Travel Blues

It’s 4:00 a.m. in Denver and I’m starting what promises to be an extremely long day. I am scheduled to arrive in Providence tonight at midnight…provided my flight isn’t delayed due to weather between here and New England. Thankfully, I’m on a non-stop so I won’t have to spend the night in the airport in Baltimore…that was one of the longest nights of my life.

The other extremely long nights included sleeping on the floor of the Museum of Science in Boston, on a battleship in Fall River at Battleship Cove and on another floor at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, all with Rider’s Cub Scout troop. Don’t get me wrong, I loved spending time with Rider and wouldn’t trade those nights for anything. They were just extremely long.

These experiences all similar to running a marathon. There’s a lot of effort involved but the reward is more than worth it. Nothing is more worthwhile than spending time with our children even if it does require some discomfort at times 🙂 Nothing compares to completing a marathon, particularly Boston, even though it requires incredible sacrifice…that’s what makes the reward and sense of accomplishment that much more meaningful.

I travel extensively this time of year. This week I’ve driven more than 15 hours just between Albuquerque and Denver. Next week I’ll be in Salt Lake City, Provo and Boise. The following week I’ll be in Florida and Georgia. The benefit of my travel is that I get to visit some incredible places and spend time with some amazing people.

Yesterday I had lunch at Whole Foods in Boulder, Colorado with Adriana Nelson Pirtea. Adriana is from Romania and has a Marathon PR of 2:28. She and her husband (Jeremy) are the founders of Roll Recovery (www.rollrecovery.com) and the incredible R8. I met Adriana and Jeremy at a running trade show in Austin, Texas and have enjoyed our friendship ever since.

Adriana is running the Rotterdam (Netherlands) Marathon the day before the Boston Marathon. Here goal is to improve upon her current PR and is fit enough to run in the 2:24-2:26 range. During our conversation we spoke about her marathon debut in Chicago 2007, the year of blistering heat. Adriana had a 30 second lead with 600 meters remaining. Defending women’s champion, Berhane Adere, was shielded by a cadre of men and slipped past Adriana for the win. That cost Adriana $100,000 in prize money…wow! It was her slowest marathon ever (2:33). I didn’t have the heart to tell her that her slowest marathon time is my Marathon PR…ouch!

Here is a picture of Adriana:

The downside of my travel is spending time away from Lori, Rider and Macie. Similar to the Boston Marathon, there is light at the end of the tunnel. My travel will subside in approximately 5 weeks and I return to a more normal existence.

Traveling extensively and training for Boston requires a herculean effort. Despite some challenges and inconveniences…it’s more than worth it in the end!