Update...

Training. It’s all I do. Really. Can’t seem to find the time to do much else! Well, that’s an exaggeration, surprising for me, exaggerate? Ha.

Let’s see, March and April were good and busy months, what did I do?
In March I went to Cirque de Solei, Mojo Blues, helped host Steph’s Murder Mystery Dinner Party and took my soccer girls out for a “reunion dinner” at TGIF’s, I hate to admit it, actually enjoyed the American food and atmosphere, if I was in the states, I would have hated it, but… while out of the country anything that reminds me of the U.S. of A, I LOVE! Work weeks fly by and the weekends are basically taken up with training.

April was a busy month, did an Olympic Distance “race” and felt really good afterwards, could I do it all three more times? Who knows. Went out to Bad Ischil to do a long ride with hills, had to get off my bike twice and walk it. I am terrified of the hills during the race in France, I am googling it and watching Youtube videos of the bike part, I really should stop doing that. So many of the things I read talk about how it is the longest climb, not necessarily steep, but hours long and 7.5 km per hour, I can run faster than that… and people that normally finish the bike portion in 6 hours are finishing a bit over 7, which means, experienced cyclists are adding over an hour to their times, what does that mean for the beginner????????? So many parts of me just wants the race to be OVER, but I have enjoyed the routine of the training and can’t imagine what I will do with all my free time when it is finally over! 53 days to go. Crazy. I also ran the Vienna Half Marathon, it felt good and was a really fun day, the weather was perfect so we just relaxed at the end and waited for our friends to finish the marathon and then went and grabbed some lunch at Charlie P’s. Steph, Anika and I went to Mallorca for our Spring Break. I just LOVE that I still get a break, not sure how I could cope with M.S. students without getting a break though! We rented a car and spent the first couple of days in Valldermosa, which is on the Eastern mountainy side of the island. We had lazy, long breakfasts in the mornings, then toured around some of the different towns, they were all so cute and the food and wine was delicious! We also found some great markets and shops. There were a few stores that I really wished were in Vienna because there were so many things I wanted to buy for my house, but I wouldn’t have been able to get it home. We then went up to the Northern part of the island, Puerto Alcudia and it was AWESOME! The place we stayed was great and the weather was hot and sunny. Laying by the pool and getting a tan was wonderful. Steph and I had coffee and croissants every morning at the same place and walked on the beach, rented bikes, ate delicious pardon peppers, paella, tapas and drank Rioja. What could be better! We also watched a few soccer matches and the Royal Wedding. I LOVE vacations. I also really enjoyed being part of the Spanish culture for a while, everyone was so friendly. When I got back it was part of our training schedule to do a half ironman. On what planet is it part of training to do a half ironman? Isn’t that enough to train for? Anyways, I did a “race” but it was swimming in a pool, indoor biking and then I ran the 13.1 miles outside. It actually felt really good, but I just CANNOT imagine doing twice as long for the distances and the hills, they just terrify me! It just takes SO long, I did half the distance and it was about 6 ½ hours. The idea of working out for over 15 hours seems insane. Oh, I also had a crazy anxiety attack. Steve and I were out having a coffee at Starbucks and when we came out I looked up and down Mariahilferstrasse and just freaked out. Nothing looked familiar and I knew where I was and didn’t know where I was all at once. It was awful. We sat down and I had some water, it was the weirdest thing. I ended up going back to Steve’s and just laying down for a bit, I never sleep during the day, but who knows. Hopefully it won’t happen again. According to an article in the NY Times, rats that exercise a lot it actually increases anxiety levels, maybe I’m part rat.

Oh, and I bought a new couch and somehow that makes me feel like I’ll end up staying a fourth year here. I have no idea why I think that. I’m also really considering buying a scooter. The fact that school is less than 10km from my house and I have to allow at least an hour to get here by public is just irritating. I can run faster but then would need to shower and change and all that. ANNOYING. Everyone says, oh, you’ll get used to the commute, read a book, listen to music, relax. Whatever. Two hours a day is too long to be wasted, I’ve got too many things I would rather do with my time. None of which involves standing on a corner waiting for the bus/tram and then getting on dirty public transportation… Vespa shopping soon…

This weekend training is a 5 hour ride and 1 hour run on Saturday and a 90 minute swim and a 2 hour run on Sunday. Doesn’t seem like I ever really get a break! Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo and I’m going to a friend’s house for fresh tortillas and margaritas, Friday is a run with a girlfriend, Saturday is a Kentucky Derby Party and Sunday there is a food festival that we went to last year that was fun, so it’s a really busy weekend!

