Postcard from Greece- Day 3- The one where Amie walks around Athens. A lot.

Today I finally get my Greek yogurt! I have been waiting and waiting for this moment. And it is everything I thought it would be. Thick and creamy and I put honey all over it so it is sweet and amazing. I am literally in heaven as I eat this amazing Greek treat. The rest of breakfast is pretty good. Runny scrambled eggs (I steer clear of those) some sausage (also not amazing) and grilled tomatoes and mushrooms. I like! I also am a fan of the pies they have. Spinach pies, cheese pies, cream pies. They are like little piece of tasty heaven.

I'm eating alone as I haven't really met a lot of people yet. I slept most of yesterday. I know that will change though. I finish breakfast, which also includes a piece of chocolate cake with hazelnut spread and a whipped cream thingy with pistachios. I head up to my room and get ready for the day. We are heading out for a bus tour of Athens, including the Acropolis, so I wear jeans and a t-shirt and bring my jacket. Bus picks us up at 9a and there is a big debate over the pink bus. I head over for it since I know it will be easy to find in the throngs of people at the tour sites. I get on the bus and sit next to a friendly looking woman, who I learn is named Carol from Arkansas. She turns out to be a loud seat partner, someone who reminds me a lot of my mother in her ability to talk with everyone about anything. She is also a teacher and is soon making us laugh and all talk with each other.

Our tour guide is an older woman and I wonder how she is going to be able to maneuver the steps. Her accent is think, which is endearing at first but soon becomes hard to follow and I try to stay focused and not tune out. We get to the Acropolis and she tells us we have until 11am to walk around. Thank goodness I have my book. Soon Carol, Ben and I are off on our own with the aid of Rick Steve and his walking tour of the Acropolis. At Bruele Gate (the gate that opens up into the Proplyea at the west end of the Acropilis) we meet up with two women who are traveling together. Joel is a teacher from Maryland and Mary is a pychologist from Conneticut. They join our group and the five of us are soon walking around, taking in the sights and learning from the book. There are tons of people up there already this morning. Lots of tour groups and a few groups from schools. Everyone has a tour guide, but we are sticking with the book. As we enter through the Proplyea up to where the Parthenon stands, we run into Clyde Drexler. I don't know who he is, but I do immediately see him. He is a 7 foot tall, good looking black man in the middle of tourists and school children. When Carol finds out he's "famous" she runs up to him, asks for his picture, and then comes running back to us to ask who he is. Ben, being a guy, knows who he is and all his stats. We are star struck, but don't go bother him. We wave and smile and watch as other groups overtake him for pictures.

We continue our walk around the Acropolis, breaking away from each other and then coming back. We all take tons of pictures and ask lots of questions. We learn about the Greek revolution, the history of Athena's temple and what all the ruins on the Acropolis used to be. There are dogs all over and I ask one of the tour guides what the story is with them. She tells me they are stryas, left by locals, and the government takes care of them. They collar them, give them names, give their shots and neuter them. Then they are let back onto the streets and fed by the locals and the government. I smile at a country that thinks to well of it's animals and understands that they are not a nuisance, just a part of life.

I begin to see that is a lot of the Greek mentality. They just embrace life and everything it gives, the good and the bad. It's the oldest civilization in the Western world and I'm sure that kind of wisdom comes with the age and the history. America tries so hard, all the time. Tries hard to be the best, stay on top of everything and continue to imporive, at any cost. Greece just tries to live the best life it can. I like that.

We finish up with the Acropolis and meet the bus back at the base of the hill. The parking lot is packed now and I am thankful we have a pink bus to find. We all pile in and start talking to each other. I meet a couple from Florida, a couple from Delaware and a mother/daughter couple from Virginia. We chat for a bit and watch the city pass us by. Not very quickly though. The streets are small and trees are low so the driving is slow going. We marvel at the tour bus' ability to get around without hitting anyone. The next stop is the Stadium, where the race finishes on Sunday. We all get out for a quick stop and take a few pictures and some people use the rest room. We meet more people from other buses as we stand there. It is proving to be a great group of very friendly people and I feel completely at home. The stadium is amazing. It is made of marble and can hold 50,000 people. I close my eyes and imagine running through the opening on Sunday. I like to think there will be 50,000 people cheering me on as I finish. The thought makes me smile.

