A Honey (swim, bike, run) moon.

Somehow it's been almost a month since we've gotten home from our glorious 12 day honeymoon,
but as usual, better late than never right?

The trip started (after a long goodbye to Dallas) in luxury as we boarded our plane and made our way into first class for the long trip to Tokyo. Turns out there was a benefit to racking up some serious United miles over the years and using them all for this one flight. This made for a happy 6 '4' husband, a happy me, and a pretty great way to start the big trip.

We landed in Tokyo somewhat rested and eventually made our way to our hotel. Working our way through the masses of people and the Tokyo subway system with our luggage and my bike box, was not the highlight of our trip. But we got there and started our short 2 day stint in Tokyo early the next morning.
We had a list of the top 10 things to do in Tokyo and had a solid 5 that we were hoping to knock out in 1 day. One of them was the Tsukiji fish market where everyday the public can line up at 430am, and they let the first 120 people into this tuna auction which is apparently a pretty cool sight to see. Jetlag was on our side as we were up already at 330am the next morning so we jumped in a cab, only to get to the fish market and find that it was closed. Apparently it closes on some random Wednesdays, and that was the random one. The cab driver still dropped us off and we found ourselves wandering in a random Tokyo neighborhood at 430am trying to figure out what to do. Naturally, we found an open convenience store, got some coffee and candy and sat on a bench at 445am eating our Japanese candy. Pretty amusing at the time. And still now.
We made our way back to the hotel and got the day started...again. We went on this awesome run through this park to this temple that was incredibly peaceful. We got back to the hotel just in time for a for real earthquake. Like, for real. Where the hangers in the closet shake and everything. A unnerving, yet slightly cool experience but one I'd be happy about not re-living anytime soon.
We continued the day with the Tokyo tower, some tasty Ramen noodles, seeing some Sumo wrestling which is just what you would imagine it to be. These huge guys wearing small pieces of 'cloth' trying to push eachother out of the sumo ring. A really cool thing to see and learn about. Plus, it made Brian feel better about all the pizza he ate the night after the wedding... That night we tried one of the local restaaurants. All which seat a whopping 12-15 people, filled with smoke (they still smoke inside, blah) and a pretty tough language barrier. I still don't really know what we ordered, something about a shrimp ball, but everyone was friendly enough, we got to try some sake and the food was decent.
The next morning we got back to the fish market, missed the tuna auction again but had some pretty fresh and delicious sushi for breakfast at 6am.
All in all, Tokyo was a cool place but nowhere I would run back to. A tough language barrier, commerce and people everywhere (think 10 Manhattans) and just a much different culture. Glad to have gone but no rush to go back.

From Tokyo we made our way to Yokohama where I was to race ITU Yokohama with some other Team USA athletes. This race was built into the trip long ago and the reason Japan was added to the trip. Everyone kept commenting on how great it was that our honeymoon included a triathlon but really, it was only fitting. And Brian was such a trooper and supporter to agree to making this a dual purpose trip. A little honeymoon, a little race. No biggie right!  And this was another chance for me to get my precious points I needed on my Road2Rio.
The race went pretty well, even with the downpour that accompanied it. I was hoping to take first (aren't we all) but ended up with second. I improved from the previous race and as long as I continue to do that at each race, I can't complain. Plus I got the points i needed to keep myself where I needed to be in the world rankings for the next big race. And of course, any time spent with Team USA is a good time by me.

From Japan we flew to Hawaii, crossed the International Date Line and the world turned twice and went backwards. That didn't actually happen but the time change was brutal. Leaving Japan at midnight, getting to Hawaii at noon and all turned around.
We got off the plane a little dazed, woke up a bit from the breeze in our convertible and made our way directly to Pearl Harbor. Where even in our sleepy state were amazed at the history and the meaning behind the memorial. A sight to see and a way to remember how lucky we all are. Just like so many other days, a day to never forget.
After we got some sleep, the next 5 days were pretty dang amazing. Hiking up Diamonds Head crater, a Luau, where I learned to hula, Brian learned to spear throw and we got to show off our dance moves up on stage.
A luxurious stay at Turtle Bay resort on the North shore where we spent the days relaxing by the pool with a drink in hand but also taking advantage of all the island had to offer. Think horseback riding on the beach, snorkeling, helicopter tours, picnics on the beach, morning coffee on our balcony, surfing (yes, I got up!), drinking coconut water directly from the coconut, sunrises, sunsets..this was a honeymoon!
Not to mention that we had a brief run in with Dog the Bounty Hunter. If you don't know who that is (don't worry I didn't either) Brian can tell you all about him.
We got to facetime with Dallas often and knew that the grandmas were taking great care of him. Thank you Grandma Deb and Nana! It wasn't until the second to last night when the majority of the conversation revolved around Dallas and we realized we were probably ready to get back home and see our little man.

We left Hawaii as a sun- kissed happily married couple ready to get back home and see our boys. 12 amazing days and a trip that we will never, ever forget. The craziness of Tokyo, some swim bike and run action and the relaxing days of Hawaii.

Like I said, it's somehow been a whole month since we've been back and we've gotten back into our routine. Brian is back at work after his shoulder surgery. Back to playing golf and as of this Friday, hockey. We did a local triathlon last weekend and I'm back training and getting ready for my next big race at a test event in Rio on Aug 1st.
Dare2tri has had a busy few weeks with our life changing 3 day camp, an inaugural military camp and getting ready for some upcoming races. Our motto 'one inspires many' is as accurate as it gets.

Dallas continues to be as cute as can be. Seriously. I know I am biased, but he really is like, the cutest most handsome, sweetest boy ever. And already 6.5 months old! We've started swim lessons, he eats bananas, he laughs, he smiles all day long and he'll be crawling in the next few weeks. He stares at Jake and just giggles. Jake however, does not feel the same, and still has not returned the giggles. Once Dallas starts crawling he's not going to have much of a choice. Dallas has already chosen Jake as his bff with 4 legs. Benji, Keri's son, is his chosen 2 legged bff.

So, life continues. A wedding, a honeymoon and now back to it.
I'll get into more of the training and the racing and all that jazz next time, this is long enough.

But there you are. A honey (swim, bike, run) moon.
Until next time,

PEACE OUT!