Back home

Yesterday I flew back home via DC. It is a long journey and not at all a comfortable one. The first part wasn't too bad as a friendly person in Brussels gave me an exit row seat. Although the flight was long I could move around easily and there was plenty of room to stretch out. So far so good.  

Entry through DC was more or less OK too. The immigration guy took longer than necessary, I thought but overall things went well. I did not have to wait for my luggage for very long either and customs was fast. Next came the two hour layover and a full flight to San Francisco. I wasn't so lucky this time and the flight was full. I was seated way in the back. No room to move, much less to sleep. Not so good. The rest of the trip was uneventful, albeit very tiring.

I slept pretty well last night and only woke up once. No problem falling asleep again though so I can't complain. I also feel relatively good today and I was only lightheaded for a short time this morning. The sun really helps and the difference in brightness between Belgium and California is striking. The colors are just so much more vivid here.

I swam 144 laps or almost 1.7 miles, all free-style, non-stop. I did not swim very fast and it felt a bit awkward at times but overall I can't complain. The long swims seem to have had a lasting effect. Now all I have to do is work on my speed a bit. I wonder if that will take another 5 years too?

A trip across country

I went to Philadelphia on Sunday. Then I spent all day Monday in business meetings. Two days of forced rest. That was good. I did swim a few laps on Monday night as the people I was staying with went to the Y for a workout. I had not packed any workout clothes so I would not be tempted -and besides I did not expect them to go work out- but I did have a swimsuit so I swam a little. They got me some goggles that did not work so well so I ended up doing only a dozen or so laps.

Today I woke up at 4:15 AM EST (1:15 PST) to catch my double layover trip back. From Philly to Pittsburgh to Las Vegas to Oakland. I arrived at 12:20 PM feeling like I just came back from Europe. So much for cheap travel. With no real food I munched on bagels, peanuts and chips the whole way here.

The only problem with traveling is that one ends up eating way too much. There is nothing to do and my appetite is enormous coming off several weeks of intense workouts. With no further workouts to burn those calories there is a real danger of putting on serious weight. 

Fortunately I can start my carbo-load soon. I carbo-load the old fashioned way, by eating an "Atkins" diet for a week and then nothing but carbs two days before the race. The Atkins is ideal since I always lose weight doing it and I never feel hungry. I also feel I can eat as much as I like and that is just great. The main drawbacks are a slight feeling of nausea, a general lack of energy, and -by the end- a rather intense craving for carbs. Other than that it works fine.

Today I ran a hard 5K on the treadmill and I swam 1/4 mile. A pretty light workout, but it works out fine since I am pretty beat from the travel.