European Adventures Part 1: Farms, Food, and Phantoms

I can't believe it-- I've been in Europe for a week, and I'm just now finding the time to write. It's not that I haven't had down time, but I've been so busy relaxing, eating delicious meals that last for three hours, and trying to mix French, Italian, and English to talk with people that I've barely thought about the blog I promised to keep up. I've already had so many amazing experiences, and I still have six weeks left! But although I've been to the Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, taken taxis, buses, metros, and trains through bustling cities, and done plenty of shopping, the best moments have been quiet ones in the countryside. I would probably feel like I was missing something crucial if I didn't "see the sights" in famous cities like Paris, Rome, and Florence, but mostly I've found that real French and Italian people prefer to take life slowly. They work in the mornings, take a long lunch break with fresh, delicious food and wine, and have an afternoon siesta. A little more work in the evening, then a light dinner and some family time before bed. Even those with demanding jobs recognize the value of family time and a good glass of wine. It's such a contrast to the constantly rushed lifestyle I have at school in Colorado, and while I love my busy Boulder routine, it's been amazing to see things from a different perspective.

My mom and I spent our first few days in Ussy-sur-Marne, France, a little farming village on the Marne River about 45 minutes from Paris. Moe Delaitre, a former neighbor who has been my "other mother" since I was two, fell in love with and married a French farmer, and she recently moved from the States to France permanently. We stayed at her farmhouse with her husband, Jean Francois, and her 7-year-old daughter, Ella. We spent six days in France, mostly on the farm but including day trips to Paris and Reims. During that time, Moe, "JF,"and Ella were our translators, cultural guides, and dear friends.

And then it was Italy time. Early yesterday morning, we took a plane to Rome Ciampino, and after a long day of traveling, met my dad and grandmother in a tiny, ancient walled city called Casperia. Here, we've had some incredible pizza, pasta, and wine, taken long walks, and enjoyed the mountain scenery from the balcony of our bed and breakfast. It all feels like a dream.

Some of my favorite moments of this week (a LOT of them have to do with food!):

- Fresh farm food in Ussy: Picking strawberries and cherries (which were later made into jam), watching the cows being milked and then drinking that milk the same day, and eating baguettes fresh from the bakery at every meal.
- Drinking champagne at a restaurant in the actual region of Champagne in France with my mother and my "other mother"
- Eating at a tiny creperie in Paris. In the midst of the tourist-filled city, Moe found us an authentic place on a side street where there were only "real French people."
- Going to a party for a Catholic girl's "profession de foi"(profession of faith) at a neighboring farm and seeing the castle that was the inspiration for the one in Beauty and the Beast
- The moment when, after taking a taxi, plane, bus, metro, train, and another bus from Ussy all the way to Casperia, my mom and I finally saw my dad running down the hill from the bed and breakfast to greet us
- The five-course meal made for us by Paola and Franco, two restaurant owners in Casperia who opened their home to a private dinner for the bed and breakfast guests
- Walking with my dad up a winding hill to a monastery where we could see the walled city of Casperia from a distance
- Using my Italian and translating for my family at a pizzeria in Casperia, where I watched my grandmother get tipsy

And the not-so-good:

- The farmhouse in Ussy is truly haunted. I stayed there another summer when I was about 13, and one of the girls I was traveling with got woken up in the night like she had been nudged by someone or something, and it terrified her. On our first night last week, I stayed in that same room, and woke up in the middle of the night to what felt like a poke in the ribs. I was so scared, I slept in my mom's bed the rest of the night, and in little Ella's bed for the nights after that. Moe thinks the ghost is her husband's grandmother, who died in childbirth inside the farmhouse. She's now comfortable with the ghost's presence, knowing she's just "checking in," but it still terrifies me.

- I've already accepted the fact that with all the pasta, pizza, gelato, and wine, and without all the triathlon training, I'll have a lot of work to do fitness-wise when I get home. I ran once in Ussy and again today in Casperia (very hilly!), and we've been walking a lot. Still, it's nearly impossible to try and stay a triathlete and be part of the traditional small-town Italian lifestyle at the same time. But I'm okay with taking a step back for a few weeks, I think. When I get to my study abroad in Urbino, which is hilly like Casperia, I'll work on finding a running buddy and getting back into it. I've also been assigned to the "Outdoor" section of the magazine we'll be creating, so hiking and caving, here I come! :)

Pictures coming soon!!!

Dare e prendere.
Caryn

Priorities

I'm a busy college student, journalist, and member of the Triathlon Team at the University of Colorado, and I ride a roller coaster of motivation from day to day. Sometimes I'm focused, determined, and inspired, and sometimes I just need a day to chill. I started this blog on a whim, and I don't know if it'll really go anywhere. For now, it's just a place for me to ramble. Half the time, I will talk about how amazing triathlon is, how I get a rush of endorphins every time I train, how much I love accomplishing a goal, etc. The other half, I will vent about the crazy mindset we triathletes have that makes taking a day off seem like a crime, and how I deal with that mental back-and-forth every day.

