Ironman Austria update #1

Right now it’s Saturday June 27th and I am typing this up while settling into the little cottage I am staying at in Klagenfurt, Austria. I do not have internet access here, but my plan is to periodically update my trip here in Austria leading up to the race on Sunday July 5th. Before heading over to Austria I had the pleasure of meeting up with Charlotte Johnson (most of you probably know that Charlotte and her husband Paul belong to Team Runners Edge). Charlotte and Paul did the race 2 years ago and Charlotte was SO sweet to take the time and sit down with me to tell me all about the race course, about Klagenfurt and to give me a LIBRARY of books to read all about the area as well. Charlotte is racing Ironman Germany this year and ironically, it takes place on July 5th as well! Good Luck Charlotte!!!
So I’ll quickly run through the details of my travel here. Friday 3:30 PM, George’s mom drives me to the airport. We predict crazy traffic, but luck out! We get to the airport early (unfortunately she is stuck in major traffic on the way home). Im at the airport earlier than I would have liked, but it’s better than being late! I board the plane around 6:15 PM (It’s supposed to take off at 7PM). We FINALLY take off AFTER 10 PM! We sat on the runway for HOURS due to a major thunderstorm. I get to Paris at 11:35 AM…my connecting flight was scheduled for 9:35 AM… Oh well! Missed that! So, I get put onto a different flight and run through the airport to make it on time. I had 20 min to get to the gate and the Terminal seemed like it was MILES away from where I landed (the airport in Paris, by the way is unusually hot! I felt like I was just done with a workout when I finally got to the gate)! We take off from Paris and I arrive in Vienna WITHOUT my bike or my luggage! I have another flight with Austrian Airlines in an hour and a half and I need my luggage, so Im thinking I will have to miss my flight to Klagenfurt, stay in Vienna, get the bags and bike tomorrow and head to Klagenfurt then. Instead, I am reassured that my bike and luggage “should be delivered to where I’m staying in Klagenfurt by tomorrow evening”… Hmmm…we’ll see about that! SO, I check in and head to the gate… Five minutes before we are to board, the airport shuts down (due to a thunderstorm! I can't get away from these things)! FINALLY after a short delay we take off from Vienna and arrive in the quaint little city of Klagenfurt!
Luckily, I am renting a cottage from a local here. This can be a long story, but Henry, a man who lives here and who I was originally going to rent an apartment from, helped arrange my accommodations here at this lovely cottage when his apartment became unavailable. Henry also helped with the rental of a “Smart Car” for the days I will be here alone. He even had the owner of the rental company come in on Saturday and open up the store just for me! In the short time I have been here in Klagenfurt I have had an incredible experience! I was greeted at the airport by Hoerst (Henry’s friend who I am renting the cottage from), his sister Brigitte and her daughter Sylvie (who turned 20 today!) as well as Hoerst’s son Michael (14 years old) who greeted me with a flower. They all brought me to the rental company, then to this beautiful little cottage just 5KM from the race start at the lake. They showed me around the house and the incredible garden where I am welcome to grab all of my lettuce, veggies and fruit that I need while I am here. They also prepared some food for me and Sylvie offered to take me into town tomorrow. Pretty amazing! Their kindness has been so comforting after a much dreaded long travel day. I was most nervous for traveling and arriving here totally alone and they made the experience nothing but a pleasure! My friend Erin with whom I went to College with, arrives Tuesday night. I am looking forward to it, but the days here without her will definitely be more pleasurable and not quite as “lonely” as I thought they might be. Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed for the arrival of my luggage and bike!! Im DYING to get on my bike and check out the course!