Moscow Impressions...

Moscow was amazing! I flew in on Saturday afternoon/evening and struggled to stay awake as the driver took me to our hotel. I'm not sure why I was so tired! I arrived at the hotel around 6:00 to find Kristin laying in bed. Good, we were both exhausted! It was a great hotel and so fun to see Kristin! We just talked and had wine tasting and dinner at the hotel the first night, and tried to figure our what we might want to do for our time in Moscow. Neither of us had an agenda, which was great, and were pretty much up for anything. We decided to head towards the Red Square and The Kremlin the first day, but first stopped at this cute local place that we just found while walking towards the center of town. It was delicious!

The Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral, The History Museum, GUM Shopping Mall and The Kremlin, including the State Armory, were amazing. Every time I glanced at the Cathedral, it just took my breath away! I think we walked about a million miles. We also saw a Russian Circus, I'm pretty sure it would not have passed any US standards as far as animal rights, but it was very cool. They did this huge water finale, that was pretty amazing. A few of the animals looked pretty mad though... We also went to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer, Gorky Park, which was supposed to be like Central Park, but seemed a bit run down, saw the old KGB building and also the Bolshoy Theater, which was beautiful at night. Red Square at night was pretty amazing too. I think I took about a million photos. We toured the metro stations one day, they were beautiful and so clean. We went out for some great meals, my personal favorite was finding a Mexican place, Casa Agave... it was SO delicious! Nachos, chile margarita and tacos... what more could I ask for! The best part of the whole trip was spending time with my sister and just walking around the city. It was so different than what I expected. It was way more beautiful, I was expecting a grim and dark city and instead found a beautiful city, with gorgeous buildings and churches, it was amazingly clean, the people were not outwardly friendly, but helpful when we looked lost and confused, the shops were all top of the line and the malls reminded me of Dubai, super fancy. We spent a fair bit of our time relaxing in the hotel too. It was truly an amazing city and experience! I would definitely recommend Moscow to anyone, would love to go back and it made me want to go see St. Petersburg too.

It was really nice to have time in Moscow and still have a few days to relax in Vienna before going back to work. I went to a Pumpkin Festival yesterday with Amy and her kids, it was awesome, I LOVE stuff like that. Then Steve and I just hung out and went to our favorite Italian place for dinner... life is just easy right now.

And, what's nice, is it is only Saturday afternoon...

The fun continues...

I just can't believe how great this Fall has been! Claudia and I had a great time on our little road trip. What I'd like to know, is why when the Garmin says "off road" and we are literally in the forest on a rough, dark, dirt road, we listen. Ha! Then we arrived to our hotel, only to find out that we only had reservations for the Saturday night. They had a hostel room available. Hilarious. It all worked out just fine, but I will say, the bathroom was more than a little scary and the bunk beds were quite funny. I wouldn't say I am particularly artsy and the town was supposedly artsy, we found some cool ceramic places, ate some great food and had some good wine. Then, we stopped in Durnstein on the way home and hiked around a bit and stumbled our way into this really cool festival and had some wine and pumpkin soup. It was an awesome afternoon. Work is really busy and the days are just flying by. I signed up for an 80km trail run that ends at the Eiffel Tower in March and am also signed up for the Nice Ironman in June. I tried to work out how I would train for both, but decided to leave it to the experts and hired someone to develop a program for me and this online training/coaching thing. So far it is going ok. She cut back my training hours a ton, so I am sneaking in runs and adding in extra minutes to what she does have me doing. And, half of it is in German, so it's been a bit tough, but I think I will eventually get used to the German and also I think soon she will catch up to the amount of training I want to be doing, till then I'll just continue to lie a little. Ha! I do really like having a point to every workout. I also tried cross fit the other day, very fun. I'd like to do more of it, we'll see if I can fit it in. Weekly dinner with some friends, weekends filled with sun and pumpkin soup, great training, life is going pretty well. I am for some reason just loving life in Vienna these days. I still can't stand the people and find them rude, but maybe I'm just getting better at ignoring them. Yesterday was Ironman Kona, loved watching it! I was going to go over to a friend's and watch it, but somehow going for Dr. Falafel and a bit of shopping turned into a Wein and Co. afternoon, followed by nachos at Champions American Bar. Delicious. Next weekend I am meeting Kristin in Moscow, can't wait!

Fantastic Fall!

Life in Vienna, it's been good lately! Things are still a little crazy, but going well. I love this time of year, it's pumpkin soup, fall colors, bright blue skies, warm days and cool nights. I've even gotten my boots out. Although, today I have been trying to force myself to switch over my closet to Fall/Winter clothes and store the summer things, and I just can't do it. In fact, even though it is freezing out, I am wearing a tank top and jeans. And, have been successfully avoiding the task by catching up with friends on Skype and cooking for the week. Apparently I think the world is ending, I bought enough food over the weekend to feed an army. Then I made enough turkey chile to feed a family of five for a week or so. Whatever. Since a few of us bought dirndls, we have been looking for excuses to wear them. We went to a festival the other weekend, and all I can say, is I felt like I went to a costume party, but was the only one that dressed up. Ha! It was fun though, and I did eat some pumpkin soup. Oh, so last weekend a friend and I decided we would go on this "trail run" and meet her boyfriend and his friend at the top for a little lunch and then take the gondola down. Without going into too much detail, that is definitely not how it worked out. We never did find the trail, or make it to the top, and at one point as I was holding on to a stump and looking left and right and wondering what in the world I was going to do, totally stuck and terrified... I realized that we were those people, you know, the ones that you hear about on the news that had to be rescued by helicopters and they had no food and water and what were they thinking, they must be complete idiots? Well, we were those people. Obviously, we did eventually make it down, but it was quite an experience. One that I don't need to have again. Training. What am I training for? I have NO idea, yet I am up every morning going for a run, at the gym after work and running home and doing rides on the weekends. I feel like I am training for nothing, but harder and more hours than when I am actually training. I added in weight training and that seems to be going okay. I did sign up for the Nice Ironman and am already totally excited about it. I did a hilly ride this weekend, and hope to do MANY more so I can do the hills better in Nice this time around. I am already planning on going to this weekend training camp in Nice in the spring. I'm not sure what the dates are yet, but will sign up as soon as they are posted. I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to do next year, life is good and easy here, but is it time to move? Try a new school, city and life? While I haven't made any final decisions, it's looking like another year or so here in Vienna. I want to buy a car and get a real phone when I do make the decision to stay. We'll see though! It's a normal Sunday of cooking, cleaning and relaxing. I might make some cookies in a bit. Or not. Next weekend Claudia and I are going to Slavonice, it's supposed to be a cool, artsy town right across the Czech border. I'm really looking forward to it!

Wrapping up, well, another summer.

