One Month, Continuous Blogging

Funny enough, yesterday would have been the one-month mark of writing every day. Figures it was the first day that I've missed a post. Life just got too crazy with one of the biggest interviews for the team, mixed with a team dinner out, and getting packed to fly back to Europe today. All excuses but I didn't really have any moments for me yesterday and writing was one of the first things I knew I could skip.

I'm back in motion and currently sitting in the Delta lounge at JFK before my flight back to Brussels. I always feel spoiled when I get to spend the day here. It's as good as any office. And once I'm home, I should be there for maybe up to three weeks! That sounds absolutely amazing. And the Roommate should be there for a little while. We haven't really seen each other since January training camp, so that's great news.

Blah.blah.blah. Yep, my brain is fried and all my attention is on getting home, so with that, I'm signing off.

Continuous Motion

I come from a big family, and we traveled a pretty impressive amount for our large numbers. When I was little, we owned a Volkswagen bus that my dad had taken the benches, rotated them 90 degrees and bolted back so they lined the sides and faced each other. The VW symbol was flipped upside down.

We went to the Outer Banks in North Carolina frequently and once a year did a trip to Florida, typically to Disney World. Once the first minivan came out, our trips got upgraded and we hit the Florida Keys and did ski trips. I also got to ride the train and do at least an annual trip to Washington DC or New York City. This sense of wanderlust was ingrained in me early. I remember one thing that I really loved the most was when we’d travel far enough that the weather shifted or that the trees/scenario changed.  I loved trying new foods and remember my first tastes of raw oysters on the half shell, sea conch soup, a real Ruben sandwich, and on and on.

I started working around 16 and saved my money and started going on solo trips. I do appreciate that my parents let me fly, take the car or ride a train solo throughout high school. As long as I checked in, paid for it myself and didn’t have any problems, I was allowed to keep doing these trips.

When I reached college and needed to pick a career, I knew I loved to travel. I tried to come up with a career where someone else would pay for me to travel the world. I wanted to see it all. So Political Science with a concentration in International Relations seemed the most likely. During college, I got to study abroad in France and did a humanitarian trip to Honduras. Immediately following graduation, I headed to Europe and backpacked for three months and went to 15 countries. My wanderlust has only grown and spread since then.

When I take a moment to slow down and appreciate my life, I feel so spoiled. I live in Belgium. Last week, I spent part of it in Italy, and now I’m on a plane to the US for a few days. It never gets old. Even returning to the same races or same places doesn’t feel redundant. I get excited about a little reflection of familiarity that’s mixed in with the hope of a new restaurant or adventure.

One day this will all slow down, and I want to be a place that I embrace that when it happens. Until then, I’m going to go big and always say yes to the extra glass of local dessert Sicilian wine that the waiter tells me I must try or extend one of my work travels by a day or two (which rarely happens but I aim to do it when I can!) to wander around and explore. More is more.

Packing Fails and Checklist Protocols

I'm not even to yet Italy, and I already know I've forgotten numerous things (some more essential than others). Total rookie move on my part, and it annoys me. 

When people do highly stressful tasks where operational failure isn't an option, they follow routine checklist every.single.time. Think of pilots. Even if they've flown tens of thousands of hours, they always go through several checklists before take-off. During an emergency, they follow a checklist. No matter how experienced you are at something, you'll never be perfect 100% of the time. 

When it comes to packing, I've created my own form of the checklist. First, I have doubles of many things so that certain essentials never leave my suitcase. Think glasses, makeup, chargers, and world plugs. Other items, such as medicine, running shoes or my computer that I can't have duplicates of fall under the checklist protocol. So I put little reminders in place so that I can't forget them: laptop case next to my backpack, empty medicine bottle on top of my bag, empty shoe bag in my suitcase, etc. Keeping all these things consistent helps me avoid forgetting anything.  The same goes at a hotel; you put everything in the exact same place, every single time, so you minimize the risk of leaving something behind.

I also take time and only focus on packing. And that's where things went wrong today. I'd run out of time and found myself multitasking. I took a conference call, tried to put away laundry, clean the apartment and pack all at the same time. Instead of focusing on packing and doing that well, I probably did none of the above well.  

