Calling It

This is a lazy post.

It was a good day, but a long day. I woke up slightly before 5am and I wasn't too excited about it. I didn't have my suitcase, so I couldn't put on clean clothes, work out or do much. Instead, I got to put on the still damp, a bit stinky clothes I'd worn the day before, sink washed in hotel shampoo and hung over the air conditioner in an attempt to dry. It was underwhelming at best.

It's now a quarter to 10pm and I'm crawling into bed. I would say from a work perspective, I worked full gas for a solid five hours and then off and on for the next seven hours, so plenty was done. But I also felt like I was able to decompress and be normal. I went outside, went to shops, spent more money than I should, got excited by all the options and choices and then got overwhelmed by American. It's way too easy to spend money here.

Now it's time to snooze and hopefully wake up sometime after 5am. Maybe I won't be the first person at breakfast waiting for them to put the coffee out at 6:30am. At least it was a damn good hotel buffet breakfast.

A girl can dream....

Fighting Jetlag

You'd think I'd be pretty good at it by now. I live on planes and constantly move around the world. I pride myself on being an expert at hacking jet lag.  

And then this silly three-hour time change killed me earlier this week. I think it was due to the fact it took two days to get from Belgium to Abu Dhabi. I left Sunday midday, slept in an airport hotel in Milan, and finally arrived at my hotel in Abu Dhabi late on Monday night. 

I was exhausted and hadn't eaten a real meal since dinner Saturday night when I crawled into bed on Monday. I expected to sleep like the dead. Instead, I counted sheep. I tried everything, meditation, sleep apps, drugs, hot shower, wine, etc. Nothing helped. I think it was a mix of sheer exhaustion and hunger that wouldn't let my body relax. Around 3 am, I finally drifted off only to wake up about four hours later. 

I've been here three days and it still hasn't gotten much better. I'm surviving off caffeine in a way that's a little pathetic for a three-hour time change.  I need to prioritize sleep tonight, otherwise, I'll be totally smashed after a few race days. Thanks Abu Dhabi for keeping me humble on my traveling skills.