Real World: Week 1

It's 83 degrees outside right now in Bloomington and for the first time since before I left for Ireland, I'm waiting around for it to cool down a little before I run.  Running has been a little different my first two days of work.  I found out that it's not exactly light out (like it was all summer across the pond) before 6:00 AM.  There are some awesome routes that I have discovered so far, with nearly every one having some involvement with a nearby lake.  I have also found it difficult to cut back my mileage much.  I remember writing in an interview how it takes just as much discipline to take it easy towards the end of the season as it does to get out and keep running a ton during the summer and winter months, but so far this fall I haven't had that discipline.  I do have a few more things to say about my running in the recent past and the near future..

1. I posted new highs for summer mileage (1,252) and weekly mileage (130)
2. For those of you who didn't know, I raced at the SJU Invite last week, finishing in 26:04 to narrowly beat out a slew of impressive former teammates.
3. I'm signed up to race both this weekend at Fort Snelling in a 5x5k relay and on October 5th for the TC 10 mile.  I'm excited to do both.

Hopefully I didn't completely lose my audience, despite the month-long gap between posts.  To avoid rambling on about the pros and cons of my train trip across Europe, I thought I would write a one word summary and explanation about each city that I spent at least one night in over my final two weeks.  Here it goes:

• Brussels - bittersweet (I loved the city when I was there my first night, but I ended up missing my flight back to Dublin and had to spend the night in the Brussels airport)
• Paris - predictable (Almost everything I saw I expected to see, which was probably mostly my fault)
• Nice - gorgeous (If the beaches weren't filled with rocks, I might not have left)
• Venice - frustrating (The islands were like a maze and the maps only added to my confusion)
• Salzburg - perfect (I loved how the size of the city, the atmosphere, the sights and almost everything else about it)
• Munich - rich (Filled with color, music, and history)

I also just completed my second day of work in the "real world".  I'm working at Target Headquarters in downtown Minneapolis.  Surprisingly, my bus ride from Bloomington is about the same amount of time as it was last summer when I lived in Minneapolis, and it drops me off less than a block away from my office.  I've been able to meet up with a bunch of people that I knew from my internship last summer, which is really awesome.

Oh, and one more thing. My fantasy football team is 1-1 and I'm not happy about it.

Around the British Isles

Last week was an extremely busy, exciting and memorable one. It was also very tiring. I spent the week traveling around Ireland, Northern Ireland and London with my two sisters, Alissa and Lindsey. From the time they arrived at 44 Gleann Dara (after only a few mishaps), we were on the move almost the entire time. The only "rest" day for me came on Saturday, but that night I ran my second race of the summer (5 mile, 24:36, 3rd), not exactly the relaxation my body needed.

While my latest race produced a time a ways off my personal best, I think I am fast approaching a record of another sort. Last Friday, I visited the Cliffs of Moher for the third time in a little more than a month's time - a frequency only approached by tour guides and bus drivers. Friday also brought my sisters and I around the Dingle Peninsula, a drive that was highly recommended by the owner of a B&B my parents and I visited. It was well worth the long day of driving. I even got some mountain climbing in, as I climbed down from the road to get the shot below.

(Bird on the Dingle Peninsula)

After my race on Saturday night, we got an early start on Sunday morning. We drove up to the northern coast of Northern Ireland. This area and the coastal drive was beautiful. Among the places we visited were Whiterocks Beach (near Portrush), Giant's Causeway, and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. This was one of the few days where we had a goal set in mind about what we wanted to accomplish. Everything went extremely well up until the point where we decided to stop and look for a place to spend the night. The tension in the car grew as the light faded and still we had no place to stay. To make matters worse, the rain started coming down, making visibility all the more difficult. We finally found a B&B sign in a small town along the coast, but after a few minutes of awkwardness with a hunchbacked old man, we were still homeless. After 10 more LONG minutes of driving, where nobody spoke, we saw another sign for a B&B. This time, we were pleasantly surprised. If the owner would have sensed our desperation, he could have made off with a lot more than we paid him. Thank goodness for honest people. The room was spectacular, as was the full Irish breakfast we received in the morning. It was just too bad we couldn't have stayed in the small town of Ballygally any longer.

