I Did It!

I think I promised a number of you that after the marathon I'd be all over everyone, wanting to get in touch and caught up after my reclusive existance of the past months. Unfortunately whilst that was my full intent, work sort of kicked up a gear after I came back from vacation, call it good timing or bad, so apologies for this late post. In any case I am pleased to finally say that I was able to meet my personal goal of under 4hrs in Stockholm - 3:57:20, to be precise. Somehow although it wasn't at all easy (or what I expected), the finish was sweet but not as emotional as in Bonn. Here, for whatever reason, after the first 15km of annoying elbow jabbing I knew in my heart that I was going to make it. Indeed until the last 5k I ran at a very consistent pace throughout the whole race, had enough in me to high five kids along the way, and even managed to go the whole way without stopping for a bathroom break - pretty much a perfect race in my book.


Some words on the race itself. Race support was fantastic. My favorite was the pre and post race at Ostermalm IP (by the way the Nora Ephron Stieg Larsson parody in the recent New Yorker is pretty hilarious) I've never been treated so well as a runner. And, although I bitched about it pre race, I am now a convert of the 2pm start time....how civilized. The refreshment stops were very good. Too good, too many, why is there another one coming up, didn't we just leave one three paces ago. The biggest weakness of this race, already much discussed in various forums, was the narrowness at parts of the course, and matters were not helped by the embarassment of refreshment stations along the way. It felt like I was constantly dodging cups, bananas, runners before me who suddenly came to a standstill, PICKLES, and like. And, because for several years temperatures rose beyond 85 +, they had misting showers set up throughout the course - again fine if you like to be doused in cold water, but given we were enjoying a comfortable 65 - 70 degrees this year, my heart gave out every time I was steered against my will under the blast of wetness. My biggest complaint was that it took 15km before the race SORT OF thinned out. Probably this was less of a problem for faster runners, but it was pretty painful for those of us in the middle of the pack. Otherwise the route was fantastic, looping through the heart of Stockholm twice, taking you over the water again and again, with the second lap extending through the Djurgatan, the green island in the middle of the city. My biggest miscalculation was thinking this would be a flat marathon - a preconception I never bothered to correct even though they sent the height profile in the pre race materials. Given my previous marathons were Chicago and Cologne, this was definitely the hilliest so far. I'm pleased, however, that as I was finding this out DURING the race I didn't let it discourage me. In fact I discovered I sort of like running up hill....is there a Jungfrau Marathon in my future?? A girl can dream big, right??


The race was perfect in that I made my time, I actually never suffered too much pain, and yet felt like I managed to give 98% of myself - almost to the limit. What would I have done differently?? First, after crossing the finish line I wish I would have spent a bit more time looking around in the historic Olympic Stadium to take in the atmosphere of the moment, instead of allowing myself to be herded out so quickly. Also, I wish I could have had the presence of mind to comb my hair after the race and BEFORE the above picture was taken. Finally, I wish I lost that dorky sponge (I forgot my sweatband) before I crossed the finish line. And Rebecca, I now heed your advice to always keep the pits presentable - don't look too closely, please.

That's right, athletic performance is important, but you favor the good looking athlete to win the gold, admit it.

Two people deserve my biggest thanks. First Frank Schroeder, who took me in hand, measured my MHR and gave me a training plan, all on his own because I was too clueless to ask for help and who never lost faith in me (at least not that he let on). Second is Jochen, who looked after the kids during countless Saturdays when I'd be out for 3 - 4 hours of training, who never saw his wife awake after 9:30pm on weeknights, and who had to hear the alarm 3x a week at 4 f@§$king 30 in the morning (and all the knocking about afterwards). After all this the fact that I delivered my time meant for the first time in my life MY HUSBAND TREATED ME LIKE A PRINCESS. Really, this is how you win Jochen's heart. He was so nice to me the days after the marathon that I realized how lucky I am that I have someone who shares in my triumphs and who supports me all the way.

Not on everything of course. And yes the princess phase is long over.

Yay!

After my training was derailed for 2 weeks due to heavy coughing and what was thankfully an evil end-of-the-season cold instead of a newfound allergy to hayfever, I was pretty down about the whole training thing. It never felt like I was improving on my time and my legs never felt STRONG. The approach of a major proof point - the Bonn Half Marathon - filled me with complete dread. Yesterday night as I was packing my stuff I had my heart in my throat, and there were quite a few trips to the bathroom due to overall stress (I know, this is way more info than you need). But somehow, this morning I got up to gorgeous weather, steadied nerves, and ran a 1:57:42 half marathon time...not as fast as I would have liked, and it's certainly not fast enough so I can be relaxed about Stockholm, but I am SO HAPPY that I had to post it out there - the 5am runs did pay off!!!


