Bugs. Ugh.

This weekend my husband and I went out of town with friends. We drove to New York and enjoyed a whirlwind winery and brewery tour. Needless to say, I didn’t do much running Friday or Saturday (aka NONE). After a five hour car ride on Sunday, and pit-stop at my in-laws, we made it home. We were tired. We were hungry. And the last thing I wanted to do was run. So, I didn’t.

We grabbed dinner. Picked up the dog from the kennel. We even went to the park and played catch.

At 8:30pm, I decided it was time for a run. No excuses, right? So, I laced up my shoes (I really need new ones – that’s a post for another day), grabbed my watch, and out I went. Five minutes in – right as I was hitting my stride – a bug flew into my left eye. I stopped immediately, bent over, and my eyes watered so much, so quickly the bug literally popped out. Whew!

Not again!

After a minute I shook it off and started a slow jog for a few minutes until the unthinkable happened. Another bug flew into my eye (or maybe I ran into it?) – my right eye! Ugh. Two bugs, two eyes, one run?! This time the bug didn’t pop out. It was IN there. I could feel it. It was uncomfortable. As I jogged home I was thinking: is this the running gods punishing me for slacking off over the weekend?

An hour later – the bug finally came out. It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t pleasant.

Lesson learned? Run earlier in the evening – preferably when I can wear my sunglasses. I do not want to experience that again!

Is this a regular occurrence for late evening runners? And more importantly, what kind of bugs are in Dresden?

Duolingo

In 50 days I’ll be on a plane to Germany! Before I head to Dresden for the Dresden Marathon I’ll spend a few days in Berlin as a tourist with a dear friend from high school – and I am so excited! I haven’t been to Germany since I was a kid.

As a matter of fact, I started school in Germany. My dad was stationed in Augsburg and I have fond memories of my little brother running around the apartment trying to put sentences together in German. I was still in elementary school when we moved back to the United States but unfortunately we didn’t bring the German language with us. We stopped using it at home and my understanding of the German language is still that of a seven year old.

Fast forward several years later: my high school didn’t offer German, so I opted for 3.5 years of French and a year of Spanish. In college I took a year of French (thanks to my wonderful high school teacher – I was able to test out of the 101 courses!) and attempted to take one year of German. Man, my German was rusty. I struggled through that class – but I finished it. Then I followed up with a Germanic Mythology course – which I loved – but we didn’t have to speak German in class so my German skills slowly slipped away – again.

I’ve been out of college for a few years now – seven to be exact – and haven’t used much German in my day-to-day. My German is still rusty. In preparation for my trip as an athlete ambassador I downloaded the app Duolingo. This is a free app without ads – seriously, NO ADS! – offers Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, and English. It’s quick. It’s fun. And before I know it I find myself spending 20+ minutes learning new vocabulary words and phrases. After using the app for a few days I quickly shared it with Daniel, Krista, Sarah, and Shake – who have all since downloaded it as well. We’re loving it – and Dorit at Dresden Sister City, Inc. can’t wait to test our skills.

Duolingo has fantastic reviews. And here’s another one: I’m still on “basic” but already I can’t recommend this app enough. It’s fun, keeps score (important for those of us who are competitive), and has an adorable green owl that acts as your coach – reminding us we all need a little push from time to time.

If you’re wanting to learn a new language check out Duolingo.

Two Months to Race Day!

I can’t believe it – two months from TODAY we’ll be representing Columbus and running in the Dresden Marathon (half for me).

We’re training, eating clean (well, mostly clean – who can say no to food trucks?), hydrating, and most importantly – having fun! We can’t wait to represent Columbus this fall.

Hello! Or should we say, Hallo?!

Welcome to Running to Dresden – a blog that will document the adventures of Columbus athlete ambassadors Daniel, Jamie, Krista, Sarah, and Shake.

This fab five was selected to represent Columbus at the Dresden Marathon on October 19, 2014. Follow this blog as they share their training regimes, running resources, travel plans, and who knows – maybe a haiku or two about finding the perfect earbuds.

Interested in supporting this exchange? Your tax deductible donation to Dresden Sister City, Inc. would help the organization assist our Athlete Ambassadors in paying for their flights to Dresden. Every gift, large or small, makes a difference! Click here to learn more.