I Actually AM Alive!!!

It’s been a long time since my last blog post…and I have a good reason: I’ve been HORRIBLY SICK since the race finished! I’ve finally got enough energy to pick up my computer and type a few words about the race on Sunday and what I’ve been doing since then!
The Tiszaujvaros World Cup started at 10:30am on Sunday morning…it rained a lot the night before the race so we had lovely overcast skies to deal with. I was very happy with the weather because it meant cool temperatures for the whole day…especially during the run when I need it the most.
I planned on working together with my friend Leanda Cave (from Great Britain) on the swim and get a strong lead on the bike…but during the swim, her swim suit got caught on a tree branch and she lost contact with the draft from my feet! So, I made the mistake of trying to work together with a strong runner…she eventually stopped working hard on the bike…so I rode hard on my own for most of the ride!
It was good for publicity and moral…but when I was caught by the chase pack…I knew it was a runner’s race again! Off the bike and onto the 4 lap, flat, fast run through the middle of town. It was so cool to see so many people on the course cheering…I couldn’t understand much of the cheering b/c it wasn’t in English, but it was still motivating:)
I finished the race in 16th place…accomplished both of my race goals: 1 – finish above my starting number of 19; 2 – finish in the top half of the women so that I would earn my swim prime!
Now the real story starts! After the race I had a great time cheering for all the American men in their race…in order of finishing: Manny, Matt, Timmy, Dave, Haven, Victor. By the time they finished it was actually pretty chilly outside and I went for a relaxing moment in my room to shower and change for one last dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant.
At 8:30pm, I was lined up for the awards presentation on the stage in the town square…they brought the top 20 finishers on stage in front of about a thousand Hungarian fans! I’m thankful to Leanda (who was my roommate) for talking me out of going to the all night dance party because I was already feeling a bit sick. I got to bed at a reasonable time and had 7 hours of sleep before catching my 6:45am shuttle bus to the Budapest airport.
When my alarm went off, right away I knew that I had a cold…my sinuses were messed up and I could feel my lungs filling up with junk. I made sure to drink a LOT of water during the trip back to Germany…and even felt good enough to go on a light bike ride in the afternoon around the Sembach base. But that was the end…
I woke up on Tuesday morning and could barely move. I actually went to the pool for morning swim practice and floated through 4000 meters…bad idea. When I got back to my room…I crawled into bed and didn’t wake up for 7 hours! All I could do was MOAN, SLEEP, and DRINK water! Forget training…forget eating…forget working on my computer. Around dinner time I managed to eat something…and then crawled back into bed for an uninterrupted 11 hours of sleep!!
Now it’s Wednesday morning…and things are looking and feeling a bit better! I woke up and went swimming again…could barely make half the practice, but it felt good to stretch out. We stopped at the Grocery store on the way home…so now I have food to make all my meals instead of paying for the unhealthy restaurant food. I even turned on my computer and checked email and wrote this blog. I’ve completed a 30 minute jog with Alicia on the beautiful trails around the base and we are planning an easy 1 hour bike in a few minutes:)!