What annoys me the most is that the things I forgot, I reminded myself to grab them moments before walking out the door. I just happened to make the mental note in the middle of the call instead of going to do it right away or writing it down. 

Oh yeah, and I just realized I never watered my plants! Ugh. At least I took the trash out..... 

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.

Back in Motion

Typically, I embrace moving around the globe. I feel so absolutely spoiled by the job I have and the fact I get to experience so many different places, cultures, languages and foods. I thrive on the continuous movement and don't really excel at staying in one place, even when that one place is my own home.

I went to Hawaii for Thanksgiving and the exit has left me almost perplexed. It was a super short trip, but I always knew it would be. It isn't the first time I've done something like this. I had four full days there and they were absolutely packed, like in a way that I couldn't have sustained for a full vacation. We went snorkeling, fishing, manta ray sighting along with the norms of beach laying, happy houring and simply eating well. A lot was crammed into four days, bookended by really, really long travel days.

Normally, I would be able to leave without a hiccup. I love being in motion, but this one was a little harder. I wasn't ready to leave; I don't think it was because I was worried I'd miss out on anything....I think it was just that I got to have such a relaxing, enjoyable time that I wasn't ready to say goodbye to it. There were five of us: four adults and a child. It was a good group and we found a nice rhythm and I felt our days just flowed. I don't have that feeling at work or normally with family. So once I found that rhythm, I wasn't ready to leave it.

I flew out of Kona later on Saturday with a layover in Honolulu and then a red-eye into Atlanta. When I was in Atlanta, I spent about an hour just walking between all the terminals to get in my steps and workout on a travel day. Then I got on another flight to Punta Cana, Dominican Repbulic followed by a several hour bus ride. It was a long two days of travel and I don't think I settled into it until I was in Atlanta. Typically, I get to the airport and I'm in travel mode. But this time was different....I didn't want to go. I didn't want to move. I was actually happy and content staying still for a bit. 

A bit of a novel concept for me over the past few years but sometimes it is nice to know that I might be able to reintegrate into "normal" society after running around the globe year after year.

Ready, Set, Go: Holiday Plans

I promise I've turned the corner and I'm back to more consistent writing. It's been a crazy few weeks and sadly this whole blogging thing had to take the backseat. But I'm back to loads of travel and hopefully wild adventures and it all starts tomorrow!

Over the next few weeks, I'll be in Hawaii, Dominican Republic and the continental US. (I get that Hawaii is part of the US, but it doesn't really feel that way.....) And I can't wait. I think all these trips will get me into the holiday spirit and I'll arrive back to Belgium on December 16th ready to relax and enjoy the beauty of Gent at Christmas time. Europe all decorated for the holidays is truly one of my favorite places and times on Earth. I'm already in the holiday season just thinking about it!

It all begins super early tomorrow. I need to be out of the apartment by 4am to make it to the airport on time. And I'll be closing up the apartment for a few weeks, so I need to get the fridged cleaned out, laundry washed, trash dumped, bills paid, bags packed, doctors visited, and etc today. As I'm working my way through this big list, I just keep reminding myself, "I'll be in Hawaii tomorrow!"

I've never been to Hawaii before and I'm incredibly excited. It just seems so majestic and stunning. We are going for a Friendsgiving and the biggest problem is how short my time there will be (I know.....not a real problem). I arrive quite late on Tuesday and have to fly out on Sunday. In those four full days, I plan to be out under the sun, in a bathing suit and hopefully with a fishing rod in my hand as much as possible.

Following Hawaii, I head to the Dominican Republic to take part in an amazing service project before traveling to Atlanta for a week-long training camp. I've bookended the end of this trip with a little family time that I plan to spend with my sister, who is one of my most favorite people on Earth and truly serves as my rock. 

Ready, Set, GO!

China in 65 Hours or Less

I had heard so many mixed things about traveling to China that I had no idea what to expect. From start to finish, Beijing amazed and spoiled me. I adored the chaos, motion and mix of ancient and modern. It was quite clean and everyone was friendly. My hotel felt luxurious (despite a super cheap room rate by Western standards) and I could always find something tasty to eat. The one important thing to realize: you take your life in your hands every time you get in a car, taxi or cross the street. 

