Stockholm, Sweden

Well I have just returned from Stockholm, Sweden and it was a very nice trip. The athlete hotel was called Nordic Sea Hotel, and attached to the hotel was a famous bar called “ICEBAR STOCKHOLM.”

 ICEBAR is famous around the world and has even made one of the travel channel’s top places to go. It is a bar completely constructed of ice. You walk in and the bouncer puts you in this eskimo looking jacket with a hood and gloves. The bar is pretty small and it is about 28-30 degrees. The drink I ordered, the Northern Breeze, was served in a little ice glass. The table tops were ice, the benches were ice, and the bar top was ice.  We only stayed inside for about 20 minutes because our lips and feet were turning numb :) But it was a great experience to be inside such a famous place.

The bar was made completely of ice...besides the cash register obviously :)

  I raced the 800 in Stockholm. We raced in the Olympic Stadium from 1912. It was a really nice atmosphere and the quality of athletes was incredible. I ended up winning my heat and ran 2:00.33.

I didn’t feel exceptionally strong in my race...I think it was the large lunch I had at the hotel. One thing I have noticed about every country in Europe is that there is no such thing as breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods. For breakfast they serve ham sandwiches and meatballs, for lunch they serve fish, pasta, beef, and mashed potatoes, and for dinner they serve basically the same as lunch. So, without another choice, I took down what they were serving for lunch the afternoon of my race. And maybe a little too much of it. My stomach was still full while I was racing, so I faced the consequences of this about 5 minutes after my race was finished. I used to have extreme race anxiety and would throw up after every race regardless of whether or not I had food in my stomach, but it hasn’t happened to me in over a year. I guess I got a little cocky and thought I could eat anything I wanted and still get away with it. I was wrong...I guess the beef and potatoes that came up soon after my race was a little reminder of “what not to do.” Sorry, that was gross...but it is the reality of track and field and it happens a lot more than the spectator’s think. The smile you give the media as you cross the finish line after winning a race is a mixture of “yesss I won!” along with “but oh my goodness I’m in so much pain right now, somebody help me off the track.” That moment is possibly the worst and most fulfilling moment in my job and I guess that is where I can separate myself from the other 99% of the world. Pain tolerance, at least in a middle-distance event, is perhaps the main indicator of what can separate a collegiate runner from a professional runner, in my opinion. Pushing beyond normal pain to a pain that the majority of people are not willing to experience is key to getting to that next level. 

A few DMG (Doyle Management Group) friends out in Prague, Czech Republic City Centre!

Now I am back in Prague, Czech Republic until my last race of my season on Friday, August 5th in London. Unfortunately, my race is not going to be at the stadium where the olympics next summer will be held. It will be held at a stadium called Crystal Palace which sounds like a place just as luxurious to me! My birthday is August 4th and I fly back to the US August 6th in time to celebrate with Reed Saturday night and hopefully meet up with my family. I am going to miss baby Tyler’s 1-year birthday party in Cincinnati on the 6th by just about 5 hours  :( I can’t wait to see everyone at home...it will be 1 month and 1 week since I have been on USA soil and quite honestly, I am SO ready to be home!!!