..... more later.

a Lesson inTeam work 101.

Today my wife and I where spontaneous.... yup....and it was fun..... okay get your minds ..no leave them there while I write about our date day........

After having breakfast we decided to go down to Chicago's Navy Pier, to see the "Cirque Shanghai" I think that was a great choice that we made.. the other was :#1 clean,#2 go to the Kane county fair.... We made a Great choice.... We both discussed it and we both choose. Team work.... Yeah Team Mc....

The drive was slow... everyone goes slow on the Eisenhower Expressway (I90 into the city.).. Why do they call it "the" expressway, or the express lane? They should call it the"I don't care if we ever get there " Way/lane....

We thought the day was going to be a bust,however the sun did come out to say "hello' remember me"

Navy Pier was as always filled with all sorts of people, from every Country.. I love Chicago
It does not get any better then that. People where smiling, laughing, kids where screaming,
Yes all was right in this crazy world we call Home away from home. we even found parking at Navy Pier.

Oh Yes we did see the The Cirque Shanghai it was fun, action packed, it was worth the price,
it was a Great choice by Team Mc.... More later......

sometimes doing nothing is good.....

well it is just another day... same old... same old.

Sometimes the best laid plans are... plans that are just that...

I have a goal in mind, however is it my priority. This deal with the blood pressure has forced me to think about that.. that which is important..

I heard on a radio talk show this morning about priorities that made me think( Yes I do that some times)... is it my training for always something? is it my family? My wife? My businesses? My spiritual life? the earth? Where does all this fit? in what order?

Sometimes I think that I have the answer..... sometimes I don't...

I know in my heart what the first one is at all times: #1 is God, my faith... #2 is my Wife
everything else falls in line on a as need basis. Without my Faith in God I would not be married to Star. With out God , there would be no Grace ... I know that is deep...

more later...

its the 4th of July weekend... yes!! some time off

Well I finally took a "day before a Holiday "off. I normally work the "day before" because I see lot of New clients that "can not find the time" to get a Massage during the year. This time I said "no" I will take time for myself and My Family, I deserve a Long holiday weekend like everyone else.

It all started on Thursday afternoon with a nice 60 minute run at Green Valley ,my Heart rate did not spike fast at all, I felt good, best part was when 3 horses and their riders came up behind me they where in a nice chanter it was all good...

On Friday morning I had planned a 3 hour ride on my 90 min course, but I slept in so I just did 2.5 hours. I divided up my Training ride into to sections: drills, left leg 1 min, right 1min, both 1min recovery for 1o minutes then repeat 3 times followed by fast spin. The next section is hard effort 90 % Heart rate 5 minutes , easy spin, repeat 5 times, all in big chain ring. Now for my favorite part hills repeats, I know where in Illinois are there hills.. okay Bridge workouts. My bridge of choice is on ferry road in Warrenville going towards Eola road, it is long enough with a steady climb to get my Heart rate up , repeat 6 times.

After all that ... I just got into a groove and in the aero bars and held 80% heart rate for the rest of the ride that bought me through Batavia, and Fermi lab, and was able to ride the 2 loops around the atom smasher... I spent most of the ride in Fermi.. all in all It was a good Training day for me.

I am looking at a race in August in Waconda Il,it is a tri along with a Aqua/bike.. I like that idea because it is just Swim, bike ... no run .....


Later in the morning Star and I went over to her Moms house and I steamed cleaned the carpets for her, then we took her out to lunch. My Mother in law is a great Mother in law. I do appreciate her.

I have not played chest in a long time, forgot why.. oh yeah it takes paitients and skill...
so my Start and I went to Oberwise dairy and got some Ice cream and they have tables set up with chest board on them.... yup we played....yup I lost Star is one smart player ..she out skilled me ... you know you are ageing up when a fun night is Ice cream and a chest game...
it used to be dancing and partying..oh where has the time gone...

Today is the 4th.. today is a grill out with friends later.. Today is a chill out day.. after morning chores .. I think I live on a farm.. thats okay by me......

totally cleaning today

Today we got the whole house streamed clean. While they where stream cleaning I had Pooka our American Eskie at the groomer getting cleaned and groomed. While she was at the groomer I had the unpleasured meeting with the Dreaded Urinary Doctor to get my Yearly Check up.....
I just wished he would just give me a Movie and a Dinner before he......... ouch....Dude...
My poor wife had to put up with the other animals at our little zoo, 2 cats and a ferret, got their own bathrooms and closet while the cleaners did what they do.
Of course no Training today.. thats okay by me for a while.
Got good news today from my Regular Dr. I can stop taking the high blood pressure meds, now my system need too get cleansed before I go a different route...maybe herbal...

