Stockholm, Sweden

Well I have just returned from Stockholm, Sweden and it was a very nice trip. The athlete hotel was called Nordic Sea Hotel, and attached to the hotel was a famous bar called “ICEBAR STOCKHOLM.”

 ICEBAR is famous around the world and has even made one of the travel channel’s top places to go. It is a bar completely constructed of ice. You walk in and the bouncer puts you in this eskimo looking jacket with a hood and gloves. The bar is pretty small and it is about 28-30 degrees. The drink I ordered, the Northern Breeze, was served in a little ice glass. The table tops were ice, the benches were ice, and the bar top was ice.  We only stayed inside for about 20 minutes because our lips and feet were turning numb :) But it was a great experience to be inside such a famous place.

The bar was made completely of ice...besides the cash register obviously :)

  I raced the 800 in Stockholm. We raced in the Olympic Stadium from 1912. It was a really nice atmosphere and the quality of athletes was incredible. I ended up winning my heat and ran 2:00.33.

I didn’t feel exceptionally strong in my race...I think it was the large lunch I had at the hotel. One thing I have noticed about every country in Europe is that there is no such thing as breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods. For breakfast they serve ham sandwiches and meatballs, for lunch they serve fish, pasta, beef, and mashed potatoes, and for dinner they serve basically the same as lunch. So, without another choice, I took down what they were serving for lunch the afternoon of my race. And maybe a little too much of it. My stomach was still full while I was racing, so I faced the consequences of this about 5 minutes after my race was finished. I used to have extreme race anxiety and would throw up after every race regardless of whether or not I had food in my stomach, but it hasn’t happened to me in over a year. I guess I got a little cocky and thought I could eat anything I wanted and still get away with it. I was wrong...I guess the beef and potatoes that came up soon after my race was a little reminder of “what not to do.” Sorry, that was gross...but it is the reality of track and field and it happens a lot more than the spectator’s think. The smile you give the media as you cross the finish line after winning a race is a mixture of “yesss I won!” along with “but oh my goodness I’m in so much pain right now, somebody help me off the track.” That moment is possibly the worst and most fulfilling moment in my job and I guess that is where I can separate myself from the other 99% of the world. Pain tolerance, at least in a middle-distance event, is perhaps the main indicator of what can separate a collegiate runner from a professional runner, in my opinion. Pushing beyond normal pain to a pain that the majority of people are not willing to experience is key to getting to that next level. 

A few DMG (Doyle Management Group) friends out in Prague, Czech Republic City Centre!

Now I am back in Prague, Czech Republic until my last race of my season on Friday, August 5th in London. Unfortunately, my race is not going to be at the stadium where the olympics next summer will be held. It will be held at a stadium called Crystal Palace which sounds like a place just as luxurious to me! My birthday is August 4th and I fly back to the US August 6th in time to celebrate with Reed Saturday night and hopefully meet up with my family. I am going to miss baby Tyler’s 1-year birthday party in Cincinnati on the 6th by just about 5 hours  :( I can’t wait to see everyone at home...it will be 1 month and 1 week since I have been on USA soil and quite honestly, I am SO ready to be home!!!

From Italy to France

These are the kinds of pictures Jenna has been sending me of baby tyler.  Look at that tan line :)

 Did I forget to mention how much I loved Lignano, Italy? Tuesday, July 19th, I ran another personal best time of 1:59.12 at the exact same track I had set my previous personal best time last year.  Here is footage from my 800 race:

http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/238963-Lignano-2011-Meeting-Internazionale-di-Atletica-Sports-Solidarity-Meeting/video/500928-W-800-5-under-200-7-under-201-Lignano-2011

At an Italian meet, almost every woman in the field was from USA, and it is an understatement to say that we dominated.  The 800 is SO deep in the United States, and I am proud to be apart of that!  After Lignano, I made a quick decision to be the pacemaker for the 1500-meter Diamond League race in Monaco, France. Again, no one prepared me for such an amazing place. We stayed ocean side looking out to the Mediterranean Sea at the Monte Carlo hotel.

 Monte Carlo is supposedly where the richest people in the world reside, and vacation during holiday. And yes, it was by far the richest place I had ever been.  A hamburger from the hotel was 31 Euro. Heck no, I didn't order one! But my friend did and that is how much he paid. Better be one dang good hamburger.

http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/238944-Monaco-Diamond-League-Herculis-Meeting-International-dAthletisme-2011/video/501376-Living-Large-In-Monaco-2011

We had a show at dinner after the meet. This is a Michael Jackson impersonator...the Prince of Monaco was even there :)

Things just keep getting more exciting for me and I feel so blessed to be apart of all this.  Although I was just a pacemaker, Friday night was a huge step for me. I lined up for a diamond league race (the fastest races in the world), felt comfortable and felt a sense of belonging with the quality of athletes on the line.

The Monaco track stadium view

A night out with some fellow Americans. We had a blast!

