Couch to ATHLETE!

Our Bed for the Night Our trip in India included several flights around the country, countless hours in our vans, and an overnight train to a wedding. Since I have been back, people have asked me what my favorite moment was in India, probably expecting me to say seeing the Taj Mahal. While the Taj Mahal was spectacular, and certainly a highlight of the trip, the real response to the big question is that my favorite memory is of the 'train ride'. OK, so, let me be fully transparent here. I can't say that the sleeper car was my favorite experience, but I can say the experience will always be etched in my brain, and will be remembered as a great international adventure. So, while I was preparing for this trip, I paid close attention to our modes of transportation, and was knowledgeable about the weather. These two things are very important for a person who is traveling with special medication that needs to be refrigerated (but I'll leave that for another post). So...

The soundtrack from the van while we were driving around India: Person A: "Oh my, and ENTIRE family is on that bike..." Three people shout: "COW!!!!!!!!!"  Person B: "Look at that scenery." Three different people shout: "MONKEY!!!!!!" Person A then asks: "Do you have any aspirin." A combination of any three people shout: "DOG!!!!!!!!!!" Me: "How far is the next place?" And then another combination of people shout: "GOAT!!!!!!" And repeat... No seriously, repeat for 18 days... We all had an understanding that cows are holy in India, but it wasn't until we got there that we truly understood how holy the cow, and goat, and monkey and dog truly are... On the first day of our trip we encountered the first of the cows hanging out in the middle of the highway, while all of the cars gingerly snaked around the cow. In my mind, I thought it would make much mor...

Our first van I was messaging with one of my friends while in India, and to describe the driving I wrote this: '... Just crazy driving that has me praying for my life by the millisecond. You see the driving on TV and wonder if that is real? Well they are showing you the rated G version... Especially because I thought I lost my life about 100 times and woke up in driving hell, and then I saw Father's Cheshire cat grin and realized it was all just part of the adventure.' You may be laughing at the description above, but the reality is people endure this driving and traffic daily, just to get to work and make a living. What I learned while in India is that wide, well maintained roads, lane lines,enforced traffic laws, traffic lights, stop signs, parking spaces, etc. are all things that I have taken for granted, living in the United States.  When we arrived in India, our first outstanding driver picked us up from the airport at which point we learned that we w...

It has been a while since I have posted, but it is for good reason, I've been out of town for quite awhile. This vacation also meant that I have taken a break from my training schedule, which will need to begin with incredible intensity this weekend. Since I have taken a bit of an athletic break, I'm also going to take a break from my normal posts to share some stories from the Great India Adventure. As I get more into my half ironman training, I assure you I will get back to the norm, but for now I'm going to enjoy sharing my travel stories with my faithful readers. Since I can remember, I have always wanted to go to India. It has been on my bucket list, but always knew I wanted to go with a native of India, simply to temper some of my nervousness about traveling in a country with such a different culture than I am used to. The opportunity for this trip presented itself unexpectedly. My mom was planning to travel to India with her priest and several other parishione...

Yoga, Yoga, you are no fun; But my doctor says you are the one? I don't want to believe him; but alas I will try... But understand at some point, I will breakdown and cry... I tried a nice video, cause those people were pretty... But I thought better lessons would have come from my kitty... My cat thought it funny that I stretched like a dog... So she taught me new poses that made me look like a hog... During my yoga, sweat suddenly appeared... I thought this was just stretching!!! now I'm 'a feared...' Cow pose, dog pose, frog pose, OH MY!!!!!! Fish pose, monkey pose, locust pose, SIGH!!!! Why, oh why, can't we call it what it is... Flatulence inducing, hard exercise schiz!!! Many props to the yogis, who are limber and strong... If your expecting me to join you, please don't wait very long... Namaste Funny, this pose was NOT on my yoga pose.

The medals In my opinion, there is nothing better than a little running prior to indulging in a huge Thanksgiving dinner! In my opinion, there is nothing worse than paying 40 bucks to run a race, prior to indulging in a huge Thanksgiving dinner... In this situation, what is one to do? Here are the various options... Don't Run!  I mean, is it really that important to get a bit of exercise in prior to eating? There are so many things that have to get done on Thanksgiving, that honestly, there really isn't enough time in the day to cook a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries AND set the table, AND clean the bathrooms, AND do the dishes, AND make appetizers, AND run a race... Or is there? Well I can't answer this question because I typically don't do that much stuff, but my mom does... Run alone!  Why would one do this? All the family and friends are around, and so it seems silly to spend time alone. In this case, it might make sense to go back to optio...

My favorite holiday is right around the corner. There is nothing better to me than enjoying my family without any expectations other than just hanging out. Next week, I will get to see all SIX of my nieces and nephews, my parents and all of my siblings in one place. The together time will be short lived, and that is why it is even more important that I enjoy every moment I have with them over the weekend. The next time we are all in one place at once might not have for a year or more. Anyway, I know many people who feel as though being outwardly thankful in November is silly because you should technically be thankful all year round. I would agree with the spirit of that statement, and although I am thankful all year round, I don't necessarily shout from the rooftops because being thankful doesn't have to be public. Just because people choose to be thankful individually, doesn't mean they aren't thankful, they simply are choosing to do it behind the scenes. I like to ...