Everyone keeps asking, so how was your summer? Do you smile and answer, oh, it was great! As usual it was really busy, running around visiting friends and family, but I loved every second of it. Or, are you honest and say how it really was?! Depends on the day I guess. So, as I mentioned before, I had a pretty crazy summer with a couple trips home and a trip back to Europe for Ironman Swiss. Now, I'm back in Vienna and things have just not slowed down at all. Let's see since I wrote last I've done quite a bit! I'll try to keep it short, but it will be long I'm sure... I flew into Vienna on a Thursday night and flew out Friday to meet Stipan in Croatia. He was visiting family in Croatia and well, why wouldn't I fly down and meet him for the weekend. We were on an island right off from Split and stayed at this apartment that was directly on the water and amazing! Excellent food and weather, I think it had been six or seven years since I'd last seen Stipan and some things just never change. Friendships like that are rare and I truly do LOVE that while we did the normal catch up on life thing for about 30 seconds, it was then just about the now and having fun! Which we did. I went on some great runs, rented lounge chairs and flopped around in the water a bit too. Wonderful. Work started that Monday, crazy and jet lagged, but all went smoothly. My boss is back, he was working as the high school principal last year, which made for a tricky year. I learned a lot. About what, I'm not sure. But, I'm just really happy with how things started off so far! A lot of people say that if you didn't work you would be bored and that there isn't enough things to do. I disagree completely. I feel that I would easily be able to fill my time. But, since that isn't really an option at this point, my job isn't so bad. I work with some great people and the travel from here is awesome... hard to complain! But, I do manage to complain often enough... I did an awesome race, I hadn't really been "training" in any organized fashion, just did an "active recovery" after the Swiss Ironman and then tried to get in as much biking, swimming and running as I could. Of course, the running is easy to do while traveling, but I did manage to do some of all of it. Then when I was back in Vienna I decided to make myself go swim in the Danube as often as I could and then just go for it race day. The race was a 70.3 Half Ironman in Zell am See on August 26. It was GREAT. Mel and Claudia came out with me, we rented a van and an apartment and we were off on Friday afternoon right after school. Of course, I was angry and annoyed leaving Vienna, I swear, I cannot get out of this city without some type of circular route and there is nothing that annoys me more than wasting time. But... once we were on the road, it was a pretty good drive and the place we stayed was great. Saturday was the "fun day" of driving the course, getting the bike checked in, registering and going to the race briefing. I always think I won't get that stressed out, but I do. Oh well. I met a friend at the race briefing, it was nice to have someone to talk to about the race. Mel and Claudia were trying on dirndls and of course I wasn't planning on it, but ended up trying a few on and then buying one. As you do...! We drove what we could of the bike course, racked the bike, packed the transition bags and had a great dinner! Of course, before dinner we tried on our new dirndls and drank wine. Yes, the night before race. Ha! I was feeling pretty relaxed and had no real expectations about the race, the only reason I was even doing it was because I had broken my ribs and wasn't able to race the St. Polten race and this was the only one I could transfer it too... I also decided that I thought I could go faster than what I did in my previous races, so I was just going to go all out all day and see what would happen. Mel, Claudia and I went to a place for dinner that someone recommended and it was delicious. Came home, stayed up for a bit and then went to sleep. The race didn't start till 10:00 the next day. Very annoying! Race Day! I was up before my alarm and drank some coffee and ate a leisurely breakfast. Seemed weird for a race day to start so late! I packed up all my stuff; we were planning on just leaving straight from the race so we could get home at a somewhat reasonable hour, I was thinking the race would take me between 7:00 - 7:30 hours. Mel and Claudia dropped me at the race, I walked around, checked my bike, put on the food/gels/water that I thought I would need and was just sort of standing around for a bit. Suddenly it was time to exit the transition area and head towards the lake. I stuffed myself into my wetsuit after covering myself with the body glide, no need for wetsuit rash anywhere. It was a water start, which I had never done before. Right when I walked in, I saw my friend, and we just stood there talking and waiting for it to be time to start. The buoys just look SO far away. Soon it was time to start, I just hung back in the water, near the stairs and decided to let everyone else start and I would just follow. I was not the only person with this idea. It was a wave start, which I liked for a number of reasons. I was in the first wave, so I LOVED that there really was no way I would be the last person out of the water and there would be less people swimming over me and maybe the kicking and crazy start just wouldn't be so bad. Well, no such luck. The swim starts are just plain scary. The pros got a bit of a head start and then we were off! It's so exciting and so many things just are rushing through my head. I don't really get the random cheerleaders, but they were there doing some cheers, they played what I can only guess was the National Austrian Anthem and we were off! I just kept thinking, swim your swim, don't worry about what anyone else is doing. Breathe. Swim. Kick. Don't let it bother you if anyone kicks you or if you are being passed. Just swim your swim. I actually felt pretty good during the swim and the course seemed easy to follow and I could see a balloon that I was swimming towards, which was awesome. Although, when I asked my friend about it, he said he didn't see a balloon, so maybe it was my imagination. Either way, I felt like I was at least swimming a fairly straight line and only getting hit and kicked a little. I knew the fastest swimmers in the second wave would catch me, so when that started happening, I again, just kept telling myself swim your swim, don't worry about others. The kicking and hitting was pretty bad through the whole race and especially bad around the corners. I think triathlons are all about talking to yourself... The swim seemed to go really fast and really slow all at once, when I looked at my watch when I got out and saw that it was 44 minutes, I was thrilled! I was hoping for less than an hour, so it was much better than I expected. Transition 1 I have NO idea what I do, or what takes me so long, but it seems to take me forever to get off my wetsuit, into my bike gear and all that whatever. Bike: So, one word could describe the whole bike ride. RAIN. Yes, once again, racing in the rain. It really does crack me up, I have only ridden my bike twice in the rain and both times were races. It actually didn't even bother me really. I'm not sure how or why I wasn't freezing. Ok, so the bike course... we started off on a track and left the transition area and were off... the course was mostly flat and through some small towns and around the lake. It was an awesome, fast course, mostly on closed roads and bike paths. I'm not sure if it was the wave start, or that I swam faster than usual, or what it was, but there were a lot of bikers around, I was passing some people and some people were passing me. I felt great on the bike, it was absolutely POURING down rain, to the point of not being able to see and having to slow WAY down. I saw a number of crashes and ambulances. It was a little scary to be honest. It was a two lap course that was well marked as far as where to go, but not marked with distance markers at all, I think I only saw four or five the entire race. I think the rain kept a lot of people from coming out, but when there were plenty of volunteers and in the small towns, there were some people out. It was really fun to see Mel and Claudia in Zell am See. It's funny how motivating and exciting it is to see people you know! They were awesome. There were some times when it was just insane rain, like can't see in front of you, huge puddles everywhere, getting soaked by your own bike and people as they pass you. Just plain crazy. Like I said before, I felt like I could go faster on the bike, but didn't know what would happen to my ability to run, but decided I didn't really care and would just try it out. So, I didn't ride all out, but harder than I normally would and somehow managed to finish the bike just over 3:00, which SHOCKED me. When they waved me in towards the transition, I felt like there must be some mistake. But, there wasn't. Which is also funny because I felt like I was actually having to slow down because of the rain, yet still got a time I was super happy with. Transition 2: Once again, SLOW. Although, this time, I feel like I had a bit of an excuse. While I didn't feel too cold, my fingers were numb and earlier on the bike I could barely open up the bar I wanted to eat and ended up dropping half of it because I couldn't feel my fingers. So, the volunteers actually had to tie my shoes for me! I did eventually get into my running clothes and off on the run. Run: The run course was a three loop course that went through town and then out along the lake. It was still pouring down rain. It took me a few minutes to settle into a running mode, but I felt pretty good and didn't look at my watch right away, I told myself I had to wait a bit. By the time I looked at 4km, I felt like the race was practically all over, only 17km to go... easy enough and I was feeling good. Running through town was fun, lots of people and you were seeing runners come towards you since it was an out and back course. I love that. And, I love getting those bands! I saw my friend on my first lap out, he was already finishing! Amazing how jealous you can become of colored arm bands. I think I spend half of the time on the run looking to see how many colored bands people have and how many kilometers I have left and when will I be back in town, and, will I see Mel an Claudia? I think the only thing I am not thinking about is running. The aid stations were a mess, it almost felt dangerous to run through them with all the cups everywhere, funny for how organized the Austrians are to have the aid stations be such a mess. But, it was fine and with the rain and the puddles, it was just like an obstacle course. At some point I realized I might be able to finish the half marathon in less than two hours. Two hours and twenty minutes was my goal, so I was really happy! Towards the end of the run, I was starting to feel a bit tired, but overall I felt great. No pain or sick feeling, just a bit tired of moving... and not really looking forward to driving home. At the last lap I had asked Mel and Claudia to not go pick up my bike and instead meet me at the end, I was finishing the race about an hour and a half earlier than I thought I would, so I was HAPPY! Finish Line: It was such a great feeling to cross the finish line and I was THRILLED with my time. I was not expecting it and loved that I felt good and finished strong and faster than anticipated. Mel and Claudia were at the end. I had to run in, change, grab my medal and then I thought we would be off to get my bike and then head home... but that's not quite what happened. Funny thing, they didn't really mark the run course and somehow we managed to get our van stuck on the race course. Oops! We did eventually get the police to lead us out, but not before we actually saw a car HIT a person. Everyone was ok, but unbelievable! So, we picked up my bike, then had to go back to the apartment, which ended up being really nice to shower there and not in a rest stop, which is what I was going to do. So, we managed to get ourselves home, it was late, but we did make it! Not fun to get up the next day for work though. The next week was uneventful really, just trying to get back into work, the weekend was wonderful. I did a long bike ride, went to Dr. Falafel, all the things I missed! The next week we went did our Fall Trip, I went to Hallstatt, Obertraun and Bad Ischal with the 6th Grade team and it was as exhausting as it always is, but I did have my first pumpkin soup, which was very exciting! This last weekend was great too. Mel and I did some dirndl and lederhosen shopping, met a friend Carol at a Meet Up French Wine and Cheese tasting that was really fun and went to a harvest festival in a dirndl the next day and the weather was awesome! Now it is just back to work... and tomorrow I am going to attempt to get my Russian Visa to meet Kristin in October. They ask that you list off every country you have been to in the last 10 years and which years... scary to say I have NO idea and I just looked through my passport and hoped I got it all straight. I have heard nothing but nightmare stories about waiting in line at the Russian Consulate and having to go time and time again... I hope that it just doesn't happen like that for me, but I guess we'll see! Oh, and I signed up for the Nice Ironman 2013. I am so excited I can't stand it. I am going to hire a coach this time I think. We'll see...

