Iceland. It might as well be another planet. It's the most unique place I've ever visited in terms of landscape. Glaciers, volcanoes, black sand beaches, geysers, geothermal pools, lagoons, SO many waterfalls... It was also expensive AF. But we weren't there for the restaurant scene so eating carrots from a bag while road tripping was fine by us.
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The purpose of adding Barcelona and subsequently Andorra to our honeymoon tour was simply an aspect of cost and convenience. We were flying into Italy and out of Iceland a month later. In between, we knew we wanted to spend some time in Greece. So we needed to figure out the most cost effective way to get from Greece to Iceland and it turns out 5 days flying into and back out of Barcelona was the way to do that. Andorra - a small mountain country that is located on the boarder of Spain and France - was an inexpensive three hour bus ride from Barcelona so we figured, why not? Just adding to that country count! (45 for me, in case you were wondering.)
The second* country on our Honeymoon Tour was Greece. We are using this time we have to travel to explore places we haven't been, or that have been on our "list" for quite a while; and that uniquely blue water viewed over a landscape dotted with little white buildings was calling. I also thought the land of hummus was calling, but now understand that I have been duped by Americanized Greek food because this is definitely not a staple. The eggplant salads made up for it though.
There are several prominent factors that attributed to my ability to not only qualify for Boston with a substantial 10 minute buffer (and a 33 minute PR), but to also run Boston eight months later with another seven minute PR, and a time of 3:18. While conditions were not favorable at Boston (the heat over the first half triggering the use of valuable stores of resources that I was unable to then leverage in the in back half), the preparation I had done was enough to push through that 3:20 barrier regardless. It comes down to one word to describe this year of my life - consumed by qualifying for and subsequently running Boston: discipline.
I'm not one to back down from a challenge. And I tend to create them for myself - even when they're not necessary. We were five days into our honeymoon adventure - five of thirteen we were spending in Italy - and realized we'd had pasta everyday. So why not keep that streak going... for eight more days? Once that idea was planted, there was no turning back. I'm happy to say we made it! I'm certain a few pounds heavier, but happy.
For as long as I can remember - I wanted to go to the Cinque Terre. Probably since I first saw a picture of those breathtaking little villages overlooking the sea. It looked like the most romantic place in the world. So it wasn't even a conversation that Erik and I needed to have when planning our Honeymoon: we would be staying in the Cinque Terre. I never thought, however, that I would run the connector trail between them.
Years ago, I had conceptions of what I thought travel (and love, and life in general) should look like. Travel was something you planned for over months and even years. It was budgeted for and structured and it fit nicely into the standard cadence: meet a guy in high school / college, get a job, get married, go on a week long honeymoon, buy a house, continue the 9-5 life, have a kid, take a week long vacation to somewhere new every couple years, probably have another kid, continue the 9-5 life, maybe take a big trip for our 15 year anniversary (without the kids? should we?!)... And I firmly believed that Italy should be a place to travel with someone that you love - it would be perfect for that week long honeymoon someday. Even as this perceived cadence of the right way to do life dropped away from my reality, I was still holding strong on Italy.
It's simple: to run fast in a race, you have to train fast. Seems like that would be a given, but I don't believe it's the way many people train. I certainly didn't do this for years. I was also lazy - running only 2-3 days per week, earning those PR half marathons only a few seconds at a time. But I quickly learned that improvement and the ability to scratch the surface of your running potential requires work; and a big part of that work is a weekly tempo run while in training.
It's funny, how one choice leads to an opportunity for another, and that series of choices creates your path. These choices define your journey. There are countless choices that have lead you to exactly where you are, right now. And when you make that decision to marry the person you do - looking back at all the choices made to get you to that point can suddenly seem monumental.
The choice to say "I do" to this man, however, was also the easiest choice I've ever made. |
AuthorA Midwest girl gone global. I choose happiness everyday: I run, eat well, travel, and love completely. Archives
March 2022
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