XTRI ICON Race Recap - Pre race and swim

 

1.8 mile SWIM: 56:57
2^nd female

Although ICON was only my 2^nd XTRI event, I’ve learned that a lot of preparation is needed going into the event (much more so than a normal Ironman). I checked in for the race on Wednesday (race on Friday). Karel (my support) had to be there with me. We checked in our mandatory T3 bags which had to be left with the staff until race day. Inside, each bag was required to have; headlamp, shirt, pants, gloves, hat, waterproof jacket with hood. On Thursday we attended the mandatory English race briefing at 4pm. We were notified that the swim would be shortened from 2.4 miles to 1.8 miles due the combination of the air and water temperature.

I was extremely nervous on Thursday. Karel suggested that we swim at the pool as that is a happy place for me. He was right, I felt so good swimming and it relieved a lot After a 33 minute, ~2200 yard feel good swim at the aquatic center (long course meters), Karel and I went for a short ride to spin the legs. I wanted to see the first part of the bike course so we rode 4 miles (slight uphill) and then turned around. As for the rest of the day, I packed my T1 and T2 bags for the event. The race provided athletes with very nice large zipper bags (black and white) to use for the race. We also received two shirts (tank and shirt) for the support crew, a bib number for the support crew, banquet tickets, a shirt and a large poster with my name and bib number on it to put inside the support crew vehicle.

I prepared 6 bottles, each with INFINIT fructose (some with grape flavor and some with fruit punch flavor). I also prepared a few 10-ounce flasks for the run (each with Never Second C30 berry). I prepared a gel flask with 2 Never Second gels in it and had a bag of other sport nutrition. Karel bought some coke, water, pretzels and bananas at the grocery store (along with food for him and Honza to eat throughout their long day of supporting me). I had a variety of clothing options for the bike and run. I went through all the bags with Karel and he loaded the car with everything so that I could rest.

I didn’t sleep well (as to be expected). I laid in bed from 6:30-7pm and tried to fall asleep around 8pm. It took me over 2 hours to fall asleep as my mind wouldn’t shut off about the race. Once I finally went to sleep, I slept well. When my alarm went off at 3:30am, I woke up feeling rested.

Starting a triathlon at 5am is still an adjustment for me but I feel a bit of relief when I wake up in the morning and know that the day is finally here.  Karel and I went downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast. We were joined by two other athletes (one female and one male) in the seating area. I could feel the nervous energy. The hotel staff got up super early to prepare food and coffee for us. I had a pop tart, banana and yogurt, cup of coffee and water.

After I ate, I went upstairs to change into my swimsuit and put on my warmest pants and hoodie, along with gloves, a hat and warm socks. Karel put my bike in the car and we left the hotel around 4:15am. We drove a few miles to the aquagrande parking lot (pool across from the lake) to park. I walked my bike to the transition area by the lake. There were a few fire pits by the lake and a few lights but otherwise, it was very dark out. The lake was pitch dark. My bike was inspected (front and back lights were required) and I dropped off my bike on the rank in my spot (number 11).

After dropping off my bike, I picked up my chip and GSP transponder outside of the aquagrande building. I went inside the aquagrande center and went to the bathroom one last time. There was no line for the women’s restroom seeing that there were only 10 women competitors. (out of ~112). I put on my swimskin for an added layer, then booties and then my ROKA wetsuit. Karel helped me put on Vaseline as well as AMP lotion. I put on my thermal cap, ICON swim cap and gloves. I made the decision before the race to put my gloves on under my wetsuit (as that is what I had practiced in the recon swim on Wed) but last minute I changed it and had the gloves over my wetsuit. It was a mix for how to wear the gloves (I was looking around) so I wasn’t sure what to do. It was my fault for not practicing with the gloves until race week. Karel inflated my buoy and we turned on the glowsticks and then walked to the lake around 4:45am. 

Karel didn’t want me to get too warm by the fire so I stood there for a minute and then made my way to the transition area when we were all called in there for the race start. We then walked toward the water with the sound similar to heart beats pounding from the speakers. The energy was intense. This was really about to happen. 

My mind was calm and I was ready to get this race started. The air temperature was 32 degrees. The water temperature was 53 degrees. My greatest worry was the cold water as I know that would be my greatest struggle. But I was here to test my limits and to discover my capabilities.