My favorite sign held by a spectator today: Pain goes, Pride stays.

Pig asked ahead of the race, so are you going to be 1st, or 2nd....that's a lot of pressure to put on your mom, little man. I was 84 of 310 women in the 35-40 category...if I keep at it I will be 1st or 2nd some day!!

Recap II: Spring Does Not Mean Summer Follows

Back in early April on one of the first decent days we ventured to a nearby openair musem. I have a weakness for these...pretty much any open space where you can have a nice walk and the option of peaking into historic buildings, preferably with some characters in period dress churning butter or tending to any other unspeakably tiresome household chore. Pig, however, hates going into these musty old places and turned his nose the first time he stepped into a kitchen with a pot of cabbage stew simmering - he couldn't be enticed to stay a minute longer.


So we kept ourselves outside.

Pig has now taken up photography...although do we need another documentation of our beer consumption??

Gravel makes Ponchi happy!
And things have pretty much gone downhill since. Except for the Bonn marathon day it's been back to being cold and cloudy the past weeks. As typical for this region the slooow start to summer defeats the promising spring...Come sunshine!!

Recap I: Skiing with Hsin

So amazed still that Hsin came all the way here to go skiing with us, back in March. After a hellish 18 hr drive down to Austria we made it and had a great week.

For not having skiied in a while Hsin was a trooper. Here she is giving offpiste a try....or not!

Tired

Have been missing visiting this blog but am so TIRED! Am being pulled in all directions at work - in a good way - but it's exhausting, none-the-less. Plus, our friend Frank the sports fanatic caught on that I'm training for a marathon and of course could not bear the thought of my going at it all wrong, so he put together a training plan for me (Frank is a personal trainer by profession) which has been out running at 5AM on the weekdays.

Mentally I'm really happy and engaged. Physically I'm slooowly getting into shape but am definitely feeling my age - oy!

The Best New Year

After an absence of 2 years we finally made it back to Chicago during Christmas time - and had a blast. So much fun in fact we forgot to take pictures most of the time, and as usual had to snap away in front of the Lufthansa counter at O'Hare, our normal point of departure.

The kids had so much fun with A-Kong and A-Ma, as usual. Monchichi even learned "Kong" during her stay, and now assigns it to any old dude with 1. white hair 2. knit hat 3. white gym shoes - my dad's fashion profile, obviously.

We got back in time to enjoy the snows and low temperatures in Cologne. When the radio advised people to stock up on goods one weekend we just had to laugh - I think the situation was as dire as nonstop overnight snowing and temperatures going down to -15C...or 5F truth be known...The snow did stick around for a while and one Sunday the sidewalks and streets were covered all the way into town.





So many highlights of the Chicago trip:

- spending time with my family
- going to the museums...truly world class. Pig threw a tantrum so I didn't get to take in all of the special diamonds exhibit at the Field Museum, but the dinosaur displays were amazing
- seeing Niki and Leanne and their families
- Alinea
- New Year's Eve...probably one of the best in recent years
- Jochen finally loving Chinese food, courtesy of Chef Ping
- And, last but not least, skiing in Wausau WI, where they believe a good snow gun should be pointed directly in the skiier's face
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Finally, some random pictures just to keep you reading. Unfortunately I think the blog may suffer a bit this year because 1. they're loading me up at work again...the post-maternity leave honeymoon/econ crisis is finally over 2. My new training regime is killing me. The only good thing about running at 6am outside is...you keep running otherwise you freeze your butt off! And you're pretty much looking for bed by 10pm....

1st Advent

And first visit to the Christmas market this year. Monchi had her first ever carousel ride - so looking forward to her experiencing Christmas more fully this year.

The ice-skating rink is a gigantic water puddle, but still an attraction.
The countdown begins to Chicago!!

She Speaks!

Ponchi lives a secret, if indiscreet life. According to the nursery she can walk about two meters unassisted, she has said ja, nein, and Eis. I've never witnessed any of this although the boys can confirm she's used some recognizable words in their presence. Last Friday one of the caretakers in her group caught a whiff of stinkyness and asked the kids who just made a big poo in their diaper. She turned around to see Ponchi raise her finger in the air and confess "Ich".

Belated Birthday Post

Hard to believe my two babies are now 1 and 5! A few weekends ago we celebrated Monchi's 1st birthday, and Jochen and I high-fived on what a good year this has been. Not to say we're not exhausted every day, but somehow the ease with which she joined and completed our family is something we did not expect, and still do not take for granted. We spent this day with Jochen's parents and enjoyed the intimate little party.

The big partying was next day for Pig's Big Do. First the origami invites.


With a bit of online research we discovered the Cologne museums offer a number of birthday party programs, and we were able to arrange a pirate theme party at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, which housed a largely pre-19th century collection.