(Whiterocks Beach - Portrush, Northern Ireland)

Next up for the Erichsen children was Belfast. After hearing almost nothing but negative things about the city, we were glad to find that it appeared to be a modern, thriving city. At least in the area we were in, there were office buildings, shopping centers and other features that all seemed very new and clean. We didn't get to see the Titanic, but we did take some pictures by a huge fish by the docks.

(Me in front of some big fish in Belfast)

The weather turned out to be fantastic for almost the entire week Alissa and Lindsey were visiting me. The only time it rained was when we were in the car driving, which wasn't really a bother. After leaving Belfast we headed around the Ards Peninsula, eventually stopping in Greyabbey to visit some of Drew's relations. They were extremely friendly, going so far as to relieve us of the headache of finding a place to stay for the night.

(Alissa and Lindsey posing in front of hydrangeas)

We didn't run into any more stress (following the first night trying to find a B&B) until we left Greyabbey early Tuesday morning heading for Dublin Airport. We were on a tight schedule and couldn't afford to miss our flight to London, since we were only staying about a day and a half as it was. So, while scurrying around trying to find a gas station, return the rental car, and store our luggage at the airport, we were near our breaking point once again. It wasn't actually that bad, but after nearly an entire summer with minimal stress, any stress seems like too much.

(London's Eye)

As I said before, we were only in London for a short time, but we still got around quite well. The first day we were completely on foot. It was tiring, but also nice to be able to see all the little things that lie between the big attractions. On the second day, we all had to carry our bags so we scrapped the whole walking idea and opted for the Tube, an experience in itself.

Whether looking for a bathroom, place to fill a water bottle, directions, or coffee, I think we were in Starbucks about 8 times while in London. I think seeing them everywhere is just a transition for when I return to the U.S. in a few weeks, as I have gotten used to storefronts without those familiar green letters.

I have posted the pictures from my week with Alissa and Lindsey and they are all under the "Pictures" link to the right.

Going Solo to Glasgow

("The Armadillo")


(Statue near Central Station)

(Man playing bagpipes in Kelvingrove Park - he wasn't very talented)



(Me with University of Glasgow Tower in the background)

I don't have much time to write, as Alissa and Lindsey are on their way to Galway and I have some things to take care of before they arrive. I spent the majority of the last three days in Glasgow, Scotland. It was an awesome trip and I was able to take quite a few pictures, which can be found here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cjerichsen/GlasgowScotland

There are a few things that have happened over the last week that I feel are worth mentioning. Some of them I am proud of and some of them are quite embarrassing.

• I ate at three different restaurants while in Glasgow, more than I have in Ireland in the past month. I was able to get some "real" pizza again, as well as my first taste of haggis, tatties and neeps (which was awesome by the way). If you're unsure of what that is, you can find more information here.
• One week ago, I owned three bikes. Now, I'm down to my last one. The first was stolen from our backyard one night after work. At first I thought one of my roommates had taken it to work. I was actually much less upset after I tracked him down and found out he didn't take it after all. Unfortunately, the first to be stolen was also the best of the lot. Down to two bikes, I was forced to take one of these to the bus station and use a broken lock, hoping it would be there when I returned from my trip. Not surprisingly, it was gone when I came back. Three days in one of the busiest areas in Galway was too much to ask and now I am down to my final bike.
• I found one of the elusive "other" flavors of Custard Creams while I was visiting up north. While not as good as the original, Malted Milk Creams were a welcome change. Before my trip, I didn't even know they existed. I'm still looking for the coconut and coffee flavored cookies, but hopefully I'll be able to find them when my sisters and I head to London!

I've also learned a little bit more about my competition for the Streets of Galway race this weekend. One of the "headliners" is a Kenyan who comes in with a 5K PR of 13:17 - pretty decent. Another is Vinny Mulvey, the guy who crushed me in the Irish Runner 5 mile in July. He is Ireland's national cross country champion and used to run for Iona College in New York. Finally, the defending champion of the race, Gerry Ryan, will also be running. Obviously, the competition is a little stiffer than my last time out.

