Thursday Catch Up

ON LIFE (IN GERMANY)

Whoever said life goes by in the blink of an eye could not have been more right. It's December and I've been here for four months. FOUR MONTHS! Between traveling and running and binging on Netflix life. is. flying. Too fast. But I'm happy it is. Because it means I'm closer to being home. Like HOME, home. Home, in the house I grew up in, home. Home, in the city I'm so used to, home. Home, where my family is and where my in-laws are only four hours away, home. 

Life here is really good though, and sometimes I forget that. Maybe I just need to wait another four months to really appreciate having lived here.

ON GOALS & PLANS

I know I mentioned it already but it bears repeating...I'm officially signed up for my first half marathon! The more I say it, the more excited I get. Maybe by the time it gets here, and I've said it five thousand times, I'll actually want to run it. That and by the time I'm finished with our half marathon training program there'll be no reason NOT to run it. I'm going to completely ignore the fact that we also signed up for three triathlons because they're not until the summer.

But as we work through the program we definitely get encouraged by the improvements we see. Like a new fastest mile (10:05) and a new personal record for the 5K (33:36). Ryan works in a fifth run day every week so he can do speed work since we run together at my slower pace. 

And since I'm a real glutton for punishment, I convinced Ryan to add more exercises on top of that training. You know, for fun. Greatist put out their first challenge since July and I jumped riigghhtt on that band wagon. I would like to mention that it's currently day ten and I fully regret my decision. My entire body is sore. So, so sore. 

Only twenty more days to go!

ON (HOLIDAY) CELEBRATIONS

I saw this card on instagram the other day and it's definitely starting to feel like christmas. I can't say look like, because for one, we still don't have a tree or really any decorations up, and two, it doesn't seem to snow here. Which is a major bummer because snow is my favorite part of the holidays. 

Which is why I could never live in, say, Florida. Frozen States Forever!

Anyway, I'm trying to convince Ryan that we need to get a puppy when we get home. You know, for health reasons. He likes the idea but isn't quite ready to give up his "lack of responsibilities." I think he sees it as his glory days ending. Picking up and going somewhere on a whim is pretty cool. Picking up dog poop of the daily? Not so cool. 

We may not be exchanging big presents this year (unless you count five pound bags of gummy bears big) but we will be visiting each and every christmas market Cologne has to offer. Drinking glühwein all along the way. It's definitely not a bad way to celebrate this adventure we've had.

The New Normal

To say that this last month and a half has been a whirlwind would be an understatement.

The weeks have flown right on by with just non-stop action. Man, once you get to be an adult, days just pass on by. And at this point I need them to keep on hurrying since it's still seventeen more days until I can see my husband. But more on that later.

So since late June, Ryan and I switched apartments. We traded our 800 square foot one bedroom, one bathroom apartment for a 1200 square foot three bedroom, one and a half bath apartment. I'm pretty sure most of it is still in boxes on the floor. 

In July, we competed in our second triathlon ever. And I have to say it went MUCH better than the first. Instead of completing the race together we both went our own pace and finished separately. The swim was great for me and I had great speed on the bike. I struggled on the run, walking some of it. Overall, I finish dead center for women, but first in my division. Which is pretty neat. Ryan I think finished third or fourth in his age group. He took his time on the swim and then rocked it on the bike and run. We both walked away with some Ommegang glasses for our efforts.

The day after our triathlon, Ryan and I went to Maine and celebrated our fourth anniversary. It's hard to believe it's been that long since it feels like just yesterday we went on our honeymoon. I have to say that Portland, Maine is one of our favorite places to go. It's the perfect speed for both of us and we're already thinking about our next trip there.

Two short weeks after we came home, I packed four bags, went to the airport, and moved to Germany. Without my husband. I'm not sure in what world I thought it was a great idea. But two weeks ago it happened. And I'm here. With a cold. Thank you germy people on the airplane.

My days are pretty much like clockwork. I wake up before my alarm. Get ready. Drive eighteen minutes to work then walk twenty minutes to my building. I woke until five or six in the evening. Walk to my car and then drive home. I'll walk 500 meters to the local store and buy stuff for dinner. Come home, cook, eat, wash dishes. I finish the day talking with Ryan and getting a bath. Sleep, then repeat.