Summer 2012....

Where do I even begin! Let's just say life doesn't always turn out the way you think it will. Sometimes it's better, sometimes it's not. But, what can you do, but just keep on going!

I'm currently sitting in the Vancouver airport, drinking a spicy caesar, watching the Olympics and waiting for my delayed flight to London and then back to Vienna. The delay doesn't matter at all, I had about a zillion hours in London anyways, have to love the "free" miles flight options...

So, I am currently obsessed with watching the Olympics and am up ridiculously late every night, it's as if I have no self control.

Summer has been interesting. It started off with an awesome road trip through the Czech Republic and up to Poland to watch Euro Cup soccer with Steph and Mel. We barely managed to get into the Fan Center in Wroclaw, had we not made it in (there were riot police involved...) I am pretty sure Steph would have killed me. But, fortunately, we did get in, barely, and watched a Czech Poland game and it was Awesome! We went to Auschwitz the next day, it is the second concentration camp I have been to, and, I really don't think I ever need to go again. We stayed the next night in Krakow, I would love to go back there. Driving was an adventure, but all in ll, great trip!

Not real sure exactly what/how it happened, but the night I got home Steve and I broke up. No real need to get into the details, except that it lead to a 11:00pm call to my mom and sister and a 6:55 flight to Seattle. Just a little extra trip home. It was AWNESOME! It was one of the best and most relaxed trips home I've had since moving abroad. Everything seemed like an added bonus and nothing beats being around friends and family when you are feeling blah about life. It was also the first time I've ever just come home at a random time because I felt like it, it was nice to know that I can just do that. I was able to do a few things I probably wouldn't have been able to o if I only came home once, like go o the beach house and see a friend get the keys to their first house, do some wedding stuff with a girlfriend that I will miss the wedding, and well, I don't know, just be home!

Things were not great with the break up, so I was glad my mom was already planning on coming back to Vienna with me... Summer part 2, Ironman Switzerland. I'll have to do a full race report later, I was saying that I would have loved to read about the race from a normal person, not the elite athletes, before I did it. But, the quick version... My mom and I got to Vienna a day apart, I arrived on the 5 th I thin, and we ran around Vienna running all the life errands I was meaning to do before she got there, including the 2 or 3 day process of replacing my lost metro card, and even a fun trip to the Visa office. .