We load back on the bus and head to the Temple of Olypian Zeus and then to the expo. The Temple of Zeus is quite a sight. It is 7 columns and used to house a 70 foot statue of Zeus. The Romans came and added their touch of design (they did that to a lot of the buildings when they took over) and the whole ruins is a park where you can go in an take pictures and walk around. I become the unofficial tour guide, as I have a loud voice and am holding the book. Everyone in the group is really nice and all are awed by the history we are looking at. We walk across the street to the expo to get our packaets. Not much to say about the expo. Sometimes a race expo is filled with samples and stores and things to look at. This was a maze of people and small booths and not much to go with. I end up hanging out with Joel for the whole day, and she and I have a good time. We have the same temperment and outlook on life. She is much more outspoken than I am, and just celebrated her 60th birthday, but we get along quite well. After the expo we start looking at where we want to walk around. We decide on the Plaka, the oldest part of Athens which is now a huge market for anything you can want in Greece.

We get lost getting there. The streets of Athens are winding, not very well marked and don't realy give a direction. We do know that as long as the Acropolis is on our right we are heading to the hotel. So we walk for a bit, ask for directions (One time getting the answer "walk down to the end and turn left. From there ask another person.) We stop into stores and browse for a while, periodically buying what we see. I pull out my spreadsheet of gifts (I have too much time at work) and Joel laughs at me. I shrug, but I know it's the only way to keep myself on track with buying things.

We come across another set of ruins, a library, and walk through that and take pictures. I get yelled at when I sit on one of the marble pieces. But all in all it is a quiet place. It is amazing to be in a bustling city and standing in the middle of ruins that have been there for centuries. It is peaceful, quiet and awe inspiring.

After the library we head to the hotel. Sounds easier than it is. We walk around and find another couple also trying to find their way to their hotel. They are from Canada and are on a six-week tour of Europe. They did the islands of Greece for three days and are leaving on Sunday for Italy. A feel a pang of envy that they have so much time to do that. Someday....

Long story short- we find the hotel. We have been walking for about 5 hours and are both exhausted. But it's the night of the cocktail reception so there is no rest for the running. We head to our rooms and I take a quick shower to was off the traveling. At 6pm I head down to the ballroom where there is an open bar, with Greek wines, German beers and American pop, and waiters walking around with chicken, beef, smoked salmon and spanikopita. Our group meets up, adding in Carols roommate Heather and a woman named Dawn who Mary and Joel know. We meet up with Greg and his wife Ally who are from Florida and are great fun. Always smiling and living a full life. They look like people you want to hang out with.

There is much laughing and eating and drinking. I have white wine and lots of food. Laura, my friend from college is scheduled to meet me at 7pm so I head up to the lobby to find her. 20 minutes later she still hasn't arrived so I think that maybe her plane got delayed or plans changed. I head back down stairs and am met with plates and plates of sweets. The baklava is amazing. Little bite-sized pieces of honey filled heaven. I eat three in one swift motion and have another glass of the white wine. We are all laughing and talking about races. Runners love to talk about their races, what they've done and what they're doing next. I have never heard so much running talk. Everyone is so pasisonate about this hobby we have. I am in a room filled with people who completely understand why I do what I do and why I love it.

There is more to this day- meeting up with Laura and getting lost in Athens at 2am- but for now I leave, off to another adventure. I'll write more soon.

Thanks for listening!