I've only been here two weekends, one with jet lag and 12 mile blisters, and another with absolutely no sense of direction or motivation to leave the apartment. My exploring has been to the local botanical garden and to find the restaurant where I was having dinner with a friend. Very glamorous, let me tell you.



I think I underestimated how out of place I would feel. On days when I'm brave enough to ask someone if they speak English, 90% of the time they tell me, "Nein." The other days, I hold up fingers and point, almost wishing I was actually mute.

My routine for the next few days is going to be a little off. Because not only will I not be talking to anyone here, I will also not be talking to my husband. He's currently driving to a math conference in Indiana. Which was exactly why he didn't join me right away.

So for the next six days, I'll be having a Netflix binge. Maybe a little exploring, depending on how needy I get for human contact. But here's hoping I can get my quota from these documentaries I found. 

The only thing that would make my weekend complete would be ordering pizza and not moving from the couch. Too bad that won't happen.

Has it been seventeen days yet?

Our First Triathlon | Cooperstown Triathlon

There's a moment, after every race, when you stop to think, "I did it."

I remember having it back in November for the first time. It was a I-just-ran-an-entire-5k moment. This past May, it was an I'm-a-triathlete moment. It was followed shortly by the thought, "Holy crap, I can't wait to do it again."

I think I may have had a stroke in between those thoughts. Because, I mean, what normal person thinks like that? Clearly not these ones. It must've been the bananas and cookies they give you after.

All the training that we did. The swims, the physical therapy, the indoor and outdoor cycling. It led us to this moment. Surrounded by fantastic people who all support one another; accompanied by personal cheering sections.

The Cooperstown course was an 800 yard swim, an 18.85 mile bike ride, and a 3.3 mile run course. Which made for a long sprint for our first triathlon. But we finished together and I'm really glad Ryan waited for me during each transition. Poor guy.

The swim, which I anticipated would be okay, was the part where I struggled the most. During our training, I was always really great with pacing, breathed consistently, and was always a length or two ahead of Ryan. The only thing I thought would get in my way would be weeds in the lake. Take a wild guess at what I got hung up on...

For whatever reason, I have this fear that the weeds are going to wrap around my leg and drag me under. Or, you never know, there could be some Harry Potter merpeople hanging out in them.

Once I hit those weeds, I started freaking out. I completely lost form and my breathing rhythm. It was awful. I tried to calm down and went to the backstroke so I wouldn't have to see the weeds. Once I made it past them, I tried to switch back to the front crawl but couldn't calm down enough to find a breathing rhythm. I ended up doing most of the swim with the back stroke. It was really disappointing.

This next one I'm determined to do better. It's funny, how afterwards you realize how ridiculous you are, but in the moment you can't seem to reason with yourself.

Ryan waited in transition for nine minutes before I got out of the freaking water.

I dragged my ass when I started the bike, trying to calm down from the freaking swim. Once I did get back into it, I averaged a 14.3 mph pace. It wasn't the fastest but I was pretty happy with it. Ryan only waited four minutes for me in that transition.

We ran the two loop course together. I swear, he is my biggest supporter. By the end of the race I was so done with it. The run course started with a little run through the Glimmerglass State Park then up to the largest hill I've ever seen. The first time I walked it. The second time (because of course the loop included it) I ran up two thirds of it. You have to celebrate the little things, okay?

We averaged a really slow 12:41 pace. But we finished together.

When you get close to the finish line, this smile creeps on your face. It's unlike any other. It's one that shows how happy you are, how accomplished you feel, how proud you are.

Then comes that moment. The I-did-it moment. Then if you're crazy, the I-can't-wait-to-do-it-again moment. So here's to the next one. And to competing in the Cooperstown one next year. I. CAN'T. WAIT.

Dude! I'm totally a triathlete now! Like for reals...

A New Adventure

Have you ever had a really busy week when, by the time you get around to having down time, you have no motivation to do the things you're supposed to do?

