Spain isn’t Austria. It’s not even a neighbour. The
language is different, the history is different, and the food is different. But
despite all this, as I lay in bed on my second last night in Spain for this
year, and reflected on my time there, I had images from the Sound of Music
dancing around in my head. Clearly I had stayed up past my bedtime of precisely
10.20pm - no doubt having been peer-pressured into yet another round of Uno -
and thus was slightly delirious. But nonetheless, it was the backdrop of the rolling
green fields, the cute little villages we’d cycled through, the laughter (and
pain) of a refreshingly cohesive and fun training squad, that had my mind
replacing the hills of Spain with the hills of Austria (complete with the Von Trapp
family).
I guess then, that on reflecting on my first European
summer season, training and racing in Spain, it would be somewhat (oddly)
appropriate to touch on a “few of my favourite things” from my time there.
Raindrops
on roses and whiskers on kittens:
I didn’t know it at the time, but racing Elwood earlier
in the year in conditions resembling the Apocolyspe, was actually the perfect
preparation for this year’s Holten Premium European Cup. The torrential rain
certainly made it a race to remember - possibly even more so for the spectators
forced to make the 6km journey from the swim, to the bike and run loops in
town, on foot. At least we athletes had bikes, and the distraction of racing.
But combining that rain with cobblestones and tight (dicey) 90 degree turns
onto speed bumps meant a challenging but fun entrée into racing in Europe. The
weather was so dire that we didn’t even escape the athlete lounge for any form
of jog warm up. The only way we braved the rain pre-race was in wetsuit, for a
sneaky paddle in the water, before quickly retreating back to the relative safety
of the athlete tent. I was satisfied with my performance there, but aside from that,
it was a great week of exploring the Netherlands, running and cycling through
the picturesque countryside, plotting how to sneak a baby horse back to
Australia and witnessing a LOT of raindrops
on roses. It was a fantastic ten days of eating far too much cheese and yummy
Dutch breads, swimming in a pool with no lane ropes (which threw my backstroke “lane-rope
pulling” plans into disarray), and having our squad very generously hosted for
an afternoon run and dinner, by Rachel Klamer and Richard Murray.
Bright
copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Destination next was another chilly location, way up in
the far north of Europe in Tartu, Estonia: The preceding events of which I have
already blogged about and subsequently repressed. Notable mentions however for
this trip include the stranger that actually handed in (and didn’t pocket for themselves),
Vicky’s engagement ring that had fallen out of her bag in a supermarket. Coming
a close second is Ron for racing whilst in the grips of gastro, Nick for
succumbing to the gastro mid-way through dinner post-race (and then returning
to finish his meal), and Luke for avoiding the gastro altogether and securing
an ITU senior podium as a junior.
Brown
paper packages tied up with string
Following a stint of training back in Spain to top up the
miles, I headed to Istanbul for the European Cup there. Unfortunately, as is
the way with these events, dates and locations changed a few weeks out from the
event and sadly, after I had already booked my flights and accommodation. Long
story short, I ended up in Istanbul on my own for a few days before any friends
arrived, and on the complete opposite side of town to the race site with my
view being of a concrete highway and tankers resting out at sea: Not great on a
normal day, but kind of sad that my birthday (my first away from home) landed
on one of these days. Not to let the event go unnoticed though, my beautiful
training squad threw me a surprise little birthday party the night before I left,
complete with ice cream cake, Haribo lollies and balloons.
Cream
coloured ponies and crisp apple streudels
One of the indisputable perks of a) training hard and b)
training hard in Europe, is undoubtedly the bakery stops. Whether it’s “Ramon’s”
after a brutal morning heart rate swim set, or ending our Sunday long ride in
Vitoria’s Old Town square bakery, one thing is for certain: it’s tortillas and café
con leches all round…. Or hot chocolate, by which I literally mean chocolate
that is hot and melted.
Doorbells
and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
And not to stray too far from the theme of food – it was,
after all, our second favourite pastime, (after training, and before sleeping) –
dinners at Wok, Vips, Brazilian, Ginos and (never again) Frescos. The Wok
novelty wore off, but not before I engulfed my body weight in all-you-can-eat French
fries, and ice cream. Vips, on the other hand, provided a sight to behold: the
cookies and cream milkshake. This treat, only consumed on one occasion, was
worth every cent and every calorie.
Wild
geese that fly with the moon on their wings
Before anyone gets the idea that in fact food came before training on my list of favourite things,
I’ll provide some comfort by presenting perhaps my absolute favorite feature of
Vitoria-Gasteiz. I’d give everyone three guesses but I know for sure, my
training squad would need only one: for me, the BEST part is all the grass and soft
trails to run on! Never have I been so spoiled for choice like I have been in
Vitoria, for places to run. There were places to do our hard run sessions that
provided that perfect combination of flat, fast AND soft under foot. For long
runs, there were endless trails that you could (literally) get lost on for miles
and miles. I’m fairly sure this beautiful city has only acted as an enabler to
my absolute disdain for running on concrete!
And
the “not so great at the time but really good afterwards” things
When
the dog bites
Mendi swimming pool. Whether it’s a morning or afternoon
set, those first moments upon arriving are always the same: The whole-body lean
into the door to open it, as if to withhold from using any unnecessary energy.
That first inhale of Mendi’s air, strangely resembling strawberry lip gloss.
Then there were the stairs - the two flights that would determine your
immediate future. I realized quite early on that there was actually zero
correlation between how my legs felt going up those stairs, and how I felt in
the pool, yet every day it felt like the same stair climb of death and the same
dread that I’d therefore feel awful in the pool. Of course, on leaving the pool
following a hard and rewarding swim set, they became the stairs of freedom, of
satisfaction and of accomplishment.
When
the bee stings
Hill reps on the bike are always a brutal affair, but
when you can share that burn, that sting, with someone else, it always makes it
that little bit easier. Vicky was the perfect little hill buddy, pushing me
every pedal stroke of the way and sharing my same dislike of turning left at
the U-turn. My first ascent, I literally went onto the wrong side of the road
to be able to perform my U-turn the “correct” (Australian) way. And the
greatest perk of Spain, riding these hills at any time of day, without the
constant concern of traffic. How I will miss the relative safety of riding in
Spain.
The truth is, the last couple of months have truly been
the best fresh start I could have ever hoped for. The camaraderie amongst the
training squad, with Warwick at the helm, has been an absolute dream
environment in which to train hard, improve, and have a lot of laughs along the
way too. So with the next block of training and racing looming on the other
side of two weeks recovery, I’ll end with my last “3 and 3” for my time in
Spain:
Accomplishments:
1. Swimming
time cycles I’d never been able to prior to coming to Spain
2. Running
the two best 5kms off the bike that I’ve ever run
3. Despite
the above being solely outcomes, I’ve learnt to appreciate the HUGE benefit of
a total shift in mindset to focusing on process rather than outcome (and then
low and behold, the outcomes happen)
Areas of development:
1. My
skills – a safety jump in Tartu between swim laps? Ohhhhhh AWKWARD
2. Fear
– fear of failure, fear of pain, fear of anything. It must all GO
3. Learning
patience – improvements happen a little bit at a time, not suddenly all at once