Postcard from Greece- Day 1- The one where Amie travels to another country

I have quartet rehearsal tonight and thank goodness my soprano (Becca) is awesome and lets me use her credit card to book my shuttle. Time just got away from me and I realize that if I don't book my shuttle right now I am going to have to walk to LAX. I might as well have, when I see what time the shuttle is coming to get me- 3a!! For a trip that takes only 20 min without traffic. But I book it, sing some carols with my peeps, cry a little bit, and then head home to pack. Because it's not really a trip until you wait until the last minute to pack your things.

I get home, put Harry Potter 1 in my dvd player (I WILL watch all 6 movies before 7.1 comes out) and start on my list. I have been obsessivly making lists for the past month. Didn't want to forget anything important. Lists about what to pack, what to buy, where to buy it, how much money to bring, budgeting out what I get to spend and where. Luckily I have a job that affords me such time luxuries!

I finish packing at around 2a and start in on my International Marketing homework. My goal is to get everything done so I didn't have to bring anything even resembling homework with me on this trip. That means doing a weeks worth of homework and class worth for both my classes in two days. I succeed! I get everything done (including sending out a transcript request for grad school aps) A few last minute freak outs about remembering everyting and I'm ready to meet the shuttle at 2:45 when it pulls into my driveway.

Thank goodness it's so early! Read the sarcasm there. We get to LAX and it's EMPTY! Just me and about 50 other people waiting for the gates to open and the day to start. I find a chair in the corner, put my feet up on my suitcase, wrap my arms around my carry on and put on my Greek lesson in my iPod. And promptly fall asleep. At 4:30 I wake up to find the airport much busier. I check in, hand over my bag to the Gods of Delta and procceed through security into the gate area. And I still have 2 hours before my flight leaves. So I find another corner, put my iPod back in and close my eyes one more time. I wake up in time to hear the first boarding group being called. I quickly step into the ladies room, then fill up my water bottle at a water fountain and I make my way on the plane.

A flight to JFK where I sleep through most of it. An hour lay over in NYC then on the flight for Athens!! I settle into my seat and see that there are movies right in front of me. I have my own little theater to watch movies and TV shows. This flight is going to fly by. I should sleep, but I spend the time catching up on all my Netflix movies that I have wanted to see. "Just Wright", "Letters to Juliette", "Twilight: Eclipse" (which I put in so I can sleep through it, which I do. Thank you Stephanie Meyers for writing such droll plots so I can get some sleep), and then "Knight and Day" which was much better than I thought it was going to be.

I only freak out once. This freaking out when traveling is new to me. I didn't ever freak out with flying before, but as we pass over the Atlantic Ocean I start to get a little panicky and have to stop thinking. The idea of being suspended over the ocean really bothers me and I can't wrap my head around the logistics of it. When we start to fly over the dry land of Europe and make our way south to Greece I can feel myself physically relax.

We land and I start to wrap my head around the idea of being in a foreign country. I'm in GREECE!! I make my way through the airport, through passport checking (where I correctly said "good morning" and "thank you" to the agent in Greek) and to the currency exchange. I now have Eruos in my pocket and time on my hands. I meet up with the people from Marathon Tours and we make our way to to hotels. I learn there are 900 runners with the tour and lots of people from all over the US. I meet a guy and girl in from San Diego and we commiserate about the long flight.

We get to the hotel and check in. There is a run at 4p and I am certain I am going to make it. I need to run after sitting for 15+ hours. But just a quick shower and nap. My hotel room is small, with no window, which I am still battling. I do not like not being able to see outside. It really bothers me. But I take it as a sign I need to be outside my room more!

So here I am in Greece. GREECE! And I'm taking a nap. Finally. My body ius quick to remind me that it hasn't slept more than 4 hours in the past 48 and maybe lying down is the best thing. But there is nothing cooler than napping in a foreign country with the thought that when I wake up, anything is possible.

Inspiring Myself Sometimes

I ran my 15^th marathon yesterday, my 18^th race. And I still love it.