Exercise. Eat. Work. Eat. Exercise. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

Well, that pretty much sums up my life.

Ha! I keep meaning to write, but get caught up doing who knows what! I decided to buy a ticket to Dubai at the last minute and flew down for a week long escape to the sun. It was very, very necessary! I saw good friends, did some beach camping in Oman, ate Carrot Cake at Lime Tree, went to the beach, kept up with my training and did an all you can... just couldn't resist! Didn't make it to Barasti, or any malls, but I did manage to get in a few massages, a pedicure, you know, the usual Dubai luxury treatments for free.

Life is pretty crazy, well actually, crazy isn't quite the right word. Training has completely changed my life. It is all that I do. I am asleep even earlier than usual, often before 9:00, training around 12 - 15 hours a week right now, it goes up to 20 at some point, I don't even know how it is humanly possible to work full time, commute over an hour a day, get the workouts in and still have some kind of life. The life part is pretty much non-existant. I have been so exhausted when my eyes blink they want to stay shut. Also, exercise used to give me energy and now I'm just super, super tired. It all sounds bad, but I actually am enjoying parts of it, but also miss having time to do other things. I also don't drink anymore, which is weird. I mean, I'll have a glass of wine every now and then, but that's it. Very strange, I think of everything in terms of training. I was laughing this weekend because I was on my trainer for 3 hours and then had to do a 30 minute run and was thinking on the run that I'm not sure how I'll managae the bike ride without a movie to watch or tv shows... I'm sure I'll work it out! I'm really looking forward to the week in Nice AFTER the race.

This weekend was nice, went and saw King's Speech, to a BBQ at a friend's house and then spent half of Sunday drinking a latte, then having a snack and then another coffee at Starbucks with Steve. NOTHING is open on Sundays, wasn't quite sure what to do with ourselves. And, it was my day off training... I've also been baking obsessively, I made up a recipe for double chocolate cookies and they were delicious, but I won't be able to recreate it I'm sure, oh well.

Now, back to work and counting down the days till our next break, we have a bit of a stretch. Some fun things coming up though, Cirque de Solei this weekend, Steph's birthday dinner the next weekend, and hopefully it will start to get sunny again soon...

Where does the time go?

Let’s see, I could probably sum up the last couple of weeks in about four words. Swim, bike, run, sleep. Seriously, it’s ALL I do! But, I’ll back up a bit…

Winter Break was great! I eventually made it home and spent most of the time with my family. I flew in/out of Seattle and did manage to make it home in time for Christmas, it was the first Christmas I’ve spent at home in four years. I loved watching my niece and nephews Christmas morning, they were just so excited! We also went to the beach house for about a week, which is always so relaxing. The weather was freezing, but we still managed to play outside, go on a hike and of course I had the opportunity to ref some soccer games between Ella and Gavin, they are so hilarious! Jess came to the beach for part of the time too. We all managed to relax, drink some NW wine and just hang out and do NOTHING. It was wonderful, not at all rushed like last summer when I was home.

I went into Portland for a few days, had a great visit with my dad, a few nights out with some friends, a nice lunch, some shopping and then dinner at my brother’s restaurant with family. I also spent some time with the family I used to work for, which is always one of the highlights of my trips home, I am constantly amazed at what a great family they are and how much fun the kids are to be around, they are growing up way too fast! I then went back up to Kristin’s for a couple days before it was time to come back to Vienna. It always seems WAY too short, never enough time to do all the things I want to do, or see all the people I wanted to see. On the last night I was there I spent some “special time” with Dane, Ella and Gavin. I think Ella pretty much summed it up when she said, there’s just so many things I want to show you and there’s never enough time. Tear.