Ok, so back to the race, part of me didn't even want to do it because I was so upset about Steve, but in the end, I did manage to drag myself to the start line. The race was in Zurich, so we flew in, went to the expo, met up with a friend of a friend to tour the course, talk and just have someone to talk to before the race! She was great, and an awesome athlete. So, I managed to get my bike checked in, register and drag myself to the start line. It was NOT easy. I really did just want to give up. I had broken my ribs, so swim training was nearly nonexistent, I was mentally out of it, and my training definitely suffered because of the random trip home. But... On race day things went as well as could be expected. I had never ridden my bike in the rain, and really, what better time to try thn an hour snd a half into an iron,an? Ahhhhh! I finished the swim unless than 2 hours, which was my adjusted goal after the broken rib deal, then an hour and a half into the bike it just started to pour down rain, not a few drops, or a light drizzle, but a "I can hardly see a foot in front of me" type of rain. I had gone to dinner at a friends house and her son had described riding your bike in the ron as ice pellets slamming into yor face... And, let's just say that is jut why it felt like. The bike course was a two loop course, way hillier than I thought it would be, and downpours added to the excitement. It was just plain crazy. I think I spent half the time thinking, I can't believe thi is even happening. I had a moment of panic at some point, when I thought I wouldn't make the bike cut off time and tarted riding like a crazy person. I easily made the cut off. I'm not sure what type of math I was doing in my head, but it isn't make sense. The run was fine, but once again, the wether was just insanely awful. About an hour and a half into the run, it started doing the sideways, somehow in your face rain, blowing down the barriers, crazy insane conditions. It was absolutely miserable. Combine that with a rough road surface, a few hills, dark from the clouds and it was just not that fun. I discovered that I like eating salty peanuts during the race though, I was totally excited at ever aid Titan to get more salty peanuts. They were super delicious and something to look forward to. My friend Christi came out and I saw her a few times, and the girl's family that I had just met, and my mom was awesome and she was there for the whole thing. All in ll it went well, I finished faster, even with the unbelievable conditions, and felt fine at the end. Of course, we walked around Zurich the next day and it was absolutely beautiful and perfect weather...

We went back to Vienna, packed our bags and left to come back to the states, we did take the time to go to an amazing lunch, felt like we were royalty! Of course we started out with champagne and ended our zillion course meal with cheese and wine. Fancy!

Second trip home was great too. I definitely didn't want to leave! Spending time with friends and family os just awesome. I was able o go to my cousins house warming party, see friends down in the bay area, meet lots of new babies and spend time with my niece and nephews. I miss them like crazy when I'm gone. They really are just too cute!

I'm in denial that I have to go back to work soon. I arrive late Thursday to Vienna and leave Friday afternoon for a weekend on Croatia, then bac to work on Monday. Hard to believe another summer is nearly over!

Loved every second and already looking forward to my next trip home, bit no idea when that will be...!

Oh, and I'm sure there are a zillion weird typos, I'm on my iPad, which I love and am addicted to, but it does weird things and is not a replacement for a laptop at all... It does all these uto correct things that mke me crazy.... Ok. Enough. I need to eat some dinner and get back to the Olympics.

Another year...

It's hard to believe it's already been another year in Vienna, school's out on Friday, but I'll get to that soon enough. Last I wrote was about a month ago. I've been pretty buys since then! Let's see... life is really about training and travel at this point. My mom came for a visit, which was great! I had to withdraw from the St. Polten Half, which was SUCH a hard thing to do. I've never really quit or not met a goal, so it felt weird. But, we ended up going on a great Czech road trip instead. My mom arrived on May 15, I think, and we spent some time in Vienna and then we went to Cesky Krumlov, Telc, Olomouc and Morovia the first weekend. Renting a car was both fun and challenging! I bought a Garmin and it was definitely a love/hate relationship. Driving through Austria was amazing, I forget how beautiful it is right outside of Vienna, and so green! My mom did a great job driving. I don't have an Austrian license, so I couldn't drive until we got to the Czech Republic. Cesky Krumlov was so cute! It was this small village with a beautiful castle, cobblestone streets, we stayed in a great hotel and the weather was beautiful. We drove from there to Telc for lunch, the Garmin took us on a crazy drive, but Telc was another small cute town. There was a small festival happening in the main square and we sat and had lunch, I think it was about $2.50, I'm exaggerating, but everything was so inexpensive! We then drove on to Olomouc, another really cute small town. We stayed in another great hotel, dropped off our things, went to a wine bar, walked around taking pictures and then had some dinner. Totally relaxing and fun! The next day we got up, walked around a bit more and then headed back towards Vienna. We stopped at yet another really cute town, Mikuluv, and walked around a castle, the main square, had lunch and some delicious hot chocolate. The next week my Mom went to Kiev and I went to work. The next weekend was amazing too! Steph, her cousin, my mom and I did another road trip, this time to Croatia. The first night we went to Zagreb, we arrived late, so just went out to a delicious meal and then bed. The next day we walked all over the city, went to markets, churches, and had a great morning. Then we went down to Plitvice lakes, which was amazing! The weather was, well, interesting. When we first arrived it was fine, we started our hike and then it just started POURING down rain, the kind that just soaks you. It was fine though, we survived and it was beautiful. We warmed up with some hot chocolate while we waited for the boat to take us across the lake and back to our car. We then drove up to this city, Tribalj, and stayed in the most amazing hotel ever. Totally cute, great food and an amazing staff. The next day we went to the beach and rented beach chairs, then got some ice cream then just drove around looking for cool things to see. It was great! The next day we had to drive back to Vienna. Sad. My mom left a few days later, but will be back July 6. I can't wait! Since then, all I've really done is train. Oh, and Steve turned 40, so I took him to dinner one night and then we went out with all his friends the next night. He claimed that he didn't want to do anything, then when we were out a couple nights before, he said he would "allow" me to invite his friends to dinner. Ha! It was fun though. Training is completely insane. I think I am up to 22 hours a week or so, and then trying to work and finish up the school year, it's just crazy. Today I was on my trainer for 5:45 minutes and did an hour run. I had a personal day, so that was nice, but I really spent the rest of the day doing nothing because I was tired, and tomorrow's plan is 90 minute bike ride in the morning and a 2:45 run in the afternoon. It is totally insane. This weekend Steph, Mel and I are heading to Wroclaw, Poland to watch Eurocup 2012. We will also go to Auschwitz and Krakow. Then it is back to Vienna for my hardest week of training and then TAPER. I am SO looking forward to the taper. I'm feeling really good about the biking and running, but very, very worried about the swim. I wasn't able to swim for three weeks and lost a lot of endurance. I really don't know how I will manage the full distance. I am up to about an hour comfortably slow, but need to get up to 1.5 hours at a faster pace. About a month till race day...!

Break. Literally.

Well, I guess the question has been answered. I do not know the difference between determination and denial.

Well, that's how that worked out. I somehow managed to make it through the week, training and all. Had a great time at the cooking class...

