The past few weeks have all been spent abroad and my access to the internet was limited, so I apologize for not writing more frequently. I spent most of the month of October in Virginia, Ireland, and England visiting family and taking a mini training break (although I still worked out.)
First, I visited my old stomping ground, Lynchburg College, for homecoming weekend. It was great to see some of my friends and teammates. While there, I also got to visit the barn where I used to work and get in some quality saddle time. I haven't really ridden since the summer, so it felt great to get back in the tack. I ran some of my old trails and even swam in the Y pool where I first started to swim (Pricilla, this is your shout-out!).
My mom, dad, little brother Patrick, and I then flew to Ireland to visit my sister, Erin, who is currently studying in County Wicklow. We met up with other families whose children were also in the study abroad program and got to tour the country, visit with the students, and generally get to experience the best that Ireland has to offer.
After a week in Ireland, my mother, brother, and I took a ferry from Dublin to Liverpool where we then took a train to Sheffield to visit my older brother, Will. While in England, we visited Manchester (home of the world's most supported soccer team, Manchester United), Bakewell (famous for the Bakewell Tart), and London (famous for lots of things, including but not limited to the 2012 Olympic Games). The weather was absolutely fantastic the whole time and it was great to catch up with Erin and Will.
Upon returning to Denver, I was met with the realization that even though it is October, winter has arrived. In fact, as I write this, there's over 18 inches of snow outside and I'm completely stranded in my house. I'm curious to see how I'll fit my training around the weather conditions and what crazy things my coaches will make me do. Perhaps push-ups in snow drifts or something awful like that??
Thanks for checking in on me!