I liked the in-water start as it gave me a chance to acclimate to the water and splash some water down my wetsuit and get my face wet. I didn't love the feeling of the thermal cap around my chin but I didn't mind it. I love my booties keeping my feet warm.

When the race started at 5am, I took my time settling into a rhythm. I knew I needed to take my time easing into an effort. It was a bit chaotic with the mass start but it settled out after a few minutes. But suddenly I found my gloves filled with water. I thought I would be fine but they got so heavy I couldn’t move my arm through the water. I quickly reacted and took off the gloves and put them inside the chest of my wetsuit. The water was so cold on my hands. They felt tingly right away. But I remained calm and thought to myself “at least you can feel the water.” I don’t really like the glove feeling when I swim but I knew it was necessary in these conditions. I had to keep adjusting the gloves in my chest because it was causing some restriction around my neck. Once I got it comfortable, I could finally settle into a rhythm. There were only 3 lighted buoys on the course. One sighting buoy before the turn buoy (left around the buoy) and then one more turn buoy. There was a big light on the shore. It was so hard to gauge how far I had to keep swimming before the turn. I really struggled with the dark conditions and cold water. I found myself by another swimmer which was comforting. I had to keep stopping every now and then as I needed to catch my breathe. Once I finally made the turn buoy, I was so relieved. After the second buoy, I was so happy to finally be heading back to the shore. I couldn’t wait to get this uncomfortable swim overwith. Even though I love swimming and it’s a strength of mine, I feel I’m really challenged in dark and cold conditions (thus my desire to test my limits in these XTRI events). As I was making my way back to the shore, I started to get really cold. My face was numb and my body was shutting down. It was getting harder to take strokes. I was having trouble warming up because my body wouldn’t let me swim hard. I was alone and I kept swimming into sticks which would freak me out. I was so relieved when I finally saw the shore. I felt like I only had a few strokes left in my body before it was ready to shut down.

 

Our friend/athlete Honza (from Czech) was there to help me as I walked from the swim to the T1 tent. I was so cold I could barely move. Karel was in the tent with all my clothes ready for a quick change but what none of us planned for is me developing hypothermia during the swim.

I was shaking uncontrollably and so cold. As Karel dried me off and started to take off my wetsuit, swimskin, booties, cap, goggles and swimsuit, I told him “Karel there is no way I can do this. I am so cold.” After a few minutes, one of the staff came over to me and asked if I was ok. 

Karel said “she will be fine.” Then a few minutes later, a female medic came over and watched me for several minutes. Karel whispered in my ear “you need to stop shaking or else they are not going to let you continue.” Karel was so worried about me but he was also trying to help me. There was a competitor next to me on the bench and he offered Karel some warming lotion for me. I was also offered warm tea so I sipped on that as Karel tried to dress me. My body was so stiff and I felt like my legs would cramp at any moment. Karel had such a hard time dressing me but after a while, he got it done. I could see the other competitors dressing in the tent and everyone looked cold. But what I noticed was that everyone was leaving and I was still in the tent. I couldn’t think for myself so I was just sitting there as Karel took charge and got me dressed in my layers. He even gave me his jacket for one extra layer.

After 28 minutes (and the longest T1 in the race) and one of the last people in the tent, I stopped shaking and was able to slowly walk to my bike. Karel suggested that I just start riding to create some body heat and to just take my time. Anything after this struggle was a bonus so our goal was just get on the bike and see what happens. I walked my bike to the street, got on my bike and started riding. Karel had my computer, course map and lights already turned on for me.  

My mind instantly focused on the bike as I knew I needed to stay present to keep myself safe. I also needed to really focus on my fueling as I knew body expended a lot during that cold swim and in the transition area. I had a Maurten gel before I got on the bike to give me a little more energy before starting my ride since it had been almost 90 minutes since I started the race.

A few miles down the road, Karel and Honza drove up next to me and asked if I was ok. I told Karel (in the passenger seat) that I was getting warm and needed to remove a jacket. It felt so good to finally feel somewhat warm. We made a quick stop in a driveway just outside of the town of Livigno so I could remove Karel’s jacket. Since I was one of the last athletes out of the transition area, I felt a little boost every time I would see or pass another athlete.

As I started to make my way out of town and toward the first mountain pass of the day, I thought to myself “my only goal now is to finish.”

Bike recap coming soon. 

I'll also be sharing a future video discussing my nutrition, gear, equipment and training for each discipline. 

