This has been a crazy whirlwind of a month. I got back from
the UK April 27th, and then was heading back to Glasgow/London May
12th. In between, I didn’t actually unpack from the two trips and my
life was in a bit of a limbo (here but not enough to settle back in). During my
two weeks home, I hit training pretty hard, knowing it would be difficult to
get back to it once I left again. I was reminded that the humidity really
affects me (my 50 mile ride in high humidity was much more difficult than my 72
mile ride the week before, although it was more enjoyable since it was with
Graham catching up).
I started off my 2nd trip with a 45 mile bike
ride/6 mile brick workout that went awesome. It was on the same roads as the
week before but I felt so strong the entire time. My flight to Glasgow was at 9
at night. I discovered the key to me being able to sleep on a plane is a 4 hour
hard workout, a beer before the flight, and flying at my normal bedtime!
Glasgow was cold/rainy. The first night there, the winds
were so bad that my friends big, sturdy umbrella completely broke. Workwise
though, Glasgow was awesome. I was going in a new role within my team, and I
quickly discovered that I love the role. We basically met with the head of the departments
there, walked through their business processes (updating process flows), and
did risk assessments of their processes, identifying the key things they do to address the risks. Being
the nerd that I am, I love that type of stuff and it suits me really well. I am
also energized by interactions with people and in my other role, I mainly stick
to my desk and don’t interact with people outside of my group too often in a
work capacity.
The people in the Glasgow office were great! I discovered
that I love Scottish accents more than British, and everyone was very welcoming.
The last day, the head of the group that had been hesitant about our trip before
we came (we were taking over from another group that had been difficult to deal
with), was so pleased with us she brought us big blocks of Cadbury’s chocolate
and even hugged us when we left. Success! Also, while it was cold/rainy, we had
some great meals and the hotel had a legitimate gym (lap pool and everything)
so I am looking forward to going back.
We flew to London Friday night. My manager, Melonne, and I went out dancing Friday night. Then
Saturday I woke up and did my 12 mile run in Central London. It took FOREVER
due to time at stoplights/dodging tourists. Sadly, I was legitimately TRAPPED
in front of Buckingham Palace for 10 minutes with about 1,000 tourists with no
way to escape (they blocked off the exit paths and a barrier separated us from
the street). I was definitely a bit traumatized (both of Buckingham Palace and
running in London in general). In the afternoon, I hit up the Tower of London,
which I had missed the last trip and it was pretty cool. Afterwards, I used my family
genes to navigate to an awesome gelato place I had visited before, only vaguely
knowing the name (I had it wrong) and the general area. Melonne and I ended the
evening hitting up Punjab, my favorite Indian restaurant I went to before.
Tower Bridge, NOT London Bridge as most people (even Londoners) assume
Sunday was a genuine tourist day. Melonne and I did a day
trip to Windsor Castle, Bath, and Stonehenge. Needless to say, I would go to
Bath again but am good on Stonehenge. Here are some pics:
Windsor Castle - For some reason in my head I did not think of it being a fortress
Bath - the entire city was rebuilt at the same time so it all works together very well
There are actual Baths (Roman) in Bath
Chapel in Bath
Apparently there are stones in Stonehenge
The second work week was definitely different/more
challenging than the first, but ended up going really well. We were in a
difficult position going in, as the office is super busy and has had loads of
random visitors taking up their time (like me previously). Also, there have
been consultants there for the past two months mapping out the operational
process we were also there to walk through so people were concerned that we
would waste their time doing the same thing. Fortunately, after a rough start,
we managed to turn the week around and really won over people there.
It was weird. I was there for nearly three weeks before, and
in the one week I was here this time I met way more people in the office and
really got to know some of them. Again, the office has great people. The role I
was sent in before was more of an auditor without a defined mission statement.
Since everyone was super busy and was not really interested in having me there,
I was never really introduced to people and felt generally uncomfortable. This
time was very different and I am grateful for that. I had a bit of a bitter
taste in my mouth from the last experience, and was really not looking forward
to the return trip. After these last two weeks I’m looking forward to going
back and building on the relationships/connections I made. But first, I am
looking forward to settling back into home and really kicking up the ironman training.
I am also pleased to report that other than the swims and the
80 mile bike ride, I managed to get in all my workouts. I will be making up the
80 mile ride tomorrow and will truly get thrown into the humidity. Luckily,
after 4 weeks of awful weather, I had three 75/80 degrees days in London to end
the trip/somewhat transition.
Here are some more random pictures from the last night I was there:
Westminister at sunset
Street Performers near the London Eye
Westminister again
Love
Love Love
Big Ben
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