The cooking class... let me quickly say that it was awesome! Matthew and Omar did an amazing job creating a menu and it all went wonderfully! There were a few last minute drop outs and a few e-mails that made me MAD! One person e-mailed me at 4:00 the day of the class (I didn't get it till the next day) saying that he heard from his friend that I still expected them (he and his wife) to pay even though they were sick. He didn't think that was fair. Well, guess what guy, it's not fair to the other 15 people for you to both drop out,not bother to even call, just e-mail. Whatever. I decided I wasn't going to let the money part ruin my night. And it didn't. Fun times. I would do it again in a second, I would just organize it differently. So back to the training disaster... I'm having an ADHD post. Ok, so in pain all week, but taking some drugs, figure it's fine. Went on a nearly 5 hour ride on Tuesday and met Steph, Claudia and Mel in Durnstein, it was awesome. We had a great day, the ride was beautiful. We had a bit of an interesting train ride back, had to beg, borrow and steal in order to get out bikes on the train and barely avoided a 65 Euro fine for buying the right ticket, but for the wrong number of people, I think the train guy was just having a bad day. Anyways, to the ER part of the story... I went for an open water swim on Thursday after work. Midway through the swim I was coughing like crazy and stopped for a second, probably about 150 meters from the shore and realized I was coughing up blood. Not a good sign. I was a little freaked out, but managed to make it to shore pretty easily, nothing really hurt more than it had and the water was really smooth. So I get to shore, call my school nurse, and long story short, realized that I needed to go to the ER. I HATE that place. I still have nightmares about the bloody gurneys that we saw when I had to go my first year in Vienna, poor Steve, it was the middle of the night, we had only been dating a few months and he had to deal with me like that... Anyways, Steve didn't answer his phone and Steph had just texted me, so I called her, burst into tears (which really hurt) and told her I had to go to the ER. She was able to meet me on the U6 on the way to the ER, yes, you just take yourself to the ER via public transportation. I was crying and crying, not because I was scared, or because I was in a lot more pain, it was just the mere thought of having to spend time in the ER. It is SO awful. I can't even explain that place. So, when we get there and finally get to the right ER, I had no money or ID, so Steph had to pay my deposit and then run to my house and get my wallet and a change of clothes. Steve was on his way, but hadn't arrived yet. By the time he got there I was on the phone to my mom, who was at work, crying and crying. There was a lot of tests and waiting around, 6+ hours. It was absolutely miserable. At the end of it all, it was probably 12:00ish, I had broken ribs and a tear/hole in my lung. How it didn't collapse, no one seems to know. They told me I had to come back in two days, I asked if it was really important if I came in two days and could I just come on Monday, the dr. asked why and I said because I was flying to Sofia for the weekend. He got very animated and started saying Nicht flying! Nicht flying! And, then using hand gestures, started repeating over and over again that apparently my lungs could collapse with the change of pressure... oh, so no Sofia. I got the paperwork to leave and Steve went back to ask them if I could train at all. Nope. Nicht training. I was just so upset. Everything was upsetting. I was starving, tired, just found out I had broken ribs and a little tear in my lungs. Nothing positive about that. I was pretty sure they wouldn't think it was a good idea to do my race on May 20, in St. Polten. So, I chose not to ask. I went back Saturday morning and found out that the tear was healing fine, could do limited training, it was just about pain tolerance. But, she said it really wouldn't be a good idea to do the race in a few weeks. Which is just SO upsetting to me. I have to keep telling myself that the St. Polten half was just to prepare for the real thing in July. But, it just annoys me. The whole thing. I just don't have time for an injury. And, I am sick of being in pain. It's like there is a level of constant pain and then every now and then sharp pains. Fun. It was interesting to have a whole Saturday to do whatever I wanted with no training. I did some shopping, hung out with Mel, went to the Prater for a bit and then up to Kent's for a Kentucky Derby party. I guess that is what it's like to not be training. It makes me a bit crazy to not train. Since they said I was allowed limited training, I did get up this morning and go on a short 45 minute run. It hurt, but no problems breathing, so that was good. I am just sick of the pain though. Today I have just been relaxing, cooking, cleaning and trying to organize myself for my Mom's visit. I can't wait for her to get here! I am pretty disappointed that I didn't get to go to Sofia, I was watching Anika and Steph's posts, sounds like it was a pretty crazy weekend. I can't wait to hear all about it! I hope the ribs heal faster than four weeks, I just want to get back to training normal.

Open Water = Terrifying

Well, first I didn't get into the NYC Marathon, I'm a bit disappointed, but it's probably best, not sure I would have been ready for a marathon in November. Just sitting at home relaxing a bit, had the best weekend! Started off with a happy hour with Matthew and Omar. We went to this place by school, I think we ran out at about 3:16, I mean some days are just like that and with the sun out, how could we resist! We walked through the doors of this Heuriger and it was like walking into a whole new world, we were sitting in a beautiful garden looking out into the vineyards and I wasn't really drinking = white wine spritzer... kind of afternoon. We were having such a great time, but realized we needed food and for some reason fried meat and potatoes just wasn't going to work. We ended up grabbing a taxi and having a delicious tapas dinner at Bodego Marques, the food never tasted so good! I'm sure the sun and wine helped. It was great because I was home and in bed before 10:00, that's my kind of night!

I was up and out the door by 5:55 for a super hilly 4 hour ride, I was trying to figure out how I could ride up to Kahlenberg and over to work and avoid tram tracks. I did manage to figure out a way and got in some great hills along the way, but was TIRED on the hills! I need to work on that as much as I can before the races that are coming up. I smashed my ribs into my bike pump while trying to pump up my tires, I would explain how, but I just don't exactly know, but anyways, it hurts to breathe deep, but I don't have to breathe entirely shallow, but it is definitely painful. The riding was ok, but the hour run after was pretty painful. I finished up around 11:00ish and lounged around the house for a bit and then went out to the Prater to lay out in the sun. I was surprised to find that at 1:00 in the afternoon at the Prater, where there are small children and families relaxing and playing in the sun, there are also prostitutes. Have never seen them in Vienna in 3 years and certainly was not expecting to see it in the middle of the day in a child friendly area! I was SHOCKED. Well, I was able to move past it and find a grassy area and lay down, read my book and actually fall asleep. It was perfect! Sunday I woke up with my ribs still a bit sore, the night before I debated going into AKHA, but I HATE that place and will avoid it at all costs, so I just decided to self diagnose and take the same drugs that I took when I cracked my ribs a few years ago playing soccer. It helped. I met Steph and Mel at Edison's, this great new place by my house for brunch and then we set out to find where I had been before to do an open water swim. We found it really easily and I eventually got my wetsuit on and did a quick swim. It was terrifying. There is not ONE thing I like about open water swimming, literally everything about it terrifies me. But, this place was really easy to get to and not too many boats, and the boats that were there were paddle boats and/or slow moving. There is a little pedestrian bridge that I think keeps some of the bigger boats and the sail boats away, so that is nice, but it's still scary to be out there with boats. I was hit by the boat last year and it just scares me now. And, I was coughing like crazy and it hurt to breathe, so I just went a short distance. In my mind though, it was really helpful, I just need to get out there a bunch more before the race, which is three weeks from today. Scary. Tomorrow is a cooking class, I was looking forward to it, and I guess I still am, but the planning/organizing of it became difficult and annoying. Matthew and Omar must be annoyed too, they did the menu planning and recipes and all that. Ugh. But, it will be fun. I'm sure of it! We have Tuesday off and I leave for Sofia, Bulgaria early Friday night, so it is going to be a very busy week! I think the next month or so is going to fly by. I can't wait for my mom to get here May 15!