We started in Dodger stadium. I have a picture of me ON the field. It was awesome! Then met a great girl at the starting line named Tiffany who was also running with the RoadRunners. We ran together for a while. It was her first marathon and she was waaaay better trained for it than I was. I signed up for the LARR in September with the idea that I could get my best time in Los Angeles because I lived here and could train and wouldn’t have to fight jet lag or anything. Well, I was very wrong. The LARR train on Saturday mornings and usually that is a good time. Except when caroling season starts and every rehearsal is Saturday morning. The caroling season gets going and gigs go until 1a on Friday nights and the thought of waking up at 5:30 to run for 10 miles doesn’t appeal. Then I got cast in Merrily and that show rehearsed Saturday mornings at 9am. By the time the show opened there was only 4 more weeks of training left and I was exhausted by the show.

So my brilliant plan to train here in LA and rock the house with my run kind of went by the wayside. But I did finish. This year there was a new course and I really liked it. I have a goal to run a marathon in every state and one of every continent. I didn’t want to run LA because I drive these streets every day. Running on then seemed a little silly. And the old course used to just run through downtown and Hollywood. Not even a pretty course. This year was the 25^th annual race and they changed the course. I hope they keep this one.

It started at Dodger Stadium and wound down to Eagle Rock and Silver Lake area. It was pretty. Then through Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Then we got to run down Rodeo Drive. That might have been my favorite part. We then ran through the Wilshire district and then down into Santa Monica. We ran past iconic Hollywood/LA mainstays and it was really fun. I met a really nice woman named Tiffany at the starting line and ran with her for a while. She eventually ran ahead of me and met up with the pace group she had been training with. It was her first marathon and she seemed to do really well. She was my age and so bright and bubbly and really made my first third of the race a good experience. She made me smile. And seemed interested in running again so hopefully I’ll get to run with her again.

It took me over 6 hours to finish this race, not what I wanted. I wanted to finish in under 5:30, under 5 hours would have been ideal. I want to prove that I can do it! I want to make that next goal and beat my time. I know I can do it. I have this big goal and I’m going to meet it.

There are other little tidbits from yesterday. I have been nauseous fairly consistently for almost 2 weeks now. Started on March 9^th and has been going ever since. I can’t really eat anything spicy or fiber rich. I feel sick to my stomach all the time and nothing looks good, nothing sounds good and nothing is even tempting. (I’m not pregnant.) So yesterday I was feeling very poor and got to vomit into a porta-potty. I have to say, not even remotely on my top ten list of things I want to do again. It was disgusting.

My ad’s mile is mile 24, that’s his birthday. Last April, in Nashville, I listened to the same song the entire mile. “Life in a Northern Town”. I cried, I sang along, I looked crazy as I worked through some of the pain of his death. In May when I ran San Diego that song played at mile 24. And in Seattle it played again at mile 24. I didn’t really register that it was all on the same mile. My iPod is on shuffle and I figured I was just more aware because by mile 24 you’re not really thinking straight. Then yesterday I crossed into mile 24 and the song came on. I realized that he must be doing it. It’s his mile and he wants me to hear that song. It keeps me moving and it allows me to cry. And boy do I cry. I cry for the pain, for the loss of him, for the physical pain of having walked for 5+ hours, for my life, for missing him, for him not being here anymore. It is very cathartic and so personal.

Maybe that’s why I do this. I feel so selfish when I run. I don’t usually run for a charity (Although that is going to change this year. All my runs will be in honor of someone or for a charity). It takes me a long time to do them and I’m usually alone. I find my racing selfish. I kind of felt like a sham yesterday. Had a little pity party. Then I look at the people who go out and run because they see it’s possible. I have so many friends running a race this year. Ja is putting together a run in June. Erin is running in Sept. Three of my Merrily people are running in May. Heather and Mona are running in NYC in April. ALM is doing their main race in October and I know Kiersten and Jessica and all the ALMers will be there. These are my friends, my people, who are getting out there and pushing themselves to do something they didn’t think they could.

