I’m sitting at the Geneva airport awaiting my flight from Geneva and thought I’d check in to say hello and share some thoughts from my trip.
Things have been a bit crazy around here lately and I promise that they are going to slow down a little bit, I think, after this week.
While my week revolved primarily around work, which I’ll share more about in a minute, here are a few pictures from workouts and meals this week.
1) Never under estimate a salad. Last night’s nicoise salad was hands down one of the best salads I’ve had in a while. Maybe it was the salty sardines or the small potatoes but it satiated me after a long day of work while also delivering some much needed vegetables and protein to my body. We won’t even discuss how much this salad cost as I was being fiscally responsible by ordering the least expensive entree on the hotel’s room service menu.
2) 30 minutes is enough time to squeeze in an intense workout! Yesterday and this morning I pushed the snooze button a few too many times on my phone. Instead of running 5-6 miles on the treadmill I was stuck with less than 30 minutes. Anytime I have less than 30 minutes to workout I turn to a speed and incline workout. I start by doing 1 minutes of pushups, hop on the treadmill to run a 5k as fast as possible, then end with a 1 minute plank. The speed gets my heart pumping as I jam to my favorite upbeat, high tempo playlist which is still very Beyonce heavy after last week’s Super Bowl show.
3) I’m exhausted. You would think that two evenings with no plans would mean that I could go to bed early after a day at the office. But, instead of sleeping, I fell into the time change trap. Each morning I arrived at the office around 7am and then left 12 or so hours later. But, when I was leaving my US counterparts were just finishing lunch. Instead of going to sleep I worked until midnight each night responding to emails, catching up on work, and preparing for the next day’s meetings. I have a high level of respect for my Geneva counterparts who have learned how to unplug and ignore our US emails that they receive each evening while they’re at home with their families.
4) Feeling inept. I only speak 1.5 languages. I say 1.5 because I am fluent in English and can still comprehend Spanish quite well both audibly and while reading documents. If immersed in a Spanish speaking country for a week or so most of my speaking ability would come back but I’m not there right now. Each time I’m in Geneva I’m surrounded by people who can easily speak 3-4 different languages. This is something I’ve never experienced in the United States and it will forever leave me in awe. I’m seriously considering swapping out French for a full pull-up in my list of New Year’s Resolutions. If I arrive in this summer able to even carry on a simple conversation, or greet everyone and place my own orders at restaurants and bars on my own, I’ll feel seriously accomplished. I wonder how long runs to Rosetta Stone would work?
Okay my flight is boarding! Au revoir!
