Oooops... Five Years Already! Part IV

Note: If you missed the previous installments of my 5 years in the USA recap, feel free to looking through part I, part II and part III first! ;-)

2008 was my year of change.

Looking through he pictures of the road trip with my brother, I was looking at myself and noticed that I don't recognize me in them. Of course I knew that it was me, but what I saw didn't reflect how I felt and I started out on a quest to finally look the way I felt, only to find out that being active and dropping the weight makes me feel so much more alive than I ever thought possible.

Half way through my weight loss journey, I spent a weekend at Folly Beach with a bunch of friends. And before anybody asks... No, this isn't my bike, we were just goofying around. During that weekend, I also ran along the beach for the first time in my life! ;-)

In June two friends/co-workers and I made the trip to Mexico City to see a friend getting married. After a couple of days we took off to Playa Del Carmen for some beach time.

Unfortunately, Terry wasn't able to join me on both trips, but sometime in July we spent an afternoon in Charlotte NC, where this picture was taken. It's one of my favorite pictures from the two of us ever!

Later that same month, I was on a business trip in Germany and my mom came to visit me over the weekend. I told her that I was in the process of losing weight, but she hadn't seen any pictures yet... I think I will never forget the look on her face when she saw my slimmed down version for the first time!

In August, I had to do another business trip to Germany and while already on the continent, I was able to join some friends from my Volkswagen days for a hiking trip along the Burren Way in Ireland.... That was a rainy week, even for Ireland! ;-)

That year, I also turned 30 and I can honestly say that starting off my 30s, I was fitter, healthier and happier than ever before in my life!

In November, I ran my first race EVER. The "Run the Falls" 8K organized by the Middle Tyger YMCA.

And two weeks later I ran my second race. The Dan Davis Memorial Turkey Trot 5K.

So long! ;-)

Oooops... Five Years Already! Part III

Note: This is the third installment of my photo documentary (doesn't that sound important? ;-) of my 5-year USA anniversay. If you missed part I and part II, it's never to late to check those out. And yes, it's really me on those pictures...

Moving on to 2007.

The travel year started with a road trip around Tennessee. We stopped in Nashville, Memphis, Jack Daniels Distillery and Chattanooga.

 
 Kicking off the grilling season with a Salsa BBQ in May of that year. This is also the first picture of Terry and me together, but at the time we didn't date yet.

Right after the BBQ, I headed out to a one week cruise with a friend. The stops were Cayman Islands, Belize and Cozumel.

In June, I had a trip to Seattle WA with another friend on tap to do a hiking trip around the state. While we were there, we also took did a one day trip to Canada.

By the time we celebrated the wedding of some friends, Terry and I were dating and this is our first couple shot! ;-)

Even though we just dated for three months, we decided to travel to Germany in September of that year, so he can meet my family. I guess we were quite serious from the get-go!

My brother came to visit for his Christmas/New Year vacation and we made a road trip all the way to Key West.

So long! ;-)

That was good, but time to move on....

Note: The planned post for today, was part III of my 5-year USA anniversary (see here for part I and part II), but I realized yesterday, that some of the pictures I wanted to post are on my work computer and not at home. That means part III has to wait until tomorrow evening.... And you are in for treat, because 2007 is the year Terry and I met. ;-)

I am celebrating my last day of the "7 Days of Laziness" by relaxing in bed while watching TV, reading and yes blogging.

Really, the last week didn't produce anything that would really fit for the blog... It was nothing much going on. No big or small adventures, no crazy workouts. Just taking a break from everything that resemble structured working out (I did my 10 minutes of core, but that was it.) and just indulged in A LOT of food. I am pretty sure I gained a couple several pounds, but I refuse to step on the scale right now.

My training cycle for the Spinx Half starts off tomorrow with a 30 minute run and some weights. That should ease me back into things. I will also try to do all of my runs this week in the morning, since temps are forecast in the higher 90s. Honestly, I expect the run tomorrow to feel really crappy... Just like the food I consumed throughout the week. Still, I don't regret a thing... I think I really needed to take this break and push the reset button.

One more note, because I am a little in a reflection mood right now. Looking through the pictures for my 5-year USA anniversary was hard. I picked out the shots that I liked and that I feel good about and there were so much more that I didn't even want to look at. I am talking about pictures prior to 2008. As hard as it was, it also let me take my little journey to a healthier and fitter me. Does that conflict to me indulgence week... I don't think so... It was just a break, a vacation from my go-go-go training lifestyle and exactly what I needed to reboot.

So long! ;-)

Oooops... Five Years Already! Part II

Note: This is the second part of my 5 years in the USA recap. The first part is here.


So what happened in 2006?

That January, we had several co-workers coming over from Germany and of course we had to road tip a little. While on the road, we made sure to grab a picture with the North Carolina and South Carolina welcome sign.

We also had to say good bye to a couple of interns and expatriates rotating back to Germany and what better gift than a group shot!! And of course a last visit to the "Blind Horse Saloon" was a must!

In June, I traveled to NYC for a business trip. My first time in the City!

In the fall of 2006 a friend of mine from Germany and I did a three weeks tour around the USA. We made stops in Washington D.C., NYC and Las Vegas. From there we drove with a rental to San Francisco and Los Angeles. It's almost impossible to cramp more into a three week period, but we had a BLAST!

For Christmas and New Year my parents came over to visit me. We did some traveling around SC/NC and then a road trip along the coast down to Florida.

 

And of course, this is just a glimpse of that year. ;-)

So long!