In some ways, I'm more driven than most people. I go to practice often, and I work hard. I know how to dig deep and give it my all. I do triathlon because my teammates are awesome and my coach believes in me, because I love the person I am when I'm healthy and the power I feel when I'm high on endorphins. But sometimes, like anyone who's human, I have my motivational fails. I take a day off now and then, not necessarily because it's built into my training schedule, and not necessarily because I can't find the time. Sometimes I'm just not feeling it, for one reason or another. Like today. I was just really comfortable lying on the couch watching Friends with my family this Christmas break morning, and the windy winter outside my door looked really unappetizing for a run. So I stayed snuggled in my blanket and watched a couple more episodes. I had all the time in the world today to get a workout in, but something was telling me it didn't need to be a priority today. And as wonderful as it was to relax, I still felt a little guilty. Because of my team, my coach, and my own compulsion to stay in shape, I still feel like I need a legitimate excuse every time I take a day off. At first, just feeling like chilling and indulging in a little couch time is a good enough reason for me to skip a run. I'm not like a lot of my other teammates, who can't remember their last day off - I usually take one to two every week, and they're generally not scheduled, they just happen. I compensate by working hard in later workouts, and my days off don't make me slow or out of shape. A lot of the time, though, I regret skipping and feel badly the rest of the day. This is an ongoing struggle I have, and it's the subject of my blog.

When these days happen, I like to take a step back and look at my priority list: 

- To be competitive on my team, to represent CU at Collegiate Nationals, you have to work hard and you have to be pretty darn fast. We have over 100 dues-paying members, and only the top 7 guys and top 7 girls make the team each year. I missed the No.7 spot by a minute last year. As disappointed as I was last spring, that minute set up a great goal for me this year - to be on Nats Team 2011. We are even better as a team this year than we were in 2010, so if I make the cut, I'll be especially proud of myself. And even if I don't, training alongside such fast athletes will make me much faster in the process. I work hard every practice with this goal in mind, and it keeps me excited about the sport. So making Nats Team is a priority, and I need to be ready to give it my all at our next time trial and at Regionals in March if I want to reach it.

- Before I even knew what Nats Team was, though, I joined Tri Team for other reasons. I was a spring track runner for all of high school, but I wasn't competitive until senior year, and even that was only on tiny-private-school level. I played soccer in the fall until junior year, and switched to cross-country my senior year. That cross-country season changed my life. I ran every day, lost 15 pounds, and discovered a talent I never really knew I had. I won the first cross-country race I ever ran in, and the season kept getting better. My fastest time that season was just under 21 minutes. At the time, I thought that was good, but now I know that if I had run for all of high school and had better competition, it could've been 2 or 3 minutes faster. I ran through the winter (which I never did before senior year), had my best track season ever, and didn't want to let it all go when I went to college. I knew I needed a team, but at the time D1 cross-country was unrealistic. So I joined Tri Team with a small running background, and learned how to swim and bike from scratch. I trusted the team's website, which told me I could join even if I felt like drowning after swimming a 25 or only had a rusty old mountain bike to ride. Starting out in the sport, all I wanted to do was stay in shape and be on a team. I never knew how much I would improve. I'm a better runner now than I've ever been - I wish I could have another season each of cross-country and track just to prove it. These goals, though - to stay healthy and be on a team - will probably follow me throughout my life.

- Outside of training, though, I have other responsibilities. When I'm at school, my life is nonstop. I go to practice almost every day, sometimes twice a day. I interview athletes and write articles for the CU Independent student newspaper at least once a week. I head the Communications Team for CU SportsMag, which meets twice weekly. I just finished a semester with University Choir. And oh, yeah, I'm a full time student - the real reason I'm in college, which I sometimes forget. I love my busy life, and I don't want to give anything up. I get depressed when my life isn't hectic enough. But I'll be the first to admit that it can be overwhelming sometimes. 

- Finally, life isn't all about responsibility. Life is about living. It's important to me to spend time with my roommates, my friends, and my family. I go out on the weekends because it's FUN and carefree and it seems like the only time in the week that I'm not living by a schedule (but even then, if I stay out too late, I might sleep through morning practice...) And it's not just partying. One of the biggest reasons I chose Colorado for school is its outdoorsy feel. I love climbing, hiking, mountain biking. Last year, I let the fall weather get away before I got many chances to enjoy the mountains sans-snow. I didn't realize that snow would hang around until April. This year, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't let triathlon prevent me from taking advantage of some of the other stuff that makes me who I am. So, for instance, the Sunday morning that my team did an "easy run up Flagstaff," I climbed the First Flatiron with a friend (and fellow teammate) and didn't regret it at all. If I wanted to, I probably could've seen my team struggling from my spot overlooking all of Boulder. :)

So when I make a choice, like I did today, not to prioritize working out every day of Christmas Break, it takes a lot of effort to convince myself that that's okay. On the one hand, I hear my coach saying B3, B3, B3, telling us that a National Championship isn't won in April, it's won in December and January. I hear him telling us that he's scheduling a time trial for the week we get back to see how much we've been training. I remember the one minute that stood in the way of me and Nats Team last year. On the other hand, I hear my mom telling me to take it easy, to enjoy Christmas BREAK and the holiday season instead of worrying about workouts. I remember that Havasu isn't until March and that one day won't make that much of a difference yet. I predict the stress and craziness that will be spring semester, and I can't help but savor the feeling of sleeping in and watching Friends all day. Come our next time trial, I might have to work a little harder and dig a little deeper to compensate, but hey, that's what I'm good at. 

Give and take.

Caryn