#raceStockholm #helloPraha

At first, I was skeptical of Stockholm.  It is a much bigger city than Oslo and Gothenburg, and we all know I’m not a city girl. Mostly, I was turned off by the hordes of tourists compared to my other destinations. However, I quickly grew to love the city, almost — but not quite — as much as my own. I was a tourist there after all. And the best part was that I met a few awesome people who I look forward to seeing again around the world. Hopefully very soon. 

More travel commentary to come in my next post, but first, the race. We woke up to a cold, rainy, out-to-get-you type of Saturday. As we arrived at the start, my roommate and I laughed at all the people wearing garbage bags over their running clothes. Looking back on it, well, karma’s a bitch. And while the usual panic set in around mile 20, this time it was different. On top of my aching legs, it was so cold that I couldn’t feel my hands or arms. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t open my gu or press the buttons on my iPod. It felt like my whole body was beginning to shut down. And yet if I stopped, I’d have just been miles away from home with no way to get there aside from my feet. So I finished the Stockholm Marathon with an unofficial PR of about 2.5 minutes. Unfortunately I didn’t get the $50 my lovely roommate bet me for finishing under 4:00h. Next time.

Yesterday was tough. I hate to admit it, but I’m glad it’s over. But at the same time, yesterday I completed my 2nd marathon, and I’ve now reached my 7th country this year, #helloPraha. My roommate was there to keep me relatively sane (and cheer her ass off), and despite everything the airlines did to prevent it, my mom made it to help me to my feet at the finish line. Life can be pretty fucking awesome sometimes, people. Now I just have to remember how to travel with people other than myself…