A Summary of the pros and cons of vacation

A rather extravagant vacation spent cruising around Australia should have absolutely no negatives! And I do not pretend that the negatives are anything more than the brutality of returning to real world. Australia is amazing. I was able to encounter all new animals, and experienced snorkeling at the GBR which was more beautiful than anything I've seen to date. The animal parks let us pet koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, and even a couple of dingo pups! Every adventure we went on was unique, and we enjoyed a variety of activities from snorkeling to beer tasting (alcoholic ginger beer was particularly interesting). The time on board the ship was filled with activities including quizzes, ping pong, darts, spin class, and even hitting the dance floor until 2:00 in the morning. We met a lot of fun people, including a couple of Canadian girls around our age. They were a nice change from the average 68 year old population on the boat.

The trouble with Australia, though, is that it requires a minimum of 18 hours on an airplane or in an airport to get there. Airplanes that fly across the world though, have some pretty sweet entertainment installed. I played Tetris for at least an hour before watching a movie, and then they served dinner, then I got peppermint tea, and took a nap. It wasn't too uncomfortable, really, but sleeping wasn't really the best.
The trouble with cruising is, of course, the 24 hour buffet, and the dessert and cheese carts. Needless to say, there were not enough spin classes to burn off the chocolate mud cake and peanut butter cookies consumed during my vacation. And, as I face the consequence of such indulgence, I find getting myself back to healthy eating a bit of a relief. I spent a couple of nights on the boat with a stomach ache from too much sugar, and it is nice to know there will not be so many free desserts near me for a long time :-). Another issue I had with this particular trip was the lack of mint leaves available. This may not be a big negative, but my drink of choice is a mojito! I had to "settle" for some crazy delicious pineapple beach drink or red wine.
The return to reality started with the flights home. This was a 36 hour process including 4 flights and 3 countries. I can officially say I have been to New Zealand though. The flights and airports did not allow for very good sleeping conditions. I would nap for an hour, and wake up in serious pain! I am also not great at going this long without a swim/bike/run ha ha. But, once it was all said and done, and we were home, reality hit even harder with the loads of laundry requiring attention. Oh, chores, how I did not miss you. My dad gave me a huge break though, because he had taken care of the house while we were away, washed the cars, and even bathed the dogs :-). Our dogs were very happy to have us home, and Ayesha is still insisting on snuggling next to me when I am home.

And, of course, I have returned to my training schedule. It was strange to get down to only 4 workouts a week. At first, I felt like that would be a terrible setback, but I have so much more mental energy for training that it is actually better that I took the time to completely relax. 3 months to go until IM, and I am reinvigorated, and ready to push to the end!