I made it back to Vienna after an unplanned Spa Day in the Minneapolis Airport, my flight ended up being delayed by 10+ hours. Annoying. It was nice to have a few days back in Vienna before work started up again, but once it started, it’s just been ridiculously busy.

Triathlon training… unbelievable. I cannot believe what a time commitment it is! I am physically exhausted most of the time now.

The workouts vary; last week looked something like this:

Monday: Rest Day (I used to call it starvation Monday, but now LOVE it)
Tuesday: 60 minute run, 60 minute swim
Wednesday: 45 minute bike, quick transition to 20 minute run
Thursday: 60 minute bike, 60 minute swim
Friday: 60 minute run
Saturday: 2:45 bike
Sunday: 75 minute run

Needless to say, I’m not used to working out this much, it feels like a part time job added on to my life, but instead of earning extra money I am physically exhausting myself. I can’t count the number of days in the last few months I’ve put my feet up on the sofa at 7:30 after a day of running, working, rushing to the gym, eating dinner and just thought to myself WHAT AM I DOING?! This Sunday after my run, I was lying on the couch falling asleep while watching the Australian Open (Tennis) and the European Tour (Golf), I NEVER sleep during the day.

Oh, and this week is the last week of Phase 1, which is the Base Phase, now the real workout begins… seriously? I’m really not sure how I will possibly add that much more time to what I’m already doing.

Steve bought me a fancy new bike trainer for Christmas, which is already making a HUGE difference, I can now do the bike workouts in the morning and I watched a ton of TV while on the trainer for 2:45 this Saturday. 3 hours next Saturday will be real fun I’m sure… Next week also adds in another 1 hour swim and they also suggest 2days of week of strength training… really does seem impossible.

Let’s just hope it’s all worth it. I do have a Spa Day booked for this weekend that I’m looking forward to!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

Christmas break has begun! And, once again, the airlines are not being my friends. We had some fun doing the Christmas thing the last week or so, went to a cookie exchange, where we somehow ran out of time to exchange cookies, a Christmas concert that was fun, but seemed a bit like we were in a high school gym/lyons club hall. But... the director guy really looked like the happiest man alive and it was entertaining enough. Although, the girl they had singing in a tiny little skirt was a bit painful to watch, every time she bent over to get a glass of water we would all cringe and try not to stare, but for some reason couldn't help but watch and torture ourselves. The rest of the week at work flew by, had a Christmas party, talent show and a random snow day.

Speaking of snow... I was supposed to fly out Monday morning, but... all of Europe is a mess because of the snow. How it is this shocking that there is snow at this time of the year is amazing. Heathrow and Gatwick have all but shut down and flights in'/out of Germany aren't much better. I was supposed to go through Paris, but after arriving at the airport a little before 5am and a few delays, I realized I wouldn't make my connection and went down to get reticketed for a different day and by the time I got there they had cancelled the flight, I was lucky and was only 4 or 5 people back, but it still took nearly 4 hours to get rebooked. Oh, and it made me wish I was in a wheelchair or had a kid, because apparently then it it TOTALLY ok to walk to the front of the line and ask ONE person if it's okay if you go ahead of them because of your situation. It happened a couple of times before this guy just lost it and started yelling at anyone that even tried to ask a question, let alone cut in line. It's crazy how long it takes to reroute one person, it's like 20+ minutes... I felt bad for the people that worked there. I had an option to try to fly again the next day, but they told me it was unlikely the flight would make it, so if I lived here, it would be wiser to go for the next confirmed flight I could get, which was the 23rd. Whatever, and in typical fashion... they couldn't locate my checked luggage and said it would take at least 5 or 6 hours before they could get it to me. So, instead, I can just go the day of my flight, pick it up at Lost Luggage from Austrian Air and then recheck it on my KLM flight through Amsterdam. I'm sure that is totally going to work out. I decided that I will go out to the airport tomorrow and try to locate my luggage and get it checked in. Who knows if that will work. Unbelievable really. I had to laugh at this point, my luggage situation is now just a joke. My carry on is probably enough to get me by for a week or two... Steve was really great too, he was planning on flying home that morning, but now stayed here instead, you know, to entertain me. Ha! I'm frustrated and annoyed, but at the same time, what can you do? I have had some time to go to the gym, wander around shopping, enjoy Starbucks and clean my house a little, so it's not all bad. I have a hard time relaxing, but not a lot more that I can do!