Just another day...

Well, it's about 9:15 at night and I am STRUGGLING to stay awake. Things are going okay, training is exhausting. I am averaging between 15 - 20 hours a week and really, really, really need to get out in the open water! I did a long ride the other day and managed 90km in less than 3.5 hours, so I'm pretty happy with that, can pretty comfortably finish the whole swim distance and the runs are only up to around two hours, which is fine. But, I am definitely tired at the end of the night! I bought this groupon coupon for five meals for a family of four to be delivered. I was cracking up when I saw the amount of food they brought on Monday night! I have NO idea how I will eat it all, but so far what I have had is good. The recipes are pretty easy, or at least my rough translation of them are easy enough. I had a few friends over for dinner last night and tried to make the fish and it didn't quite look right, but tasted ok. I think it was mostly an operator error, not the food or the recipe... I needed a different type of pan. At least that is what I am telling myself. It is pretty fun to have all the different foods to try, it's not necessarily Paleo friendly, so I am having to make some adjustments. And, with my increase in training some of the foods that used to be pretty limited are now allowed. I went and visited a friend and previewed the Zurich Ironman bike course last weekend. First of all, the visit with my friend was GREAT! It was someone I haven't seen since my first year in Dubai, so it's just been forever. I loved spending time with her, we had a great drive on the bike course and also went out for a few drinks, one at this great panorama view place and then this really cute wine/cheese place. I loved Zurich. We also went with her family on some hikes/walks around the lake right in Zurich and then on Sunday this lake that was a bit farther away, but it was beautiful! They lived in this really great place with a big yard, such a change from Dubai, and then right at the bottom of this amazing area to trail run. Which I did one morning and managed to get myself quite lost, but did eventually make it back to their house. Her kids were so great, all about the same ages as my niece and nephews. Kids are SO much fun to be around! So, the course seems like it will be ok. I need to get out and do some hills. Nothing will compare to the Nice course, but... it definitely has some long hills and climbs that I would probably be more worried about had I not done Nice. I do need to get out on my bike and hit the hills... and also start with some open water training, like I said. Ugh. The weather was gorgeous today, and yesterday I ran home from work and was able to figure out a way to ride my bike to work and avoid having to ride along the tram tracks, I have such a fear of falling into the tracks and just crashing. So, that means I can ride to/from work and get up a bit later and get ready at work. And/or have my bike at work and ready to go for my long rides right at 3:15. This weekend I am home and am planning on trying out the route to work as part of my 4:45 ride (then a 45 minute run...) and also getting out in the open water Saturday and Sunday. I already did two swims this week, but need to take advantage of the weather and am hoping to convince some friends to come hang out on the shore and get a tan while I swim and then join them. We'll see what happens. We are also doing a cooking class on Monday next week, seemed like a great idea when we thought of it, but somehow planning it is stressing me out. But, right now everything seems to be stressing me out. I'm really looking forward to the weekend! I am definitely at that training point that is my near exhaustion all the time while I adjust to this increase in training hours. I know I will get used to it, but for now, it's off to bed at 9:30, so I can get up and ride at 5:15, work all day, then run home... it really is a never ending cycle that I both love and hate. I am feeling good about the biking and running, but still terrified of the swim. And, I have a race in less than a month. Hm, night time for me. Oh, and I thought I was going to find out about the NYC marathon tonight, but apparently they do the drawing today, or well, did the drawing, but we can't log in and find out till tomorrow at 10:00am EST. So, I guess I'll have to wait till tomorrow... then start begging for the time off work.

Life in the fast lane...

Life is good. Really. It is. Doesn't always seem that way, but some days I can't believe how great things can be. Spring is here, apparently that means a bit of snow (on April Fool's Day), some sunny beautiful days, some pouring rain, a bit of everything I suppose.

Training is going ok, I was just in Turkey for a week, which I'll get too, but I got back on Friday and then attempted to do an indoor Olympic Distance Triathlon. It was pretty much a disaster, all of my own doing. The swim went fine, was actually quite easy (should be in a pool, I am absolutely TERRIFIED of the open water swims coming up), bike was HARD. I don't really know what I was thinking, I know that you have to drink water and/or sports drinks, and just because I didn't bring a water bottle with me to the gym, and I am on this "only buy bottled water in places that the water is not safe to drink" kick, and I didn't want to get off the bike to get a drink every 20 minutes or so, I tried to ride 40km really hard with only one gel and a few huge gulps of water halfway through. Needless to say, it was awful. The whole ride, I don't know what I was thinking, and then to try to run after?! What a mess. Just goes to show how important following a nutrition plan is. Besides that setback, training is continuing to go well, but it really is all consuming. While in Turkey I could only run, there was no place to swim and no bike at the gym. I decided to do some really hard interval training and weights, which was also a terrible idea, it just left me feeling too tired to do a proper Olympic Distance Practice Race. Ugh. This week is back to normal... oh wait, no it's not because I'll be gone again this weekend. I am flying out to Zurich to visit a friend and preview the race course. I am totally excited, but it's hard to fit in all the long workouts during the work week. We'll see how it goes!

Ok, so Vienna has been pretty busy so far. Steph and I have been going to a new church, which I like, but it is in the middle of the day on Sunday, which is a bit annoying, and I guess there is a new pastor that started today, but I wasn't there. Sounds like he is a bit more modern, we'll see. Easter markets were fun, the weather was great for a few days, so we went and picnicked in the park, which was super fun and relaxing, went to a bike thing at the Rathaus, Luis, our favorite bartender is back from Mexico, Tin Tan is a favorite once again! Had a few more Wein and Co. afternoons, Dr. Falafel every weekend, just the same old things I guess, but all is good.

I just got back from a great trip to Turkey with Jess. We met in Istanbul, spent most of the days just relaxing, walking around, shopping, eating and catching up. It was awesome! I love the food, people, everything about Istanbul. We then flew to Bodrum, which was SO relaxing. The hotel was beautiful and had a wellness center that we took full advantage of, we spent our days lounging in the sun and doing a whole lot of nothing. We did manage to drag ourselves out to the city one night and saw the castle, had an awesome Turkish dinner and wine, found a starbucks and some shisha at the ice cream place. A perfect way to end our trip.