 As for now, I am basing in Prague, Czech Republic for almost a week before heading my next race in Stockholm, Sweden. I arrived last night into Prague so I haven't had a chance to explore, but it seems to be a very quiet, quaint village with nice people who are friendly and cute and keep to themselves. It is a very hilly city and I will be making the mile uphill walk to the grocery store this morning to get a week's worth of groceries.

Italia

Lignano, Italy

Balcony view of our pool at Fra i Pini Hotel.

It’s easy to lie and say I haven’t had time to update my blog, but the truth is I have had nothing but time the last week. I have been in Lignano, Italy, a small touristy beach area with never-ending swimming pools, skimpy bikinis, and gelato. I have adapted to the beach bum lifestyle as easily as anyone vacationing in this area, and have taken full advantage of all the cafe shops and “pizzeria’s” this place had to offer. 

Don’t get me wrong, I have gotten in my work outs at the local track down the street, which just so happens to be the track that I ran a personal best at last summer of 1:59.83.  Lignano, Italy will always be a special place to me because it was the first time I came to realize my life was going to change. It has given me an opportunity that very few people can imagine having in their lifetime.  

The girls and I got out of the sun for a day and took the hour train ride to Venice, Italy. Venice was a place I had only heard about in the movies and was sure the way I perceived it in my mind was nothing like it actually was.

 It turned out to be everything I had imagined...like living in a fairy-tale. I felt like I was on the set of a movie...the streets separated by not roads, but water. J-walking was not an option here unless you wanted to get stuck in the dirty, very narrow canal. CHANEL and BURBERRY were connected by a beautiful white bridge across the canal. Although I can’t afford a pair of socks at either stores, it felt surreal to be standing there.

The bridges separating the stores were gorgeous, and had awesome views!

The garages that you and I would put our cars in every night were replaced with a garage-boat dock to park your boat.

My trip to Venice only further confirmed that my favorite place in Europe is Italy, no questions asked.  And I still haven’t been to Rome to see the Vatican and Sisteen Chapel! 

One of the many beautiful Chapel's in Venice.

The narrow canal separating two streets. The famous Gondola's gave private taxi rides to people willing to pay 70 Euro. (NOT I!)

I raced last night about an hour from Lignano in Padova, Italy and placed third. I ran a season's best by .01 and ran 2:00.07.  It was bit of a choppy race but I closed well at the end. I am now back in Lignano and will race here tomorrow night. Because these meets are very small, the internet access to the meets are poor, so I do not have any websites to give or live news feeds to follow. :(  After Italy, I have no concrete plans. I guess I will go wherever the wind takes me (AKA whichever track meets I can get into). I am scheduled to return to the US August 6th. Until then, Chao belle!!

What happen's in the DISTRICT...Amsterdam, Holland

My first meet in Uden, Netherlands was a pleasant one. My roommates were British and Australian and were great people to hang around with for a few days. The girl from England used words such as “lovely,” “foul,” and “rubbish,” in her regular vocabulary and it sounded so nice along with her beautiful accent. Uden was my first meet over in Europe this summer and it was nice and low-key. The track was Mondo (a very nice, hard surface to run fast on) and I ended up winning my race running a time of 2:00.6 and broke the meet and national records at the meet! For breaking these records, I was given cash on site in a sealed envelope which later helped me out in my shopping spree in Amsterdam. My race (only the second half) and the post-race interview are posted below:

Race (last 400 meters): http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/238933-Mondo-Keien-Meeting-Uden-2011/video/498942-W-800-H01-Molly-Beckwith-20066-Mondo-Keien-Meeting-Uden-2011

Interview: http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/238933-Mondo-Keien-Meeting-Uden-2011/video/498921-Molly-Beckwith-on-her-summer-circuit-and-training-Mondo-Keien-Meeting-Uden-2011

 When we left the meet the next morning, I had only one thing on my mind...AMSTERDAM. I was going to find a way to make a day-trip work with someone, ANYONE. While driving to the athlete-base about 45 minutes from Uden, I began to catch on to the fact that the ladies I was traveling with seemed like they wanted an adventure as well. We decided on a day trip to Amsterdam to celebrate the 4th of July!

My shopping buddies in Amsterdam!

 I had been waiting for over a year to explore the famous city and see the Red Light District. And boy, was it a sight to see!

This was the entrance of one of many naughty stores.

Europe is so open about sex and nudity and I was caught off guard with just how freely it is talked about, and showed.  We were given a tour of the main sex shop in town, with all the gadget’s and porn movies. One of the guys in the group said to our tour guide, “Eww, Europeans really like the kinky nasty stuff.”  The tour guide smiled and said, “Actually, American’s brought 90% of the ideas into this store.” HAHA figures. eww. 

Next stop for me is either Madrid, Spain or Birmingham, England. My manager has yet to decide which meet he thinks I should run in, but I will be happy with either place :)