Edinburgh

Thought I might put down a few more notes about life here. It is pretty fun! Since school started on August 6th we have been very busy. Classes are from 9 am till 5 most days. We do have 2 separate, hour long breaks throughout the day which really helps to break things up and aid in coffee fuel-ing. There are cafes like everywhere which I love. I still love studying in these spots so a lot of my evenings are spent sitting in a corner with my drink, reading about bones and muscles. We have our first exams on September 17th but last day of classes on the 7th so it will be a break full of studying in-between. I am trying to keep up as we go though since there is such a huge amount of information given. Enough about school cause that's boring.

The city itself is pretty great because it is fairly big but easily walk-able (when it is not raining). The buses run all over the place but I am still not used to which number goes where and all that. I am hoping that will come with time :) Another great thing is that Arthur's Seat, an old volcanic rock, is literally in town. It just beautiful to look at but also wonderful to hike/run on. There are trails and paths all over it and people are constantly there getting active. I ran up it one day from my dorm and it took me 25 minutes from my room to the top and it involved some very heavy huffing and puffing towards the end! It is a wonderful outlet though and perfect place to get away from the city without even leaving it. Plus a look out from the side/top promises a vast landscape and ocean vistas!

Training has been interesting.....I am so so pleased that my coach has chosen to continue coaching me, officially making me the most high maintenance athlete ever. I never cease to bother him! I go through waves of wanting to train and get my sessions in to having this like huge urge to not do a work out or skip something. 98% of the time that feeling leaves once I start working out. I have been biking a bit outside of the city but it can be like Lexington in that you have to ride a ways to get to the good riding. Of course there are better areas closer but I have not found them yet. The tri club here seems to be pretty prominent and the University also has tri, biking and swimming clubs but they will not start until the University starts again in September so I am sort of on my own right now to figure everything out. A lot of the problem of training is this like extreme guilt I get that I should be studying instead. I had a meeting with 2 of my professors today though and they were very encouraging of my habit and really emphasized the need to have something outside of veterinary school to focus on or my brain will fail me.

I was planning on coming back for the Toyota Cup in Dallas but after looking at flight times and class times it is not looking promising. I also looked up races over here and was shocked at how many there were over here in October still!!! So now I have decided to race the Garmin Barcelona triathlon October 7th. I shouldn't have to miss any school and it is a huge race. We swim in the Baltic and ride around town so it should be a cool event. I think they had 6,000 participants last year within the sprint and Olympic distance events. As of now that is my plan! Anyone know anyone in Barcelona??