This weekend was great too, like I said, the Olympic Distance Race was a two thumbs down event, but, it was followed by Dr. Falafel with Mel and Anika, then Wein and Co. and Levante with Matthew, so what's not to love about that day! Today was great too. I started off with a good long talk with my mom, I LOVE Vonage, and then I spent the whole day watching the Vienna half and full Marathon runners. Mel and I met just before 10:00 and watched Halle and Paula take 1st for men and 1st for women in the half marathon, I just can't believe how fast their legs move! Then we continued to stand and watch for another hour or so, we were right at the finish line, it was just amazing to watch so many people cross that line! We saw the first marathon finishers too, the Vienna City Marathon Record was broken, so exciting! Then Mel and I grabbed a quick lunch and I headed back to watch Anika cross the line, she did the relay. It was a bit weird not to be running. I'm not exactly sure why I didn't do it, who knows. Maybe next year. I talked with Anika for a while, then met up with Steph and Eddie and we all went to Motto, this great boat/cafe place and celebrated with some Prosecco and snacks. All in all, life is GOOD!

I have a busy month or so of travels coming up, my mom will be here soon, and I have a race May 20, sure hope I'm ready! Now it's off to bed, only 9:22 and I'm exhausted.

Crazy Catch up...

I don't know what has been going on to prevent me from writing in this thing... oh, right, Ironman training. Seriously. It is an obsession between the nutrition and training and trying to fit in work, it really is ALL I do.

So, a quick version of training and then life.

Training, I am now in Week 15, so nearly halfway through training. I took a swim class, which I HATED and dreaded every week, it was 8:00 - 9:00pm on Thursdays, which is WAY late for me to be out and about. But, it really made a big difference in my swim technique, I am still terrified of the swim and am pretty sure I will end up drowning and/or getting kicked in the face. I have been reading all these blogs on Ironman Swiss and every single one comments about how it is the roughest swim start they have ever experienced and that the course is hard to follow. They also note that the swim caps they hand out are the same color as the bouys you are trying to follow... hopefully that will be different. I swam the full distance in the pool the other day and it felt easy and took about 90 minutes, so I feel like I am at least on the right track. Open water swim is a whole new thing though... I have asked a friend if when it warms up a bit she will come ride along side me in a boat and hit me with a paddle while I swim, so you know, I get used to pain and being lost and confused.

I have been loving riding my bike, the indoor trainer is HARD and I did a few indoor spinning classes that were near impossible, 3 hours... I was dying! I have been on a couple rides in the last few weeks outside and it seems easy after all the indoor training. I rode just under 100km in around 3:50 last Saturday and felt just fine. I am also looking for a weekend/time to go and preview the St. Polten Half Ironman course but, my weekends are booked! I'll get to that later. I'd like to go and get my bike fitted, but I am just so busy! Should make the time though.

Running has been fine. I've noticed that I am working a lot harder on my riding, so my legs are tired for the runs. I am always doing the required amount of time, sometimes a bit more actually, but feel like my legs are pretty heavy. I've been meeting a friend and running in the Prater on Sunday mornings and have been loving that. We'll see, I think I need to start running with people or doing something to make it more entertaining. I used to run with a friend from work, but she has moved back to the States, and I'm realizing how much I miss that! I also added in a third swim so am up to 4 days a week of having afternoon trainings, so would need to find someone that wanted to meet and run at 5:00 in the morning... this will not likely happen.

Nutrition... so I'm still trying to follow the Paleo Diet, but at times it's a bit hard. I just get hungry, it doesn't limit calories or anything, but how much fruit, lean protein and vegetables can a person eat! I just feel like it's not a meal without some grains. I am starting to add in the grains during the Stage 3 of my eating cycle, which just feels like a feeding cycle at the zoo or something. I cheat every now and then. My favorite cheating is that I'm back to my routine Dr. Falafel Saturday. It really is the best thing ever!

Now, the rest of life.

Work, I just can't be bothered to discuss it. It's happening, I go every day and I get my job done.

Travel, have tons of things coming up and went on a great trip to NYC! First, Steve ended up coming back from Thailand early, which has been really nice. I thought he was going to be gone through March, and he ended up back in January. So... I decided to go to NYC and visit my friend Jen and then our friend Heather joined us too. I loved every second of the trip! We walked around, saw Ground Zero, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, celebrated national Margarita Day with the best Mexican Food I have had in ages, went to Top of the Rock, had our 5 seconds of fame in the background of the Today show, ate tons of delicious meals, shopped around, walked around and a highlight for me was running in Central Park. I could not have asked for better weather either! It was absolutely amazing! I also went to Philadelphia and had an amazing time with two friends from Dubai. It's so nice to be able to see people again! I mean, you make great friends abroad, but, realistically could NEVER see them again.

Steph and I recently went and visited our friend Heather in Barcelona for Steph's birthday and St. Patrick's Day. It was amazing! Heather and I spent our time wandering around, shopping a bit, drinking a bit, eating a bit, even had an afternoon on the beach. It was a perfect long weekend! I love Spain and am really hoping to someday be able to pay off all my college debt and find a job in a city that I want to live in that I can train year round in the sun and live on the water... Barcelona, Nice, Italian Riviera, maybe a tropical island... who knows!

Upcoming trips, this is what is crazy. I will be meeting Jess in Turkey on April 7, which I can't wait for! Then April 20 - 22, I am going to Zurich to visit a friend and preview the bike course, next weekend is free in Vienna, then it is a crazy May. The first weekend we are going to Sofia, Bulgaria, then next weekend Budapest, the following week my mom arrives and I have a Half Iron in St. Polten, the next weekend is a driving trip to Croatia, the next is a hiking trip, and then... nothing. As of right now, but who knows! I can't seem to say no to any travel options. Heather and I have already booked Thanksgiving next year! Malta! Crazy.

Life in Vienna... it has been ok. I just don't love it here. I try to find some good things about the city, but I can't. Plenty of good things about my life here, but it is truly a depressing and boring city. You have to work hard to be "ok" here as opposed to having a vibrant and exciting city. Well, that is my opinion of it at least. The weather was great this winter, we had a few weeks of FREEZING cold weather, but for the most part there was NO rain and gray, which is what makes me crazy. So, it's been a blue sky kind of year. I'm loving it!

I have about a zillion things I should be doing, so I guess I'll get to it. And, try to get some pictures up and remember to post more often!

Is soy sauce really cheating?

So, life has taken a couple of crazy turns in the last week or so, but I'm keeping my head above water.