I am here at the office of School of Holistic Massage and Reflexology getting ready for a New client which I am always thankful for. One long time regular client then Reflexology class later. The new client is a referal from a Chiro. friend I am thankful for all referals.
I enjoy what I do. I enjoy working with clients who suffer from Fibromyalgia. i do a combination of sevaral differant modalities which seems to work... again I think outside the box..

writing 101 paragraphsss

I should Remember High school.. (sorry I do not remember all of High school) and college
writing and journalism classes I took, The rules.... about Writing.. Paragraphs, no run on sentences....
Hey!! this is my blog...... I will make it more.........readable, follow the rules?..... Sometimes one has to follow the Rules. One has to stay inside the lines.. However.... going outside the lines or thinking out the box is a Major break through.How many of us think out side the box...??

What is wogging????

The daffinition is A combination of Walk/running.... Mike's word.... if you use it please give me some credit because the bank won't

it is a good Monday ...following a Great weekend

It was a fun filled weekend.. what did you do?? Beside working Saturday I had a Great 2 plus hour ride in the early am.. enjoyed except for a few nutty Drivers who think they own everything and swear at you and make threating motions with their hands.... oh well! Life is to short.. After work Star and I cleaned the house due to that fact.. no we are not slops.. okay maybe we are.. it is Marley has ringworm and we needed to bleach all the tile floors... After much eye rolling on.. my part .. insert here I am lazy... no debate on that... i would rather sit around outside doing not a thing.... we got it done.... Then I was able to sit around have a beer..
Sunday spent time on The Illinois paririe path in Glenn Ellyn with My Students From Sohmar School of Massage working(clinic Time) on the Glen Ellyn Runners.. Star and I later went to Geneva Il for Swedish days and a parade I enjoy a small town Parade, ate there it was fun.. how beit a long Parade mostly the Guys from the Shirners and their flying carpets... brought back a lot of memeories.. then we drove through Fermilab and sat and watched the Buffalo there where 6 babies Buffalo babies.. got home took a nap then grilled , got the draps up in the bed room again after much eye rolling why because I am go ahead say it I dare you......
Today monday went out for a 4 miler run/walk mostly walk the best part of this was seeing a
doe walking across the path in Warrenville. Now its time to shower and go to work...

summer is here......at least the heat is..

I know it has been a couple of days that I have not wrote.... sorry. Monday I did go for a run/walk about 3.5 miles.. again it was tough with the heart rate going way up.. 70% is 120 h.r./ 80% should be 150-160 hr, nope it went from 120 to 175 H.R within 3 minutes... crap that is not good.. So when it did go that high I walked and it came down within a minute which is also good... Today I went for a 90 minute ride.. jeesh it was warm.... I got out about 6:45 am with little wind.... Now My heart rate when I am Riding or swimming is good.... still going to have to wait and see... I am not going to race this Sunday or until I can get this under-control...life is to short to take chances... Plus My Daughter is getting married in Sept so I must be a Adult....
Monday I had a few clients two new massage/reflexology clients... that is always good... their main complaint was Plantar fasciitis... with out getting into the A/P part.. it hurts.. for those who do not know what this is... It is primarily on the Plantar side of the foot or bottom of the foot, plus it is the Claves are ultra tight along with the soleus.. It is extremely painful first thing in the morning when stepping on the foot... the way I treat it is through Reflexology amd Massage also giving some take home type of P.T.. it does work as long as the client does them...
they both felt better when they left plus they did schedule again which I am thankful for...
Tonight I have my PM Reflexology class #2.....

oh what a day.... it is good

its Saturday....it is still a day at office .. Real good news on the Sohmar front, Had a New Student sign the contact she will start in August.. I am Thankful.... Yeah I give Glory and Thanks to Him and Him alone. He allows me to do what he has gifted me with and I give Him Praise..Amen..
This Morning our little Marley woke me up by licking my face and purrrring... he was happy and hungry.. (at first I thought it was Star... had to put that in.. a little humor... she if she reads my blog..) After feed in him and walking Pooka ,I was able to get a nice Long ride in just under 2 hours which I will take.. There were those nasty stroms yesterday and last night so the ride interesting with all the down branches I did stop and helped a slow moving turtle across the road... I hope that was the direction it wanted to go..... later this afternoon I will meet up again with my brothers and sisters at My Fathers Apt. to help move his stuff out..... oh what a day... it is still good...

got it done... so far.. so good

well I got my blood test out of the way... whats next??? hey I am 52 years old so I need to get things right.... I will train/swim this afternoon maybe pull 2500 yards... My day is just starting with Thursday Morning Massage class, we are going over Manual Lymph Drainage, this is the second week of this class, next week we will go back to Firm/Deep Massage... I will go over this with our Thursday evening class as well. the Students are eager to learn... they are fun to teach/share. This morning I was blessed with a facebook note from of our Graduates from 4 years ago just saying" thank you" for teaching a new way of living/working, giving her Hope of a New life..... I gots a tear in my eye... wow that moved me... then Just a little while ago maybe minutes another Graduate called to say "Thank you" and to tell me she is Training for The Chicago Marathon.. that one caught me off guard... She has just opened a Reflexology Spa in Downtown Glenn Ellyn not far from the Metra Station on Main Street. Called "Teas & Toes". She also joined the Glenn Ellyn Runners Group.
So now my real Day begins Teach/Share... Swim, lunch, Private massage Client, Teach/Share Pm massage class.... go Home to a Wonderful Wife and Partner, and our Little Furry children..
Its all good .. Life Is Good ... Got it done .. so far.. so Good.....still need Quite time for Prayer and study.....

what a day.. got to love it...