The flight over was unremarkable and I was able to sleep probably about 5-6 hours. This was wonderful because I was looking at about five hours of meetings straight after arriving. From touchdown on, my life centered on caffeine, caffeine, caffeine. After the meetings, I had an early dinner and climbed into bed before 8pm.

Halloween was my main day there. I had press events from morning until night. If I've learned anything while working with exhausted pro athletes after a race: bring loads of hot coffee. 

And a little for myself to stave off jet lag throughout the events.

The day ended with a simple (but tasty) dinner with the group.  We had ideas of going to a recommended Peking duck place but by the time all the events were over, we were too exhausted to do anything but eat at their hotel. By 9pm, I was walking back to my hotel and taking in the massive Beijing skyline.

I was supposed to have a day of events on the 1st but everything got canceled and I ended up with an unheard of tourist day. This literally never happens in my work, so I ignored the fact my foot was in a boot and took in as many of Beijing’s sights as I could cram into an afternoon.

I loved every twist and turn. I took in the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I wish I had more time at the Forbidden City; this could easily take a day in itself. I was completely enthralled by it and for anyone visiting Beijing, start there.

It was a minor adventure getting home from the Forbidden City because of Beijing traffic. The first cab I got in tried to charge me 100 yen to go three miles, which was absolutely absurd. So I got out (he made sure he turned around and put me in the wrong direction/wrong side of the road before letting me out: see above note about the dangers of crossing the street) but then I found a new cab and was on my way. Twenty-six yen later and I was at the hotel. My foot was throbbing, so I took a tub and iced it before heading to dinner at the crazy hour of 6:20pm. I ordered what was the seasonal specialty - the tasty hairy crab and another early night to bed.

I got up early, snuck in some simple yoga and was on my way back to the airport, less than 65 hours since arriving. 

Wild and Wonderful Japan

The biggest theme of Japan was jet lag. It was a constant battle to avoid napping during the day and then staying asleep during the night. Fortunately, I’m lucky enough to travel with a doctor who provided me with a decent sleeping pill every night.

Japan is magical to me. It feels so strange and foreign, yet it is incredibly safe and clean. The people are always friendly and helpful. I didn’t have much free time, but when I did, I wandered. We stay in a fairly industrial city but at the train station, there is a huge mall with loads of restaurants and shops. I would walk up and down aisles after aisle taking it all in and trying not to buy every single dish, mug and treat that I saw.

While this race is fun, it also is one of the most intense and work-demanding races of the year. On Saturday and Sunday, I literally had a minute-by-minute schedule to adhere to (with interviews starting at 6:45am). This included needing to round up over half a dozen people at all times and organizing a much larger team all day long. I’d saw it was managed chaos. But all the prep work from the previous weeks really paid off and everything flowed seamlessly. And I really felt like we capitalized on our short time in Japan to get out as many stories as possible.

I tried to keep as healthy of habits as I could, including daily walks and yoga, but I also enjoyed as much of the food as I could and probably one too many sakes. I do think I’m coming home a kilo or two heavier than I went….how is that possible when you focus on raw fish (and tried to be aware of my rice intake)?!

Closing out the trip, I decided to take the bullet train to Tokyo on Monday morning before my flight. The race organizes a bus for everyone to get to the Narita Airport, but it takes nearly 2.5 hours. I figured it was worth taking a 50-minute train and exploring with that extra time. In my head, I always worry this might be my last time going somewhere or doing something, so I always want to maximize my adventuring. I ate some tasty food and found gifts to take back. It actually ended up being more stressful than I would have liked. I didn’t feel like I had enough time, I felt a bit lost and turned around and I was worried I’d miss my flight, but in the end, I’m glad I did it. Adventure big.

Now I’m heading back to Belgium for four days. On Saturday, I fly right back to Asia, so the jet lag theme is going to continue for awhile. This time to Beijing. 

Eastward Travels to Japan

I've been spoiled for the past few weeks, even months, without having to wake up early. Following surgery, I let my body sleep as much as it needed and this really ranged from day to day. When the alarm went off at 6:30am yesterday, it was a little shock to the system. Fortunately, a hot shower and espresso got me in gear quickly, or so I thought....