We had asked all the kids to dress up as pirates - and everyone obliged.

They ran, they shouted, they painted, they played pirate roulette for gold (chocolate) bullions. They also went to the bathroom like a zillion times in the 3 hours. This was the first party we've had where the parents just dropped off the kids, but I have to say kudos to the little pirates - they all managed to mind their captain and stay dry.


Photography is not allowed in the museum, but this is the Arnold Boecklin painting the kiddies "studied". Not only did the docent discuss the picture with the kids, she had a treasure chest full of noise makers so the kids could imagine the waves, the thunder, the rain and the cry of the kidnapped princess. The complete visual/aural experience was eerie and awesome!!

And of course cake and presents



We got a big spontaneous hug from the Pig when we got home that day - aargh, that was reward aplenty, matey!

16 Again (almost) and My New Squeeze

Ok, so the standing joke for the last 7 years is I work for a car company but I don't drive. I started out driving here but after two years and an extra year's extension my MN license was no longer valid - at the time there was no reciprocal agreement with Germany and pretty much the only way for me to get legal was, horreur, sign myself up at the one of hundreds of Fahrschule in Cologne. For a long time I really resented the fact that I would have to subject myself to the whole process, and on the whole I didn't care enough to get my ass in gear to do the paperwork in the US (I haven't been back to MN since 1999, and I don't have state residency anywhere).
If you care to hear more excuses you can read about the trials and travails of getting a German license here.

So I'm bringing this all up now because I finally did something about it: back in February I decided to take advantage of this last mat leave and to just bite the bullet and get through this process. Literally I left Jochen holding the baby so that I could attend the worthless but required 1.5 hrs of theory...all 14 sessions. I also hunkered down and learned to love the stick shift (not really, but we've made our peace)and did the required 24 hrs or more of on the road driving. Given course schedules, Jochen's availability, 4 vacations, going back to work, I finally took the practical yesterday and passed...thank god because I was really getting fed up with the whole thing. I'm glad I did it, and the order has been placed for the Cologne plant to build my own Fiesta - this lime green color is called "Squeeze". I know it's hit Taiwan and I hope the Americans will also give it a warm welcome.
Jochen of course is grumbling about how we don't need two cars, and in my heart of hearts I know he's right. He also thinks I'm a scatterbrained driver and I've told my boss he may have to pay for a bumper or two. I want to practice but after the winter months maybe I'll give it up again. I know I'll miss my leisurely morning commute and the chance to read my New Yorker or IHT en route, but the time freed up from the commute (ok, I live like 3 miles away from work - my husband thinks it's pathetic I don't bike there in the first place, and he sorta has a point) will allow me to focus on my next challenge. I just registered and Hope has booked the flight to join me already - anyone else interested???

PS - although I have to say the Germans do a very thorough job of training their drivers, the whole Fahrschule industry is one that profits from customers paying around EUR1,200+ to get through the process. John, my cousin who took all of 3 days (aside from driver's ed in high school of course) to get me prepped for the State of Illinois driving exam obviously deserves a big thanks after all these years - how did you make it so easy the first time?!!

Until the Cows Came Home

Our week in the mountains in southern Germany turned out to be a bit of a dud, partly because the weather was drizzly five out of seven days, partly because our plan to offload the kids over the day and go hiking backfired once we realized the baby childcare was only 9am - 12pm everyday. That pretty much cramped any plans to go for longer hikes (rain's not enough of a deterrent), which sort of turned this into a passive beach vacation -except there was no beach, no sun, and no umbrella drinks. The hotel itself was nice enough and had a lot of fun things for the kids, we just wished it worked as well as the other places we'd visited in the past.






Pig enjoyed the menagerie on site. He also enjoyed hamming it up in the two shows they put on. In the first revue he was a frog.

Later in the week the kids had the opportunity to dress up as Bavarian princes and princesses. Instead of a feathered tricorn hat Pig went for the glam instead.
The one stroke of luck we had was this week coincided with the local annual return of the cows from the alpine pastures down into the valley, before the onset of winter. The sound of hundreds and thousands of cows and cowbells was most impressive.

So were the super short lederhosen hotpants, which I suppose is sensible wear given the amount of cow doo-doo the cowherds trample through....




And of course, where would we be without the beer tent?


Ponchi making friends with a native.


Loden hats bought at the fair, destined to become part of our Karneval repetoire.


And, last but not least, we did manage some modest hikes, despite the elements working against us. Sure the pictures don't look too bad, but we weren't exactly whipping out the camera in the rain, either.






Did I mention Monchi is significantly heavier than when she first rode in the backpack at the beginning of summer? We're seriously worried that we'll manage to hoist her for any extended period of time next summer!