Today started off real nice. Woke up with a nice song in my head, got my Scripture Reading in and I was able to get a 90 minute windy bike in at Fermi lab. It is nice riding there since it is only 2 miles from my front door, did some drills and pick ups all is good. My Blood pressure and H.R was good.. I was going to try and do a brick but time and animals (or the McAleese zoo) told me other wise.. Sometimes one has to be a Adult;) Must have time to play with Marley and Pooka and Dylila, and the ferret... Oh yes and Bring Star her coffee.... the rest of my day was just normal. We had to bring Marley to the vet... poor baby:( he is fine... My Massage day actually starts tonight with a new Reflexology class. This class is a 10 week class.. I Love teaching what I enjoy doing.. as in Massage and Reflexology..... Looking forward to teaching 15 new students for this class, some are here for CE's and some are here to just learn Reflexology... I am still leaning on doing the June 28th Tri. I will make up my mind later this week.. If I do n't do it I will look toward naperville sprint, or even La Porte In.....

it is all good

Sunday was a good day, had the Massage school students out on the Ill. Prairie path to do massages on the Glen Ellyn runners that are training for the Chicago marathon-- it is a win- win for both the runners and the students.. the students did a great job.. later that morning My wife and I went out for Breakfast and then to the grocery store, however we both wanted to go to Petsmart to look at the cats, we saw one a couple of weeks ago that we liked.. We are looking to get a partner for our other cat who lost her brother back in Feb, little Samson who had a heart attack. anyways back to the story.. we ended up at Petsmart for a few hours and found this little kitten or should I say he found us.. so we took him instead of the other cat we look at.. Star named him Ziggy Marly, he is 8 weeks old.. Our Dog Pooka loves him, the other cat Dilyia has to learn to accept him... she will. we never made it to the store....

Today I went and ran 4 miles.. it was a rough go, the blood pressure meds that I am taking is making my muscles sore that in-turn I Think is making my heart rate go up... this is fustrating.It has become a run/walk type of thing.... I am going to have to ask the Med.Doc to maybe change it or just wait and see if it balances it self out.. which I hope it does.. I can still swim and Bike and that is okay.... I will be making Doc. appointments over the next couple of week just to make sure everything is good..
I had a full massage day today.. only one new client who had a gift certificate from 2 years ago with the old address.. he called he was late. and still wanted to come in .... nope not today he rescedule for next week.......

what a beautiful day.. it depends how u look at it..

It has been raining so far all day, so glad my wife and I planted flowers and grass seed.Later today going to my dads apt. to write Thank you cards,along with my brothers and sisters. Did not get any tri. training in today that's okay. I am still looking to do Twin lakes in Palatine Il ,June 28th..
Star and I went to see Phil Keegy and Randy Stonewall last night, they where the early Christian Rock band (late 1960"s Band) it was a Good and Fun concert, if it was not for them there would not be K-love radio, or any Christian rock at all.... So glad they listen to the voice of God.. seems like I just rambleing on here hey its my Blog:))
I do have a full schedule of Massage clients today which I am thankful for.. My Massage students always ask what kind of Clients do I see, or what is the range of people. I tell them it is from A-Z,
From a housewife to corp. executive to pro atheltes to want to be pro. Who- ever needs me I will see them... to a point.... more about that later... gotta work now..

welcome to massageguy-- a day in the life

Hello to all. This is my first attempt to blog. My name is Michael McAleese, I am a massage therapist- 18 years and I own along with my Wife Star a small massage school : School Of Holistic Massage and Reflexology (Sohmar) In Downers Grove Il. We have two grown children : Isaiah 31 years old who lives in Boston Ma. He went there to help start a new church, I am very proud of him. Our Daughters name is Lauren she is 27 years old she is getting Married this Sept To Todd he is a nice guy( hey he is marrying my daughter so he better be nice). We are proud of Lauren also, she is planning this whole wedding out and has not gotten crasy..yet... I recently lost My father to pancreatic cancer last week.. it has been tough on all my Brothers and Sisters( I have 7 siblings..)
It was one month since we where told about it...My father was a good man.. a good Father... he allowed me to be me... he understood... me most of the time. There one time that changed how I look at my father. I was maybe 15-16 years old and I was out front across the street from our house with some friends from High school and a neighbor called my dad and complianed to him that we where causing trouble, my father came out and yelled at me and my friends, they all took off thinking that my dad was a looning bird. Later that evening My father came up to me and said" I am so sorry about what I did to you.please forgive me" at that time I saw my father in a differant light.. I saw a Real man... I saw a True Father ... that was a defining moment in my Life.
I will attempt to blog each day something, from My Training for a Tri, or marathon, or something about the massage school. Or Just a day in my Life thanks to those that will read this.
My web page for the school is www.sohmar.com