I can't wait to get home! I was doing okay with it, but talking to my sister last night made me a bit sad about the whole thing. In the whole scheme of things I guess it's only 3 less days at home, but when you're only home two times a year for a few weeks, it seems like a lot... oh well. I'll be there soon enough! Crossing my fingers that the airports are all up and running by Thursday!

Sleigh bells ring...

I am so ready for Christmas Break! Work is ridiculously busy and I feel like I am just running around but somehow getting nothing accomplished. Annoying. I’m also starting to realize what a HUGE time commitment this Ironman thing is going to be. On paper I realized that it would be a lot of time, but after only two weeks, I’m realizing it’s even more time than I thought it would be. Getting to/from the gym and working out somehow takes twice as long as I think it will. We had Wednesday off and my one hour swim and 30 minute bike ride somehow took nearly three hours when you factor in getting to/from and changing and all that. And, that was a workday workout normally, how will I have three hours in addition to working all day? Especially when the commute to and from work takes up a minimum of an hour and a half per day… Swimming hasn’t been nearly as bad as I thought it would be, 2400 meters in less than an hour without stopping, so, I doubt I’ll drown in the Mediterranean. I had to laugh though, this guy decided the best option in an empty pool was to share the swimming lane with me, which was annoying and he had the nerve to be splashing me. Hmm, I’m guessing that might happen when I am in the middle of the race. Let’s see, what else? I went out for a run on Sunday and it was -12 degrees, that was fun. I didn’t realize my eye sockets could somehow hurt from the cold. The rest of the day I was super lazy, never left the house again. Tuesday I came home from work to find all kinds of chaos happening in my apartment building, I never did figure out what happened, but there was a door that looked like it had been kicked in that is now boarded up and another door on the same floor now has some pad lock and thing all hooked up on the outside. Who knew that I lived in the ghetto?! There was this new notice downstairs, of course it was in German, so I took a picture of it and spent the next 45 minutes typing it into Google translate thinking that it might tell me what happened, nope, all it said was that people are putting the recycling in the garbage or garbage in the recycling and this is very, very bad… I’m really glad it’s the weekend, we are doing a Christmas cookie exchange and going to some concert on Sunday, and it should be fun. No plans the rest of the weekend, I need to get some Christmas shopping done, or at least started…

Catch up....

I am SO far behind! Not only in writing in this blog, but life in general… okay, it’s been just about forever since I’ve written last so I’ll try to make it quick…
Time is just flying by, I think I have been out of Vienna more than I’ve been in Vienna. For work I went to Hallstatt with the 6th Graders, which was beautiful. We went to an ice cave, salt mines and we hiked a bit. I did some running around a lake and up in the hills, it was beautiful!

A couple weekends later Bridget and I went to Berlin for a long weekend. I ran the Berlin Marathon, it was absolutely POURING down rain. I actually wore a pink poncho during more than half the race and my phone and iPod died within the first three kilometers because they got so wet. My shoes were soaked and I have never seen the type of blisters I had on the soles of my feet. It was funny though because I knew that I hadn’t really trained enough for the race and with the conditions (and lack of music) I didn’t have any time goals, I just wanted to finish. For the first time ever in a race, I walked through water breaks, stopped at the bathroom, stood on the side and stretched at one point and was SO annoyed that I finished in 4:00 and 41 seconds… are you kidding! I could have totally gone 41 seconds faster, but I had no idea I was so close to breaking 4 hours. Annoying. When we finished we made our way back to the hotel, showered to warm up and then drank a delicious bottle of champagne while lounging around the hotel room, we did eventually venture out to a really great Italian place for a celebration dinner.