I walked over to my tram station and got on my normal tram to the train station. Sadly, there is major construction and detours going on with Gent's public transportation and I ended up going in the complete wrong direction. I got off and had to hobble, a little faster than my foot would have liked, over to a different tram stop and then was properly under way. Luckily, I've learned many times that things can go wrong with Belgian public transportation, so I always build in a huge time cushion.

A quick Starbucks at the train station and I was on my way to Zaventem (Brussels airport). Ran into some friends from another team at the airport who were heading to the Tour of Hainan; it was nice to catch back up with work friends after not traveling for nearly two months. I had a short flight from Brussels to Amsterdam and then had to wait in maybe the longest immigration line to date while transferring through Amsterdam.

I headed straight to the KLM (Skyteam) lounge with hopes that I could use points/pay to upgrade to business class. I've been concerned about flying this far with my foot and thought a lay-flat bed couldn't hurt. I asked and the woman sadly told me that she had sold it just 10 minutes before. I was bummed but figured I shouldn't give up so easy. I sat down and did some work until it was basically time to board, then I reapproached her and asked if anyone in business hadn't made the flight. To my surprise, she said yes! We processed the transaction as quickly as possible and hobbled super fast to the gate as it was finishing boarding.

Flight attendants on KLM and Delta are always amazing and this flight was no different. I asked for ice for my foot and the flight attendant took amazing care of me from that point forward, continuously bringing me bags of ice wrapped in a towel. Super amazing service. They also made me a gluten free plate of food (no soy sauce, no miso, no tempura, etc), which was above and beyond my expectations. Sadly, I didn't sleep well though. My foot just hurt; there is no way around it. I wasn't comfortable no matter what I did.

We landed and I soon met up with a few riders from my team. We all grabbed much needed Starbucks and then started the journey to Utsunomiya, Japan. The Japan Cup is by far one of the best organized races in the world and everything flows seamlessly. We had a nice 10-passenger van for the 2.5 hour ride, where I proceeded to catch up on Teen Mom (one of my dirty little travel habits).

Since getting to the hotel, I ate a little food, iced my foot crawled into bed for a two-hour nap and then went out for an hour plus walk. My foot is still bothering me and I've been good about icing it. I'm glad to be back in sandals and not lace up shoes and hopefully it'll calm down if I take it easy for the rest of the day.

Quick Jaunt to Munich and Oktoberfest

Last week, I headed to Munich, Germany for two nights for work meetings. Because what would my life be without a few flights sprinkled throughout the week?! I haven't been to Munich in probably 15 years and didn't pay much attention to the fact Oktoberfest was set to begin while we were there. A quick early morning wake-up, tram to the train station, train to the airport and then two flights got me to Munich.

It took basically all day (this is my own fault because I only want to fly SkyTeam, which always means a connection through Amsterdam), so a quick shower and I was in a cab to dinner. It was a big work dinner at a pretty traditional German place where nearly everything was breaded and fried. At that point in the evening, I was still making good decisions and went with the steak tartar with a side salad (and some fries). It was great catching up with people I hadn't seen in months.

With all the famous Munich beer houses right around the corner, about a dozen of us decided we needed to hit the Oktoberfest night life. I walked into Hofbrau and agreed with a coworked that we would only have a glass of wine. Before I could say anything, a round of these were delivered to the table:

I had that moment where I knew drinking one would be a bad idea for so many reasons, but then the side of me that loves an adventure spoke up and won. I cheered and drank with the group and loved every moment of it. I knew the experience and memory would be worth it....until I had my cab ride back to the airport. Forty-five minutes later, I was crawling into bed at nearly 2am with a full day of meetings staring me down. 

I think I look pretty decent for only a few hours of sleep. The next day was spent in meetings from 8am until 5:30pm. It wasn't too bad and in hindsight, I'd do it all over again. I skipped going out that evening, basically because I needed sleep and I couldn't fathom another Oktoberfest night. Apparently, I'm getting too old...and the whole gluten-free thing is a huge downer at a beer festival.