First, I will start with how guilty I am feeling about adding some salad dressing (soy sauce and honey) to my dinner tonight. Why might one feel guilty about this seemingly small thing? Well, it's the latest obsession with the Paleo diet, according to the book you can "cheat" or follow an 85% rule, which means the average person eats 20 meals a week, so if you follow the diet 85% of the time that means you can have three meals a week that don't strictly follow the diet. I must say, I am really shocked by what I miss the most. It's not the sweets, breads, dairy (although I do miss lattes) it really is all the salty/processed condiments that I use in cooking or as salad dressings. I still don't quite get what the problem is with salt, vinegar, soy sauce etc. if used in moderation, it's not like I'm drinking it... And, there is NO reason I am doing this other than to see if it helps with my training. Right now I'm in the "don't quit, you should feel tired and it will take longer to recover" period. Which, is not fun. I feel like I am working out harder by adding in strength training, eating healthier and instead of an increase in energy and better workouts, my body feels tired. I am not used to my legs not wanting to run another step. But, all the books say three weeks minimum before you decided what you think about the diet and it's effect on your performance. Most books say stick with it longer and you will continue to notice improvements, it just takes time. Today I did stop in at this small bio store near my house I've never been to before and bought some unsweetened almond milk to try in my coffee. I'm actually pretty excited. Overall training is fine, swim class was good, we won't learn the full stroke until week seven, seems a bit extreme, but I guess with swimming it's about technique and we have a lot to learn. There are four of us in the class, it is in German and it actually makes me want to learn again. They seemed to be laughing and having fun and I had no idea what was going on. I mean I could understand enough to follow the class, but sure would be nice to know the language.

Ok, back to the rest of life, wait, is there life outside of training and eating?! I went to Amsterdam to visit a friend who was traveling through Europe from Australia, it was awesome! We stayed with a friend who worked with us in Dubai, rode bicycles all over town ( a bit scary...), went to a few local markets, wandered all over, went to this ridiculously awful, so almost entertaining band, I mean, who knew Lionel Ritchie could be remixed in quite that way, and what band doesn't play Oh When the Saints Go Marching On...! The next day Mark and I went for a run, lounged about the house for a while and then met another friend who I worked with in Vienna for lunch at this great Nacho place and it was great to just sit and talk with her! It is pretty fun that I have friends that I can visit all over the place, I consider myself very lucky!

Work is work, really, with training and this whole eating thing, I really feel like I don't have time to do much else. It will be really, really, really nice to be home this weekend! I haven't been home for a weekend in only a month. I don't really have anything I have to do, but some things I want to do. I'm thinking about buying a grown up fridge, mine is TINY and the freezer is super tiny and with all this eating and prepping I need some more space. I also ordered a juicer and am hoping it arrives soon and am going to look at food processors too. I should just go buy the Kitchen Aide mixer and all the attachments that I have been dreaming about for years now... I keep thinking, well I don't want to buy it here because I don't know how long I'm staying, well, it's at least another year and a half, definitely enough time to buy a mixer...

No plans to travel anytime soon, we had talked about meeting in Thailand or China, or wherever Steve is, but he might be back to Vienna before my break in February. The smart thing to do would be to stay here, do my training and relax, but... I would really love to see the sun!

I'm back... to Vienna

Christmas Break was a big, fun, blur. I loved being home and seeing my family and friends. Let's see... some quick highlights, seeing my family, I cannot explain how cute my niece and nephews are, meeting my cousin's little girl, Christmas with my Dad for the first time in six years, continuing training, shopping, dinner at the place my brother cooks at now, more food than one should consume in one day all in one meal, meeting up with old girlfriends, the Lam's, they sure are growing up!, birthday brunch and nails with Missy, Starbucks with a tier one friend, a fun lunch at McMenamins with my best friend from kindergarten, how funny is that, 30 years later...spending so much time with my mom and a zillion other things I am probably forgetting. I guess it's a lot of the same things I do every time I go home. I did some serious damage shopping this time, even with paying for an extra bag I had to take things out in order to meet the weight limit... I was that person that you definitely didn't want to be behind in the baggage check lane, iPad, laptop, boots, jacket, carry on, massive purse... Oh, and as usual, my bags didn't make it back to Vienna with me.

When I arrived into Vienna I met Steph and her mom at Dots Sushi for a delicious meal and then came home and unpacked a bit and did much of the same on Sunday, couldn't be bothered to leave the house really. Drank coffee and ate Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies for dinner.

Monday and work came way too fast. I was wide awake at 3:00 and I finally got up and did my long bike ride at 4:00 because I will be in Amsterdam this weekend, so that was nice. Well, nice until I just about fell asleep while trying to work that day! I managed to make it through the day and decided to skip the gym and head home to do some grocery shopping for my new Paleo Diet, which I'll get to in a minute... but anyways, I also found out that my luggage was supposed to arrive, so I had to be home between 6 - 9 anyways. So, I decided I would do some sit ups, push ups and other at home weight training activities. So, I went to Billa, made myself some dinner and then started with my workout. Next thing you know I hear the buzzer ringing. I had somehow managed to fall asleep in the middle of my push ups? Sit ups? Arm lift things? Who knows...?! My luggage did arrive though, so that was nice. I quickly unpacked and went to sleep, obviously, I was tired.

So, back to the Paleo Diet thing... and ironman training. Like I mentioned before, I signed up for the Zurich Ironman on July 15 and the St. Polten Half on May 20. I'm not really sure what exactly I was thinking, except that I guess it has just become an obsession. So, I was doing a little research and wanting to add in something different to my training this time around and knew that I would need to improve my swimming technique so I signed up for a 10 week swim course and also decided I would focus on strength training and nutrition. After some research I decided to try the Paleo Diet, which is basically eating like a caveman, lean meats and all the fruits and vegetables you want. It doesn't allow grains or dairy. So far, 2 days into it, and it's fine, except for one thing. It's not giving up grains, or cheese, or even soy milk, it's SALT. I am going crazy without it! I made turkey fajitas last night (with a lettuce wrap) and as delicious as it was all I wanted was salt, just a tiny, little bit...!

In one of the MANY books I bought, I think it's something like the Paleo Diet for Endurance Athletes, it talks about the five stages of eating and what is allowed in each, and which foods are usually not allowed in the Paleo diet, but can be eaten in moderation during Stage II/III and then salt is ok if you are exercising at a certain temperature for a certain amount of time, or are losing a certain amount of sweat, oh, it is all SO confusing. Then it goes on to try to explain the percentage of fats/proteins/fruits/etc. that you should eat during the different phases of training, base, build, peak, and then when you are just about to race an A priority race you should limit your calories the week before, I get tired just thinking about it. I also bought this training journal to help plan the workouts and write down how they go and what I eat for the day. I was working on transferring all of the plan into it and was getting exhausted just writing it down, let alone when I am actually doing the long training weeks! Right now it is only 8 or 9 hours + whatever strength training I do (and I don't get to count the time sleeping). I am really excited about the new diet, strength training and my swim class. My ultimate goal is still to complete the ironman, but, it sure would be nice to be faster this time too!

Oh, and to add to my ironman obsession, I would also say I can't stop listening to Colbie Calliat and reading about and watching youtube videos on Kris Carr. I bought a juicer on groupon today...

Ok, off to bed. Hope I manage to sleep through the night.