A few weeks later my mom came, we had such a great time! I love having her come, we just hung around Vienna, did a bit of shopping, a lot of eating and not much else. We then flew to Istanbul for about a week. We stayed in a really great place right next to the Blue Mosque and it was just perfect! The room was pretty tiny, but the location was great. I think I had Chicken Sis for every meal. I loved it! It was a perfect amount of time to be there. We had plenty of time to see all the main sights, but could do it at a leisurely pace, with plenty of time to stop at Starbucks, which I insisted we did almost every day. We also went to this traditional Turkish Bath. You know how I am with naked people… well, we were in our swim suits, but most people were just walking around with nothing on and just sitting there and ahhhhh, where are you supposed to look! Steph and her mom came the last night we were there and we all went out to this traditional Turkish dinner, it was really fun! We also saw my friend Brycen, it was nice to have a “local” to take us around one night. Fortunately we just missed the bombing… it happened the morning we left. My mom and I had a few more days to hang out in Vienna before she left. I am always so sad when she leaves, this time I wasn’t sure when I was going home again next too, so that always makes it worse.

A couple weeks after that, I took our MS Girls Soccer team to Lug, Switzerland for our SCIS tournament. We had a really great time. It’s always nice because Steph coaches the other team, so it’s a little bit like we are on vacation… well, a vacation ruined by coaching… no, we had a great time. It poured down rain the first day, but was beautiful the second day. I was hoping to see a friend of mine from Dubai, but, I was just too exhausted to make the trip into Zurich, even though it was only 45 minutes away. Maybe next time. We went into Luzern for a team dinner and it was such a cute place, kind of want to go back.

I came back to Vienna for a couple of days and was back at the airport for the ECIS Conference in Nice, France. Nice was absolutely beautiful! I am excited to go back in June… more on that later… but the conference was fine. The best part was reading on facebook that another girl I am friends with from Dubai, now working in Cyprus, was at the same conference. So, I stalked her and eventually found her at the conference. We went out to a great French meal that evening and it was WONDERFUL to see her! It was one of those long dinners when you talk about absolutely everything and nothing all at once. I miss dinners like that. When I flew back into Vienna, Wade, Katie and Amy were there waiting for me, without their luggage. Must be because they were visiting me that it got lost… We had a really great time while they were here. It was great to meet Wade, and always a good time with Katie and Amy. We had way too much wine and food, I feel terrible! We mostly just walked around to different Christmas Markets, shops and Italian restaurants for a few days. They also saw some museums and churches and other things that I have never seen even though I live here… We went to my friend Kent’s house for Thanksgiving, it was such a good time. Great people and great food. I was also able to check something off my life list… make a cheesecake, so exciting! I made a Pumpkin Cheesecake, had to be a bit creative with the ingredients, they just don’t sell everything here. The next day we rented a care and drove to Lake Bled. Driving to Lake Bled was sort of like a near death experience. I feel asleep for a bit in the backseat and when I woke up I was so excited to see the pretty snow… that ended pretty quickly. It was seriously whiteout conditions and icy snowy roads, if I remember correctly we got in front of the snow plow… We did eventually make it there and had our gourmet meals with goose liver and wild boar, massages, castle touring and wine tasting. It seriously looked like a winter wonderland. I went on a great run the first morning around the lake, breathtaking! We left early and got back to Vienna in time to eat at the Gulasch Museum, who knew that existed? Wade and Katie left that night… sad. Amy and I basically didn’t do too much the rest of the time she was here, but I loved having her (and Wade and Katie) just be around, I miss good friends from home like crazy and it was so good to be able to talk to them about anything and everything and hear all about their lives too. It’s hard living away, so I am SO thankful that they were able to come visit. Amy just left this morning at 4:30… she’s actually flying as I type.

