I see London I see France...literally

I am never one to pass up a challenge, so when a fellow co-worker of mine challenged me to fly out of the States on a Friday afternoon to hang out for the weekend with him in London, how could I say no? He was on his way back through London having just completed a training session in Monaco and was preparing for formal meetings in London the week after, so there wasn't anything for him to do in the meantime and wanted someone to hang out with. I accepted and booked my flight out of STL and ORD to LHR for Friday 1/18 to return on Sunday 1/20. Upon arrival in Chicago I discovered that plans had changed and that I would be staying an extra day. As it turns out I was invited by my friend's boss to participate in a team building exercise at an undisclosed location that would require a passport and little to no English speaking ability. I rebooked my flight home for 1/21 and waited in anticipation for word as to what we would be doing on Sunday.

Saturday in London was set aside of fish and chips and beer. We walked around the place with no particular place to go. We did seek out a Thames River Boat Tour, but they were either booked or not quite what we were looking for. We settled for a cafe next to the London Eye.

Sunday morning the team met at St. Pancras train station and found that we were booked on the Eurostar to travel to Paris to participate in a team building scavenger hunt. We were to visit Parisian landmarks and take pictures to provide photographic proof of our visit. The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, and the Louvre were all on the list, among a few other obscure landmarks. We barely made the train back to London.


It was a great little get away - I didn't get very many good pictures, as we were on the move most of the time. I have wet my appetite to return to Paris to see more, and of course a trip to London is always on the list.

Marathon Madness!

Well folks...I did it. I finally ran a marathon! Saying that I've run 5 half marathons (which if you do the math adds up to 2-1/2 marathons) just didn't cut it anymore. It was finally time to stop talking about doing a marathon and actually do it! I picked to run in the Phoenix Rock and Roll Marathon which proved to be a wise choice given the mild temperatures (right around 50 degrees at the start and the mid-60's by the end) and the flat course.



I did fine for the first 13 miles of the marathon, averaging right around a 10:00 minute mile pace without walking (see the blue line in the chart above). I became aware of my feet around mile 8 and my legs started feeling a little tight around mile 14. It wasn't until mile 16 that I started to struggle a bit...stopping to stretch and rest a bit. By mile 18 I couldn't run and all I could do is walk. After crossing the 20 mile mark I stopped at a medical tent to get a leg massage, a couple aspirin, and some salt. It appears that my sodium levels were low which is why I was cramping. As soon as I left the tent I felt like a champ and ran the rest of the way with a few quick walks to further loosen my leg muscles. I finished with an official time of 5:07:35 (take away the 9 minute massage I ran it in under 5 hours). I am very much looking forward to doing this again!


I've registered for the Shamrock Shuffle in April and the Indianapolis Mini Marathon in May. It is my hope to find another marathon to do sometime in the fall. I've caught the bug!

Christmas cheer...in a onesy!

Best Christmas present...ever! I haven't taken it off!

Back to Japan, please?

Here are a few shots from Japan:

The view outside the Narita Hilton at 5:30 am...very green.

The surprise of the day was a ride over Mt. Fuji.

Tokyo for the day

I am currently enroute to China for a two week stay in Qingdao and Weihai. My first stop - Tokyo, Japan.

The trip started at 2:30 am Friday November 2 with the drive to St. Louis for my connecting flight to Tokyo out of Chicago O'Hare. This drive is always uneventful, thankfully, but very boring. I got to the St. Louis airport about 1 hour before my 7:35 am flight and arrived at O'Hare with plenty of time to get breakfast burritos at McDonalds, Immodium (just in case - but not for the breakfast burritos), and my third set of adapters for international electrical outlets (if any one needs a set, let me know). I spent some time in the Admiral's Club to check e-mails before my 11:00 am departure. The 13 hour flight from Chicago to Tokyo took us over Canada, to the brink of the North Pole, and back down the Pacific along Siberia and over the whole of Japan. I didn't have any issues going through immigration and customs - no surprise since I wasn't bringing in any furry animals, fruits, or other prohibited items. I made it to the Narita Hilton around 3:30 pm local time (12:30 am Saturday morning in the US) and took a quick shower to wash the travel off of me. I had planned on going out and about, but with only 5 hours of sleep on the plane, I was a bit exhausted and made the mistake of laying down on the bed for a quick cat nap which turned into a 5 hour cat nap. I got up to get some sushi at the hotel sushi bar, but they were closed. I settled for the lounge downstars which was still serving dinner. For all you movie fans who have seen Bill Murray in Lost in Translation I had to chuckle to myself when I walked in to the lounge to find an American playing guitar and singing Simon and Garfunkle's Scarborough Fair. I was inspired to order a Suntory whiskey because at that moment it was indeed "Suntory time." Since there was no sushi available I had to settle for Japanese curry, which was amazing. I'm back up in the room to hopefully get some rest before my flight to Qingdao tomorrow morning.