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September 15, 2004
Lots of Traveling!
Plane Ride to the Netherlands
On Wednesday morning I was hoping to get up and run about 4 miles on the track to practice running an 8 minute pace. I however, was too tired and had too much to do to get ready for my trip so I decided to take the day off. I had to pack my bags and attend one morning class before driving to CT to drop my car off and then be driven to the airport in Windsor.
My plane for the Netherlands left CT at 4:30. I had to fly into Newark, NJ and wait one hour for my next flight. I was pretty excited and anxious to get the main trip started. In the airport I walked around a lot, knowing that I'd be sitting for a very long time. My second flight left on time and was scheduled to be a 6 hour flight. I would land in the Netherlands at 8:30 in the morning. I knew I would not be getting much sleep but I decided I would sleep and rest all day on Thursday at the bungalos where the team would be staying.
It was very difficult to sleep on the six hour flight because of the lights that were on for most of the trip and the three service meals that they delivered during the flight. I did my best to try to nap but it was very uncomfortable and I unfortunately was stuck in a middle seat. I was looking forward to arriving and meeting my team to find a bed and get some real sleep.
When I arrived to the airport I realized I did not know exactly where I was meeting the team. I decided to find a phone and check my voice mail. When I checked my messages I found out that my ride would not arrive until 5 p.m. This would give me eight hours to explore, wait, and try to rest. I was really disappointed and frustrated that I had to wait so long. Initially I thought I'd put my bags in a locker and take a train into Amsterdam to enjoy the local sights. However, I realized I was totally exhausted having gotten very little sleep. I decided to look for a quiet place in the corner of the airport to try to nap for a few hours and then decide what to do once I felt more rested. I found an area where there was very little traffic and decided to extend my legs out over onto my bags and sort of wrap as much as I could around me to prevent anything from being taken from me should I actually fall asleep. I dozed off for about an hour and a half and decided to walk around and get some food to increase my energy level. The airport had a grocery store located in it which was very nice. I was able to get some fresh bread and fruit and a drink. I felt much better after this but realized I did not want to go into the city alone when I was feeling so tired. I was afraid I would not make it back to the airport on time and then totally miss my ride. I spent the next five hours in the same routine, dozing on and off, walking around the airport, and doing a little bit of school work.
Close to 5 p.m. I found one of my teammates wandering around the airport. This was a huge relief. We waited together for our team manager to arrive. It was not until 7 p.m. that we were all united together with the rental car and all of the individuals who would be driving to the race site with us. The drive to our bungalo took over three hours. We were all pretty exhausted and getting very hungry. Once we arrived into our destination town of Winschoten we realized that all of the restaurants were closed. By the time we got to our bungalo it was well past midnight. I was really beat and decided to eat a free saltines with peanut butter, hit the sack, and not wake up until noon the next day.
Posted by mary at September 15, 2004 7:35 AM