Getting back in it

Aloha!  I mean--Gia sou--I'm still in Greece, so I should keep practicing my Greek :)

Today I got back into racing!  Over the last month I did two half marathons, which in hind sight, probably wasn't too good for my body.  Although I might look strong, I actually have a pretty fragile body-heart included ;).  The first half marathon went well and I was able to stick to my paces and even go a bit faster, but the second one I fell apart.  The second race, The Athens Half, was a hilly course, which has been foreign to my body.  However, today I competed in a duathlon and I felt nice and strong.  It was a short race, 5k run, 20k bike, and 2.5k run.  I felt good the whole way and I felt that I pushed in the right spots.  My power meter decided not to work which PISSED me off the whole bike!  I mean I paid a lot of money for it not to work!?!?!?  Also, my heart rater monitor hasn't been working, which also annoys me.  Apparently the Garmin heart rate monitors stop working after a while?!!?  Anyone know?  I will try to get it sorted when I go back to the states.  Anyways it was a nice day to be out in the sun running and biking with other people who like to run and bike too.  Afterwards there was a group that went for a swim in the sea, and I thought about if I was in Hawaii I would be part of that group. I am really looking forward to being part of a team and being surrounded by friends and with people who like to do the same things as me.  In Salt Lake, I was just starting to get in with the triathlon community, and then I left and then here in Greece there aren't many girls and I don't speak Greek, so it is a bit harder to get in. Plus I don't have a car-so that is also another challenge.

Other than my race I did a bunch of work.  Oh, last week I applied for a couple teaching positions at Punahou.  It has always been my dream to return to Punahou to teach.  I mean, today on my cool down I was thinking about how I am living my dream right now and when I go back to Hawaii I get to live another dream.  I don't have a job yet, but I will find something.  But I feel really lucky and so fortunate to be living this life that I live.  Although there are some struggles, I am really lucky and I have so much to be thankful for.  I am not rich in money, by any means, but I am rich in love and experiences.

Okay, off to bed.  I need to get ready for the next week.  This Friday I am heading to Bucharest, Romania to check out another new place.  We will just be there Friday-Sunday, but it'll nice to be able to see a little bit of the country.

20 days till Hawaii.  Tomorrow will be 19!  I remember when it was 91 and I didn't know how I was going to make it!  Although, the closer it gets the more nervous I get.  I don't really know what to expect.  I have a lot things planned and I hope they go smoothly.  I also hope that I am not too exhausted! Usually when I get back to Hawaii, I spend the first week on the couch and sleeping, but there is no way that I can do that this trip!

Have a nice week guys and kalomina!

Before the Nafplio half.  Yahoo, friends to run with too!!!!

Before and after shot of the Athens Half Marathon.  I think you can tell who PRed and who didn't :)  Yah Jess!!!!!!!!

From this weekends race.  Fun times :)

Enjoying Schinas.  Didn't go in the water, but it was nice to be at the beach.  Thanks Kostas for being my right hand man!

Bulgaria

Hello again!  Don't worry, my last post wasn't a fake, I am going to get back into the habit of writing again.

Kalomina!  Happy April!!  April!?!?!  What!!?  I have been waiting and waiting for April to arrive :)  I can't wait for Spring Break and my trip back to Hawaii.  I've had a count down, which I am not proud of, but I am just super excited to be back home again. :)

Don't worry though, I am using my time here in Europe wisely.  Last weekend, I took a trip to Bulgaria with some of my friends here.  It was another amazing trip!  This one was a bit different, since we were able to stay with a Bulgarian family.  We stayed in Sofia one night and got in a good walking tour (of course :) ).  Then after the walking tour we wanted to get a quick lunch and walk around and do more exploring.  However, the quick lunch turned into a 2 hour lunch-due to the fact that there was one server and who knows how many cooks!  The food was good and it was nice, but we didn't want to spend 2 hours sitting in a new city!

Anyways, it's all part of the adventure :)  Next, my friend's boyfriend is from Bulgaria, so his family came to pick us up and hang out with us for the weekend.  One minor challenge though, only the 15 year old daughter and one other family member spoke English.  Bulgarian's don't speak a lot of English, so you do what you can :)  Despite that, which again is just part of the experience, everything on our trip was great!  We got to hang out with the 15 year old the entire trip and she is an amazing young women.  She is in a language school and speaks 3 languages and will start another one next year.  It is pretty amazing, what people can do.

During our time there, we ate a lot of food, went to a Bulgarian hot spring bath, went to an outdoor zoo, went to a small quaint town to see what old Bulgaria used to look like, bought a lot of beautiful bowls and plates for my new living place in Hawaii, and I think that is it.  The family we stayed with was pretty amazing!  They were so welcoming and such great people.  Even though we couldn't communicate very well, our smiles and hugs went a long way!

This weekend I am taking it easy.  I have a race on Sunday-a duathlon, that I am looking forward to.  My first bike race in a while.  And other than that just getting things done.  I finally made an appointment for my biyearly haircut.  I just don't get my haircut very often, there is no real reason why.  Anyways, it is my last Saturday in Athens till May, so there are a couple of things that I want to get done, so I am looking forward to it.

The next two weekends I'll be traveling.  First to Bucharest and next to Rhodes.  I hope to write about those later.  :)

In the Honda Civic like car with our boxes of dishes in the back and backpacks on our lap with two other people. :)

The deer that would feed out of people's hands.  I just watched.

Don't get too close...they don't like it.