Getting Fat, Custard Creams and Nostalgia

After seeing my first prize-money check above, you probably assumed the picture and the title of this post were related. After all, with the exchange rate the way it is right now, €200 has some decent buying power in the U.S. (about $320). However, my race in Ireland has not provided me with uncontrollable bulkiness in my wallet region. The fat that I am referring to is one that was routinely promoted by my coach (albeit primarily during the few weeks immediately following the end of the season). I often half-heartedly listened to this suggestion, opting to interpret it to the less literal "take it easy for a while". Recently, I have taken his words verbatim.

What has led to this temporary increase in mass? The culprit has been a small sandwich cookie, generically dubbed Custard Creams. They are similar to Oreos, but square instead of round, vanilla instead of chocolate.

They are available in every grocery store for the same ridiculous price of €0.39 for a 400 gram pack. For those of you who aren't familiar with the conversion, that is almost a pound of addicting cookies. They also have trouble sticking around at 44 Gleann Dara, as the last few packs Kelly and I have bought have failed to make it 24 hours. On Monday, I found a 10 cent piece on the ground towards the end of my long run. Despite being very tired and having my senses significantly weakened, I was still able to do some quick Custard Cream calculations. That 10 cents provides the following:

• 1/4 package (or 100 g) of cookies
• 500 calories

The Bourbon Creams are also widely available in Galway. One of my goals for the rest of the summer is to find the elusive Coconut Creams and Coffee Creams. For more information, please see the always accurate Wikipedia link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custard_cream

On a more serious note, my schedule is becoming increasingly more concrete for the remainder of the summer. Race week is nearly upon us, which means that I will be working (starting tonight) nine out of the next ten days at the Greyhound Track. That leaves only a few more days off while Kelly and I are both living in Galway. After race week, he will be leaving for a two week trek across Europe.

On August 4th, I will be flying to Scotland for the beginning of the week. In the never-ending search for cheap flights, I was able to find a "free" flight from Shannon Airport to Glasgow, in the end costing me a mere €20. I will spend a few nights in Scotland before returning to Galway to prepare for the arrival of Alissa and Lindsey, who arrive in Dublin on August 7th and Galway (hopefully) later that night. Strange as it may seem, they are actually going to be able to see me race August 9th in the Streets of Galway 8K.

I have also penciled in another race to my schedule, shortly after noticing the Saint John's CC schedule was posted on the website. I will finally have the opportunity to win a T-shirt that has intrigued me for the past four years. The famed Fall Finale is slated to be run on November 7th, with this prized shirt, owned by only a select few, available to certain top finishers.

Last week, anticipating a book shortage in the near future, I took three random books from our house and set off for the used book store. After a little bit of negotiating, I made a three for one swap, the one being Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon Days. It was odd finding this book in an Irish book store in the first place and even more odd when I delved in and found references to Minneapolis, Avon, St. Joseph and Collegeville, places I lived for the majority of the last four years of my life. Obvious nostalgia was brought about by some of the stories and references of the book. Besides the obvious things (family, friends, home-cooking, etc.), I have been missing quite a few things that I took for granted living in the U.S..

• Real pizza - frozen pizzas just aren't the same here and delivery is unbelievably expensive, making that option merely it a pipe dream
• Sportscenter - the sports channel here has a lot of variety (hurling, Gaelic football, horse racing, rugby) but I miss seeing the "American" sports on a regular basis
  
• Driving - I haven't driven a vehicle since the middle of May, probably the longest stretch since I got my license
  
• Root beer - I normally don't have it often, but I had a craving recently and haven't been able to find it anywhere, so naturally, my craving increased
• Mosquitos - I don't actually miss them, but I saw a Discovery Channel show that was talking about an area in Africa where they were terrible and it reminded me that I don't think I've seen or been bitten by a mosquito in nearly a year
  

As of yesterday afternoon, I have officially run out of books to read. So, I either have to wait for my sisters to bring in some reserves or I have to buy/trade for a few more. If you have any suggestions, please email me (cjerichsen@gmail.com)!

