The Countdown Begins

After a four day trot back to the United States, I am back on the continent. Across the pond. In the old world. It was so great to go "home." I had an amazing weekend and while I am excited to be back in Budapest because I have missed Peter terribly, I am also keenly aware that it is not, in fact, home.

IRONMAN EXTRAVAGANZA
The point of this quick jaunt to New York was to watch Robyn do Ironman Lake Placid. Three years after watching me do this race, Robyn herself took it on. WHAT A DAY!! She kicked ass! She was so worried about not making the cutoffs, not finishing before midnight. Well, she had a fantastic day, felt great all the way through and finished with time to spare!

It was fun to be there and be a source of support for Robyn. Having done it before, I was able to answer a lot of her questions and I hope I allowed her to feel some measure of calm. Her boyfriend Adam is AMAZING and it was so cool to watch them together. Finally, Robyn has met someone who is right for her. And he is so good to her and he took such great care of her this weekend. It made being there even more special for me because I feel like I got to see a complete picture of Robyn as a happy, self-satisfied adult. Ten years after moving to San Francisco together, I feel like our friendship reached a new plateau in that hotel room in Lake Placid. Ha. That sounds kinda kinky, no ?

Race day was awesome. Midora (Robyn's running partner from SF), Adam (the boyfriend) and I spent the whole day together...literally, the only time we were apart was when we were in a Port a Potty or when Adam had to go back to the hotel to get something he forgot. We had the best time. The weather was phenomenal. You couldn't have placed an order for better weather. Much different than the year I did Ironman, when it was cold, hot, rainy, humid...the only thing missing was snow (You know what they say, "If you don't like the weather in the Adirondacks, wait 15 minutes) and much much different than the year Julie did it and I went to watch, when it rained nonstop and the wind was practically gale-force. Because of the great weather we were able to be out on the course most of the day, supporting Robyn and cheering through the rest of the athletes. We were pretty funny, if I do say so myself. It was really fun, too, to see the people finish who we were supporting out on the toughest part of the run - people who were feeling like crap and you could tell were unsure if they were going to make it to the finish in time (before the 17 hour cutoff).

What was really great about watching Ironman this time around was that I was not at all inspired to do it again. Not that I wasn't appropriately awed by the effort of Robyn and the other athletes undertaking the race. And not that they didn't each have their own story that had kernels of inspiration in each one. But I just didn't want to do it myself. I am sure I will do another one some day. But the urgency to do it soon has vanished. Maybe because I am fulfilled right now and don't need that intense focus to occupy my time, energy and spirit? I don't know. But I am glad. Because I am not ready to do another one. I don't even know if I would be ready to do an Olympic triathlon right now! I am tentatively signed up for a marathon in October and even that is not for sure going to happen for me. It's liberating, actually.

I was inspired, though, to get into shape again. Just being around all those fit people makes you want to be more fit (although, admittedly, it also makes you feel more fit. Some kind of fit-by-association phenomenon).

I MISS HOME
So, I go home in two and a half weeks. I cannot believe it. I felt like I had been gone forever but when I was back in NY and seeing friends and talking (a lot...making up for lost time!), it was as if no time had passed at all. I actually made people laugh again (multiple people, not just my boyfriend who thinks I am funny no matter what I do). I connected with people I hadn't met before and made instant friends. (I think Europeans think this instant friendship thing is somehow false and shallow, with no real meaning. But I think that it's warm and welcoming and why make people pass tests and meet certain timing requirements before you can actually bond with them?). I was reminded that I am me, that I do connect and that the language barrier in Hungary has been the source of my isolation, not just one factor.

I cannot even beign to wrap my head around the idea of leaving Peter on August 12 and not seeing him again until November at the earliest. But I must admit that being home was awesome and I am looking forward to going back. Not that I am in a rush to get back...this little dose of things will definitely tide me over for the next few weeks. Plus, we have our roadtrip to Prague that I am really looking forward to experiencing. And, hilariously, I am suddenly overloaded at work and have all my projects to finish up in the next couple weeks. I love that they wait until the end of the summer to figure out what I am going to be doing for them!