Welcome to my last two weeks. A week of work meetings. A weekend of sharing news. One last week of nerves and training. Then finally my first triathlon.

Today? Today, I just want to sleep. And not. move. an. inch. I want to just sit and relax and look at things like this.

I don't want to think about closing week. I don't want to think about the logistics of moving to another apartment. I don't want to think about my new job in Germany.

I just want to think about the sound that picture makes and relax. 

Fitness Flash

I am getting excited for this triathlon.

Ryan and I drove out last Saturday to Cooperstown and did a little recon on the bike course. We must've looked at the map twelve times before we rode out and still had to look at it again during the ride. It was a bit of a warm ride but it's a great little course through fairly quiet roads.

As of today, there's only nineteen days left until the tri. While we were in Cooperstown we scoped out the lake where we'll start. I know we're both pretty nervous that we're going to be cold, but after touching the water and riding the course I think we're going to be okay. There's no lifeguards yet so we couldn't get in and test out our wet suits.

We trained pretty well last week (at least, I feel good) and here's how it shaped up:

It feels so good to swim again. But pool swimming is a bit different than open water swimming. Thankfully the first time we do an open water swim is before the triathlon. I always get weirded out by stuff touching my feet. For some reason I think my feet will get tangled, I'll be pulled down, and I'll drown. No better time for an irrational fear to get you than when you're competing in a race. So for Memorial Day we're going up North to visit with Ryan's family. While we're up there, we're going to try to swim in the St. Lawrence River when we visit his sister's family as they camp at Cole's Creek. 

Since we were out in Cooperstown and it was an absolutely beautiful day, we took a different way home along a scenic biway. The way there took about two hours but this other route took about an hour and fifteen minutes. Although a little bit longer, since I had Ryan stop a few times along the way. 

He's the bestest. I couldn't ask for a better partner in life.

Fitness Flash

Last year, Ryan and I really got into biking. Over the course of the summer we biked 1,000 miles. We brought our bikes on our vacation to Connecticut and rode around Mystic. We even bought new fancy bikes on a vacation in Maine with a stop in New Hampshire. 

Then our awesome friends, who have both finished two ironmans a piece, encouraged us to do triathlons. So we started running. After a 10 week intro to running program, we competed in our first 5K EVER in early November.

We ran our second 5K on Thanksgiving morning a few weeks later. Then the pain started. Every time I would run, I would be faster, but I hurt. For days my hip would ache. It would go away. I would run. Then it would hurt again.

So I stopped running and Ryan did too. We gave it time but the ache wouldn't go away. It was ever present in the background, ready to pop up when I would do the easiest of things. The doctor suggested physical therapy and I started right before Christmas.

It turns out that my butt (as large as it is) was weak and the muscles supporting my hip weren't sturdy enough for the activity I was hammering on my body. Six weeks through PT and I'm making tremendous progress. Some days it still aches, but if I stretch it out, my hip feels much better. I can actually do my daily stretches with little to no pain. I'll just feel a good burn from it.

I'm not allowed to run yet, but I'm working up to it slowly. I'm itching to though. My physical therapists, Beth and Don, have cleared me for moderate cycling and full blown swimming, since that doesn't aggravate the pain.

Since Ryan and I are still set on completing triathlons this year, we've focused our efforts on swimming while I'm healing. While we both love swimming and hanging out in the pool each summer, it's definitely our weakest part of the triathlon.

When we joined the local YMCA, we got in the pool right away. After talking more and more with other swimmers, they suggested taking the adult swim stroke class to help tweak our technique. After our first class this past Sunday, I can honestly say that I'm going to love it. Our instructor is helpful and insightful with her directions. I can't wait to see the difference at the end of the lessons.

For now, our training schedule is busy. We're trying to keep our muscles engaged and in shape for each of the three events. Here's what I did this past week:

Ryan's schedule looks a little bit different, you know, since he's not broken. On the days I do physical therapy, he does a bicycle trainer workout. When I workout before our swims, he runs on the treadmill.

By the time May comes around and brings with it our first triathlon, we're going to be BEASTS. Full on triathlon machines. At least I hope.

A girl can hope, right?