Thursday, July 28, 2005

Once a year...


Rosy
Originally uploaded by juliainitaly.

I am sitting in my studio dripping with sweat. It is literally running off my skin...and it's only seven a.m.! I have to go fill up the kiddy pool before it starts to get too hot.

My husband is a professional athletic coach so we have a pretty set schedule year round (and always will) on where he has to be and what he's doing. The Olympics are every four years, the World Championship every two, European Championship every two, etc, etc. Then there are the races that each individual athlete chooses such as the fall and spring marathons or smaller races here in Italy. A professional athlete cannot train in hot, humid weather during the summer, so they usually pack off to the mountains for at least three months. The number one choice for the month of July for most pros is St. Moritz, Switzerland. It's at 1800 mt altitude, it usually around 15° so they can run all day long without any problem. It is expensive. Very expensive. But hubby and I have worked out a system that cuts the costs for us, mainly so that his family (me and the kids) can be with him. We rent a house. Sometimes we share it with one or two of his athletes (as was the case this year) and we buy most of our food in Italy which is only a half hour over the border. I bring my work with me and go to this posh hotel where they have a Wi-Fi in the lobby. Free internet! My days are uneventful but relaxing. We follow the same rhythms that hubby's athletes do:


- Get up and eat breakfast around 8.00 am. Breakfast was either whole wheat pancakes or oatmeal or bread. All with tea and fruit.


- 10.00 am. While hubby did first training session with athletes I brought Evan to this fantastic park. It had a 300mt slide and trampolines and lots of wooden bridges and more slides.


- 12.00 - head back to the house and start lunch. Lunch was always a meat dish with a huge salad and fruit to follow.


- 14.00 - Watch the Tour de France while working on writing, articles or big group that I'm training at the Venice Marathon.


- 17.00 - Second training session for hubby's athletes, one and only training session for Julia. I learned SO MUCH about running this month. Actually I should say that there were a few concepts that really clicked in my head. I've started to apply them to myself to begin with and...they work! When I came back home I did a track test and it showed that I am really on schedule for my Boston Qualifier. I'm trying not to get sidetracked though and will just keep my nose to the grindstone for the next few months.


19.00 - Time to start dinner! Pasta or a bean soup or homemade pizza (no cheese!) or rice accompanied by a big salad and fruit.


21.00 - Five minutes of watching television in German. Eventually give up and read a book. Bedtime at around 22.00.

This was it, day in and day out. At the end of the three weeks I did not want to leave. I was so relaxed, so rid of stress, I'm only hoping that I can keep it up somehow.

Now I'm back home and Hubby has changed mountain location. He'll be flying up to Finland on the 10th to assist the young lady you see in the photo who will be running the women's marathon. If you happen to follow it on television it should be televised on Sunday August 14th.

I in the meantime am back to sweating in 100° weather. I'm heading to that kiddy pool now...

1 comment:

anji said...

Hi Julia! Sounds like switzerland is just what a girl like you needs! (and deserves!)

Glad that you learned lots too about running. Everything always has something to learn, as the learning never ends :D

Hope your training keeps going well! Ciao!