Instead, I went to the hotel restaurant and caught up on work and emails while eating alone. I assume other people who travel frequently feel this way, but I have absolutely no issues with eating alone. I typically take a book or my laptop and still enjoy. I had been in meetings all day and traveled the whole previous day, so I was behind on work. I would rather get caught up over a glass of wine and a steak with salad and go to bed knowing everything was taken care of than having a sense of anxiety and unfinished business.

The next day, I flew back home (of course via Amsterdam) and managed to get home early enough to enjoy a lovely evening out in Gent dining al fresco. Soon the Belgian rain will start and these warm days will be a distant memory.

Delta Meltdown 2016

The Tour of Utah ended on Sunday and the following day, I was scheduled to fly from Salt Lake City to Prague, Czech Republic for a press conference. Going straight from one race, into another race, followed directly by a press conference is always challenging. Throwing in two transatlantic flights makes it nearly insane.....and really increases chances of travel issues.

I don't think I've ever been to a smaller airport than the Provo, Utah airport. It was an experience but thanks to Allegiant Air, I was able to make it to California.

The first thing I do any morning is look at my phone. That Monday morning, I woke up to so many missed calls from unknown numbers, text messages and emails that I assumed something terrible had happened. Instead, I just saw that Delta was having some issues. At that point, I had no idea what those issues really meant.

When I woke up last Monday morning, absolutely zero part of me expected to see the San Francisco Bay Bridge, even a brief glimpse.

I had until 11am to get my next steps figured out because I was supposed to take a shuttle from Park City down to Salt Lake City. I tried calling into Delta and was told the hold was between 3.5-4 hours and that they would call me back. Then I got a message saying that my flight was cancelled. I figured there was no point in heading to the airport, so I went out for a run/walk on the trails around Park City.

It was such a strange day with no flow or rhythm. I aimed to just keep moving. This meant basically no meals and lots of bars. Also, I was officially working and really needing to catch up on emails and tasks after the back-to-back craziness of Denmark and Utah.

Eventually, I got a call back from Delta and they said I couldn't get rebooked to fly out until Wednesday, which meant my trip to Czech Republic was obsolete. I needed to be there for a press conference by Wednesday morning. Instead of sitting in Park City, where life is fairly pricey and I didn't know anyone. I looked into all the options that could get me from Utah to California that day. I knew I had a free place to stay in Northern CA and it didn't seem too sure that Delta was actually getting me out of the US anytime soon.

It took a few buses to get from Oakland up to Santa Rosa, including a stop through San Rafael.

I looked into renting a car to drive to CA. Nothing available. I looked into flying from Salt Lake City to any Northern CA airport. Either nothing available or insanely expensive. Eventually, I found a ticket from the Provo Airport to Oakland through Allegiant Air. I knew I could get up to Santa Rosa from Oakland on the Airporter, so I booked a ticket for a price cheaper than a hotel in Park City. The next question was getting from Park City to Provo. Thanks to Uber, I got a lovely ride to Provo through some stunning parts of Utah. I reached Oakland and then started working my way north to Santa Rosa. 

My first meal of the day was one of my favorite plates of food on Earth: Pollo al Horno with half rice and beans and half sweet and fried green plantains from El Colqui. I crave this when in Europe.

Tuesday, Delta still wasn't operating correctly. Wednesday, my first flight was delayed for over five hours, so I would have missed my connection. Fortunately, I already assumed there might be issues so I had called Delta (only a 90-minute wait this time) and asked when they predicted I could fly out. She said that if it didn't really matter (I had a free place to stay, friends to enjoy and access to a car), that I should wait until the weekend. So she booked me SFO-->SLC-->AMS-->BRU on Saturday. 

While killing time in California, I decided my life needed a telescopic (collapsible) fishing rod that I could travel with. Then I spent most afternoons catching fish from lakes around Sonoma County. Heaven.