Coast to Coast, July 12th

Race Day in Dublin:

5:45 AM – wake up in 10 bed hostel room in Abraham House

6:00 AM – breakfast in hostel

7:30 AM – check out of hostel, ≈ 4 mile bike ride to Castleknock College, the race headquarters

8:15 AM – arrive at race headquarters, meet with race director and pick up my race number (#3 of about 3,600)

8:30 AM – walk to start/finish area (about ¾ mile away – much longer than I expected)

9:15 AM – warm up on Phoenix Park paths – all of which I had run before during my time in Dublin. The familiarity helped eased some of the anxiety I had been feeling throughout the “new” process of registration, transportation, housing, food, etc. that is necessary to race well (appreciation for coach's role continues to grow).

10:00 AM – race starts, as does a cold, uncomfortable mist

10:04:55 AM – I pass the 1 mile mark, the only split that was made available

10:15 AM – short downpour begins. It happened to come just after the 3 mile mark and as we were heading into the wind up the only real hill of the course – great timing…

10:24:32 AM – Finished 2^nd in my first post-collegiate race, 35 seconds behind an impressive Finney Mulvey, the race leader from the start. Overall I felt pretty good about my race. Even in Ireland, people get out too hard and don't run a smart race, so I was able to work my way up through the field throughout. My legs felt strong, just not very "fine-tuned" at this point.

12:00 PM – Made my way back to the bus station to catch the 12:00 bus to Galway

3:00 PM – Receive phone call from race director – I forgot to pick up my prize check after the race. Once again, proof that I am very “green” as far as the intricacies of the road racing process go.

4:45 PM – bus arrives back in Galway, over one hour late. We were caught in a major traffic jam near Moate, County West Meath.

5:15 PM – shower and eat dinner at home, get ready for work

5:45 PM – leave for work at the greyhound track

12:00 AM – finish work at greyhound track

12:45 AM – finally in bed after long, tiring day first on the East, then West coast of Ireland.

I’m starting to feel like a bit of a local. I wrote a note to myself, which I frequently do so I can remember what I want to say in my blog, about one of my runs while my parents were visiting Ireland. I was running on the N59, a “highway” in Ireland, when a lady pulled alongside my on the side of the road and asked me directions to a small town nearby. Oddly enough, I had run on the road she was looking for and was able to tell her exactly where to turn. A tourist myself, I was able to help another tourist find her way around the Galway area. I caught myself smiling frequently over the second half of my run that day.

Now I may have let this little note of mine slip through the cracks without every appearing on my blog, but I had two more similar experiences recently. The first occurred on the bus trip home from Dublin and the other was once again while I was running the country roads around Galway. I ended up sitting next to an older Norwegian man for the duration and we talked sporadically for the 4 hour trip. He was studying his map of the Galway area pretty intensely, so I asked him what he was planning to do. His ultimate goal was to end up in Lahinch, a small village near the Cliffs of Moher. I almost laughed when he said this because I had recently passed through Lahinch with my parents on our way to the south of Ireland. Not only this, but Lahinch had basically been my mental picture of Ireland for the past 10 years – ever since my sister Lindsey brought me back a golf towel from Lahinch Golf Club as a souvenir from her basketball trip to Ireland in high school. So, while I haven’t spent more than 10 minutes passing through this town, I was still able to provide this fellow tourist with ample information.

Week in Review

Before I catch the bus to Dublin today for my first race tomorrow morning, I thought I would give an update and post my pictures from this past week.

On Sunday, Kelly and I biked down to Galway Bay for a swim. Unsure of exactly how cold it was going to be, we went in at the closest point to our house. The tide was low, so I was able to take my camera with me out to the floating dock before I actually jumped in and fully submerged myself. It wasn't exactly warm, but I still wouldn't rule out doing this again if a "hot" day were to come along.