Maybe it’s not selfish. I want to live a good life and change the world for better. I want my time here to make a difference. And perhaps one purpose of mine is to motivate people to push themselves and prove that they can do it. That they shouldn’t say “never” because that limits them.

The LA Marathon was awesome. I am really glad I did it and am so thankful to all my friends who supported me through facebook and texting. My life is better because of racing, because of my friendships and because this is a great time to be alive.

My Marathon Calendar for the Year

Every year around this time I start to get the itch to travel. And my hobby of running marathons helps satiate that. I am able to stay in shape, have a goal and travel to different parts of the country and the world. This year is no exception. Last year I went a little crazy. I had a goal to finish the Rock n Roll series because at the end of it there is an AWESOME medal. And I achieved it and I got the medal. I ran 4 full marathons and 3 halfs. I traveled to Nashville, San Diego, Seattle, Phoenix, Chicago, San Jose and Las Vegas. I stayed in neat hotels and met great people. I got to run some of them with friends and some of them just had people meet me at the finish line. Maybe I’ll devote a post per race…..that would be a good idea….gives me a chance to relive the fun!

This year I have two races signed up and three more in my head. I’m running Los Angeles on March 21^st. I signed up for this race in September when I had nothing but 30 weeks ahead of me to train. I had just opened “Steel” and thought my life was slowing down a bit and I could actually train with the LA Road Runners. Well that didn’t happen. I think I have run with them a total of three times in the past four months. Steel Magnolias took up my time, and then caroling started and that rehearses on Saturday morning when the LARR train. Then I booked “Merrily” which also rehearses on Sat mornings. I was out of luck but kept pushing towards the LA Marathon goal. I get the weekly emails and the motivation and the kind words. The race is in less than a month and I am so excited.

I never wanted to run LA. The course used to go through downtown and in a loop and through not amazing parts of the city. My thought was always, “I drive this road every day, why would I want to run it? Especially since I run marathons to see the cities they are held in.” Well this year is the 25^th anniversary and they changed the course. Now it goes from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica pier. It runs through Rodeo drive and Brentwood and is going to be really pretty. Plus it’s neat to be part of something that is in my own city, kind of neat to be swept up in the fun of things.

So I’m doing LA. Then OC is May 2^nd. I’m getting a group of people together to run/walk that one with me. It’s going to be awesome! That is only a half, though, so it’s done just for fun and to let people know they can do it.

May 15^th is Idaho. If I am not doing a show, I am running that race. I will get to see my good friend Sarah, who lives about 40 miles from Boise, which means I also won’t have to get a hotel room or pay for anything. All I need to do is the plane ticket and the race fee. I’m so there! And I will be able to knock another state off my list.

Then I would like to find one for August. Maybe Oregon since the weather would be amazing. And I love the drive up there.

And then there is GREECE!!! I am so excited for this race. It’s the 2500 anniversary of the original running of the marathon. And it follows the actual course and finishes in the Olympic coliseum, where the Olympians finish. That’s insane! I have me deposit down for two people and I am so very ready to go. The only sad part is that I don’t have anyone to go with. And I want someone to go with me. But it’s hard to find someone who can take a week off work or school and pay the $3000 this trip is costing me. I don’t expect anyone to be jumping at the gate. Well, okay, yes I do. But I don’t have anyone. I’m not dating anyone. I’m not married. I’m not in a running team where there is another runner as excited about this as I am. My friends can’t afford it, or already have their big vacations planned. My family is in the middle of a million things and can’t go. So it looks like it’s just me.

I’m trying to stay positive and keep my smile on. I’m trying to look at the good and the fact that I am paying for this whole thing up front, no new debt, and I have this amazing opportunity to run this. It’s something I have been waiting for since last August. And it is going to be amazing.

I have a great year of running ahead of me. This is something I love so much and want more people to do. And I wish there was some way I could make money doing this. Someday I will find a way. Until then I will work hard to make money so I can spend it on the awesomeness that is running races.