I got to the airport bright and early on Saturday morning and my first flight to SLC was super smooth. Things started going wrong again in SLC. We boarded our transatlantic flight and just sat there for awhile. Eventually, they announced there was a mechanical and we were all deplaned. I called Delta (only 5-minute wait) and was told that there was basically no other option this late in the day to get me to Europe. I waited for a few hours and called back (15 minute wait). This time, I was told that I would have to wait between 6-7 hours in Amsterdam to get a connecting flight to BRU once I made it to Europe.

Last US meal for a few weeks. I had no idea I was about to start another hellish travel day.

At this point, I was desperate just to get home. My already long trip had been extended nearly five extra days. I was running low on meds and patience, so I asked to terminate my flight in Amsterdam. I figured I could just grab a train back to Gent much faster. After a little battling with Delta, they finally agreed to this. I arrived in AMS only to find out my bags hadn't been retagged. It took quite a fight to get them but eventually I was free from the Delta system for a few weeks.

Switching off the Thalys in Antwerp for the train to Gent. Total relief to be back in the Dutch speaking parts of the world.

Now I'm home for about three weeks. This is one of the longest stretches I have had at home in months. I'm looking forward to eating my own food, actually having some hobbies, sleeping and enjoying my great city of Gent.

My next real travel (outside of one-day bike races in Belgium) is back to the States for a wedding at the beginning of September.

Day in the Life: Travel Day

I don't typically fly directly from one race into another race. Usually, there is at least a day or two in between stage races. Olympic years are always a little different and races get shuffled around. That's what happened between the Tour of Denmark and the Tour of Utah. I finished the five-day Tour of Denmark, had a lovely post-race dinner hosted by our great sponsors, got a few hours of sleep and then headed to the airport to fly halfway across the world to Utah. 

Here is a quick glimpse at my day:

6:45am--My alarm goes off but I simply couldn't get up yet. I was still too tired from a week of working 13+hours every day followed by an evening of maybe a glass or two of too much wine. 

7:15am--I can't put off getting up. A quick shower, cup of coffee, packed bags and I'm out.

7:40am--Headed to the airport and returned my rental car. Make it through security without any issues.

I had a bit of time to kill at the airport because my flight wasn't until 9:50am, so I started with a juice from Joe and the Juice. I went with Peas of Mind with peas, avocado, celery, kale and apple. At the time, it seemed like a good decision. In hindsight, I'm not sure a pea smoothie is my thing. Next up was a soy latte with three shots. Like my Starbucks name?

Because I had so much time to kill, I started shopping. I think I could buy the entire Copenhagen airport. After trying on perfume that was too expensive, I settled on the world's most basic ring. Just my style.

9:50am--Flight to Amsterdam. Luckily the caffeine had kicked in and I was wired. Please ignore my flying guilty pleasure...OK! Magazine.

11:30am--I went as quickly as possible to the KLM lounge hoping that I could get upgraded for my super long flight from Amsterdam to Salt Lake City. Sadly the flight was already completely booked. This detour cost me getting food during my layover, so I boarded my 11-hour flight without any food or snacks...and I don't really eat plane food.

2:30pm Mountain Time/10:30pm Copenhagen Time--First off the plane and through immigrations. Felt good to back on home soil.

3:30pm Mountain Time/11:30pm Copenhagen Time--After the long flight and no food, I was starving. Like eat everything in sight hungry. First, I ordered a starter of hummus and then got this salad. I think my waiter was a little impressed with my eating abilities. While eating, I booted up my laptop and cranked through as many emails as possible and did some conference calls.

4:55pm Mountain Time/12:55am Copenhagen Time--Boarded onto my final flight to Cedar City, Utah. The long travel day was starting to catch up to me.

5:55pm Mountain Time/01:55am Copenhagen Time--Landed in Cedar City. My travels were super smooth and uneventful. As a side note, Cedar City is by far the smallest airport I've been to in my entire life. After grabbing my bag (there wasn't even a belt), I walked outside and my sport director was waiting for me right out front and took me to the race hotel....college dorms.

7:00pm Mountain Time/03:00am Copenhagen Time--A major, major storm hit. Apparently this has been the norm.

9:00pm Mountain Time/05:00am Copenhagen Time--I finally decided it was time to crawl into bed. A cookie served as my dinner and I was completely okay with that. Early morning wake up and I was already into Stage 2 of my next race.