Here are the rest of the pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cjerichsen/GalwayBay

On Tuesday morning, we headed off to Cork for a few days. We didn't have to work until the weekend and the bus tickets were really cheap, so we decided to spend a few days exploring the "real" capital of Ireland. For the record, I'm not buying it.

I had read about St. Patrick's Hill, a very steep incline that provides a great view of the city from the top, but I didn't realize the rest of the city was as sloped as it was. The city center is basically in a valley of the River Lee and is surrounded by hills on the three sides opposite the harbor. Cork, supposedly a cross between the bustling capital of Dublin and the more subdued Galway, was far more like the former. It was nice to visit, but I surely wouldn't want to live there.

On our second day in Cork, Kelly and I took advantage of one of our free methods of transportation. We rode our bikes the 6-7 miles out to Blarney to see the Blarney Castle. It was well worth the effort (seemingly uphill the entire way out). The castle itself was impressive and after climbing the increasingly steep and narrow spiral staircase, we arrived at the top of the castle. Here, I was able to see some fantastic views of the surrounding area (seen above). I also kissed the Blarney Stone, unfortunate for everyone else because from now on legend has it that I will never be at a loss for words...

Comparatively, the return journey on bikes was a breeze. I once again took the N20 (a divided highway) which was the most direct route. Kelly opted for the bike trail that paralleled the N20. It was probably more scenic, but at the time I didn't want to be on my bike any longer than I absolutely had to. It was the second time in our short trip that we were separated for an extended period without an easy method of communication (he had a different sim card in his cell phone at the time). We still managed to make it back to the bus station with about 3 minutes to spare for our return journey to Galway - plenty of time.

Here are the pictures from Cork and Blarney:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cjerichsen/CorkAndBlarneyCastle

Summer Racing

On Saturday, I will be completing a couple of "firsts" in my life. I am running the Lifestyle Sports - adidas Irish Runner 5 mile race in Dublin. It will mark the first time I am racing outside of the U.S., my first post-collegiate race, as well as the first time (as far as I can remember) that I will be running a race where I don't know anyone else at the starting line. I don't have much experience as far as summer racing goes, with only two different races on my resume.

The first of these I have run several times - Spring Valley's Wilder Fest 5K. It typically falls on one of the last weekends in August. While technically it is a summer road race, it has really been more of a kick-off to the cross country season for me in the past, both in high school and college.

To remember the second, I have to reach way back into the vault of my memory bank, all the way back to the summer before my freshman year of high school. It was the 2000 Spam Jam 8K, a race run in early July in conjuncture with Austin, Minnesota's Spam Jam. It was just prior to my first cross country season and the longest race I had ever run before this was the 1600m in track. I still remember trying to train for this race, running the Trout Farm loop in Spring Valley (about 5 miles) alongside my Dad in a green Ford Taurus station wagon. I won my age group that day (14 and under) and even though it was over eight years ago, I took three things away from this race:

1. Girls can run, too - I was surprised when I was gaining on a woman with about a mile to go that she was still in front of me. Determined not to let her beat me, I passed her as soon as I could, only to watch her go by me for good with about a half mile to go.
2. 8000 meters doesn't equal 5 miles - My time was 29:5x and I was pumped because I completed my goal of running sub-6:00 pace. When I got home and saw the results online, I was rather disappointed. I was under six minute pace per 1600 meters, but my mile pace was 6:01.
   
3. A very unique plaque - my prize was a 2000 Spam Jam plaque, complete with a plastic medal and a Spam can right on the plaque. I still have it at home and if the can was actually full, I'm sure it would still be edible today.
   

Anyways, the reason I started thinking about this is because Kelly and I were talking about racing the other day on a run. He has some specific goals/races lined up for this fall, but as of right now, I'm still unsure about exactly what I'm training for. I only have two races lined up while I'm in Ireland and nothing for when I return to Minnesota. It's weird not having a schedule lined up for you for an entire season. I also won't have a uniform to wear in my upcoming races. I decided not to join the Galway City Harriers, as the fees, etc. were not worthwhile for the short time I am in Ireland. So, until I have a plan, I guess I'll just sort of do my own thing for a while and without wearing any colors.