Christmas in Scotland Week 1 Training

My husband, Kevin and I took our daughter, Iyla on her first overseas adventure to see her Scottish Highland roots! There is no real easy way (except from spending a fortune over and above) to cross the Atlantic and traverse to the North-East corner of Scotland. This meant embarking on a set of three flights on Monday spanning into Tuesday. Iyla was a good sport on all three flights. In fact we were very happy with our 'strategic' decision to fly through the night so that she would sleep as per her regular schedule. To be honest it did take her a wee bit to pass out but she finally managed after Kevin laid her on my empty seat while I was using the bathroom as a PJ's changeroom. This worked a treat, so much so, we didn't want to stir the pot! One of the fantastic air stewardesses found a vacant seat for Kevin to sit while I watched over our wee angel. Using a complimentary blanket we created a makeshift tent to deflect any light and away she was into dreamland.

Flight #1: Toronto Island to Montreal

Flight #2: Montreal to London

Right before boarding our last flight, she slept the whole way to Aberdeen

We arrived Tuesday afternoon and started back with our training on Wednesday. Our coach has set us up with workouts through 'Personal Best' TrainingPeaks but stressed that first and foremost to enjoy the time with family, and to just do what we can. Typically this is the end of season for many triathletes before planning the upcoming year. We have a big race this April and are a little antsy! We have a feeling that training will intensify through January and beyond so in typical Souter fashion we will keep ticking over. We love that he understands how important family is to us, BEST COACH (Sean Bechtel)!. We do have a few community pools in nearby towns but with Kevin not being insured to drive over here anymore, we depend on family to drive us (thank you Souter family). Our workouts here will consist mostly of running and some swimming. We will try to bike on Kevin's parents mountain bikes but its a much different cycling workout.

Running so far has included gale winds(50 miles/hour), rain, trails, cobblestone, hills, mud and stunning scenery!!!

'The Heathery' West of Portsoy

Plenty Hills

Kevin's new kicks, great for the rain and trails here

Challenges we've faced:

-Jet lag (5hrs ahead of Toronto) resulting in all three of us struggling to find our sleep pattern while randomly falling asleep or sneaking the odd nap!

-Internet pool schedule not being accurate, lesson learned...call to double check

-Lack of pool accessories for drills

With a supporting cast of family we are fortunate to be able to work out together on a regular basis. We will enjoy our time here with live-in babysitters and our occasional chauffeur (to the pool). Although it's a small town, there is so much history and areas to run. Stay tuned for more adventure and scenery!