So that’s the traveling/work part of life… let’s see what else? My U2 tickets were a scam, good thing I recommended the site to my boss too… oops! Went to another concert, I don’t remember who it was, but it was fun and there were lots of normal people there. We also did the Vienna Night Run again, which was great. Eddie had us all over before the race. Ciara and Andrew had a little girl, Amara, I was the first visitor at the hospital besides the grandparents, I just couldn’t resist! She is SO cute and they let me watch her the other night when they went out to the Marine Ball, she really is the cutest baby ever and has such a great temperament. Actually, speaking of her, there is a baby shower for Ciara this afternoon, I made a carrot cake and can’t wait to have a piece! We have been meeting up at lots of different Christmas Markets. I still love the Thai Punsch at the Karlsplatz market the best, but also love going over to the Spittleberg market, it’s just so cute over there. We are planning on going to a Krumpus market, or something like that on Saturday. It has been snowing excessively for the last few days, there must be nearly 10 inches of snow up at school, it’s beautiful. For now I love it, but I’m sure in a few weeks I’ll be sick of it. What else… Oh, I started taking the school bus to work and it is seriously life changing, lots more time in the morning and no standing outside and waiting for trams and busses. I love it. I also went out and bought a few more things for my apartment and signed on for another year, I guess it’s time to start settling. I’m sure I’ll get my place just the way I want it and then be ready to move, that’s usually how that works out. I’m currently wanting to get a soda water maker and a rice cooker/vegetable steamer but don’t want to carry it home. We were in Saturn the other day for hours looking at small appliances. I am also trying to convince Steve to get a coffee maker to make my life better. He ended up with a toaster instead. Maybe next trip. I finally bought a new cordless phone, but I can’t seem to figure out how it works, all the directions are in German, it’s driving me crazy! So, I still haven’t magically learned German, weird, right?! Ha. Oh, and in other news, I signed up for an Ironman in Nice, France on June 26. Not sure what I was thinking!

I’ve officially bored myself… so, while it may seem like it's so exciting and I get to do so much over here I am absolutely exhausted. I feel like I have NO time to do anything and am always running from one thing to the next. As usual, many of the planned things are fun and things I want to do, but it's just like summer. Exhausting. I keep trying to do things differently, but because of work, or coaching, or training, or whatever reason, I can't seem to keep any time to just relax. And all the traveling has put me pretty far behind at work also, which then just stresses me out. I feel like I need a break, and while I am SO excited that I decided to go home for Christmas, I'm really worried I'll do the same thing and end up running around like a crazy person. What I really need is a day at the spa...

Back to life, back to reality...

Things are going well. Not too much to report actually. It's already freezing, which I find very irritating, I was actually considering wearing my wool jacket the other day, but then refused and chose to freeze instead. Blah. We went out to dinner at this tapas place that I love the other night which was fun. Went on some fun bike rides, random lunches, Steph and I just had wine and cheese at a great place right near my house, I now eat a zillion times a week at this place called Vapianos. It's Steve's favorite place and I don't mind it, but it's no 6th Street... Soccer started last week, it should be a fun season. Too many girls for one team, so we need to find another coach. I'm not entirely sure my athletic director realizes that I think we need a full time coach, not just someone to help me out. Practice was a nightmare today. The bus didn't come to pick us up and take us to our practice field, so after a long time of waiting, I made the girls change and run the mile and a half to the field. You would have thought I asked them to walk on water they were so confused. Then it was a zillion of them and one of me. Fortunately my boss came down and helped out. Should be interesting. We have games this weekend and only one more practice and I haven't picked the teams. Oh, and I looked great running down to the field in my work clothes this afternoon... no wonder I had to go have wine and cheese tonight... Then next month or so is insanely busy...

Sept. 10 - 11 Soccer Tournament
Sept. 15 - 17 Fall Trip (Hallstatt)
Sept. 24 - 27 Berlin
Oct 2 Budapest
Oct 17 - 31 Mom's visit... and our trip somewhere really fun, yet to be determined...
Nov 11 - 13 SCIS tournament in Switzerland
Nov 17 - 19 Conference in NIce, France
Nov 19 -30 Katie and Amy come and we may travel for Thanksgiving...

I was exhausted after a summer of traveling and swore I would be more settled once I got back here, but things just seem to take on a life of their own. Of all those things, the only one I wanted to do was Berlin... and now that seems like it wasn't the best idea. I signed up for that marathon last January... haven't done much along the lines of training. Oh well, what can you do, right?

Ok, it's way past double digits... time for sleep.