XTRI ICON Livigno, Italy - Day 2 and 3

 

8/29
We woke up around 6:45am to somewhat clear skies. We could see the snow on the mountains. It was cold out (upper 30's) but no rain. We were hungry for breakfast around 8am and ordered some eggs along with our "continental" food options. We then layered up for our bike ride. We had been following the Haute Route online (they just finished up the 7-day stage in the Alps which we did last year and heading to the 5-stage Dolomites next). They shorted stage 1 from Bormio to the iconic Stelvio pass due to wet and snowy conditions. Karel was planning to ride up and over Stelvio but he modified his route (but still went to the top of the Stelvio). I rode with Karel to around Tornante (~1 hour, which was mostly climbing). We were in good company as there were some UAE cyclists just ahead of us and a lot of other cyclists. Even with the cold conditions, there were so many people out riding, hiking and walking. I felt really good climbing and was reminded of all the climbing we did in the Haute Routes. I feel that event prepared me really well for what to expect for XTRI ICON (123 miles, 14,000+ feet of climbing). I got a bit cold after stopping with Karel to look at the map before he left to continue on his ride and my hands were really cold. The good thing about this ride was getting an idea of what to wear after the cold swim that starts at 5am on race day (September 1st). 

I had lunch by myself around 1:40pm (it was delicious) and had Karel's lunch sent to the room for his return. 

I got some work done throughout the afternoon. Karel didn't return from his bike ride almost 5pm. His 74 mile route to the top of the Stelvio and back to Livigno had 11,500 feet of elevation gain. It took him almost 7 hours to complete. It took him almost 2 hours to climb 42 switchbacks (5350 feet) over 12 miles. The crazy part is that it took him 30 minutes to descend! I will be climbing Stelvio from the other side (48 switchbacks) near the end of the ICON XTRI and then descending down the 42 switchbacks to Bormio. 

Because of the snow on top of Stelvio, the roads were wet so as he was descending, the water was spraying on him, leaving him wet and cold. And the Foscagno Pass took him 90 minutes to climb 12.8 miles. Karel returned to our hotel exhausted and cold. He ate his cold lunch and then we went to the hotel spa (it's free for guests) to warm up. We sat in the warm pool with jets (not a hot tub). We also sat in the salt room, hay room and sauna. It was really relaxing. 

Nearing 7pm, it was time for dinner in the hotel. We were both really tired but struggled to get a restful night of sleep. My mind was thinking about tomorrow morning - my first opportunity to experience the dark cold water of Livigno. 

8/30

We woke up to my alarm at 4:45am. The ICON XTRI event offers a familiarization swim at 5:30am (race start is 5am) to experience the water conditions. I didn't know the water temp so I told myself to expect 50 degrees (which is super cold and I have never swam in anything less than 58 degrees) and anything warmer would be a bonus. This race is all about mental tricks and keeping my brain and body calm. We put on our wetsuits in our hotel room as the air temp was 33 degrees. Since I will be putting on dry clothes after the swim on race day, I wore a ROKA swimsuit and my ROKA sleeveless swimskin under my wetsuit (to barriers to keep my core warm). As we were leaving the hotel around 5:10am, we realized that the reception office was closed. Our car key was behind the front desk. Instead of driving, we went with plan B - bike. It was kinda weird, kinda fun to bike in our wetsuits and winter clothing but it was a nice way to get the blood flowing. 

We arrived to the swim start at Lake Livigno (across from the Aquagranda) just before 5:30am and there were probably around 30 athletes at the swim (out of the 150 registrants). I put on a thermal cap, booties and gloves (I've only worn booties before) and clear ROKA goggles and made my way to the water. Karel got in first (he only had booties and a thermal cap) and he said the water was cold. I got in very slowly to get my breathing under control before I started swimming. Although it was cold on my face, all my thermal gear worked great. While I was still getting water in my wetsuit, in my feet and in my hands, I wasn't cold. As I started swimming, the water felt less cold and more comfortable. It was still chilly but not extreme. It was strange swimming with so much gear on my extremities. I stopped several times as it was so dark and I was focusing on the boat with a light on it but I also didn't want to run into other athletes. The dark water didn't bother me, if anything I kinda liked it. 

I swam ~750 yards (to the boat and back). It was really good to have this experience to test out my gear and to check off this big uncertainty going into this race. I asked another athlete of the water temp and he told me 12.5 celcius. After we changed in the tent and rode back to our hotel (our fingers were freezing even with gloves) around 6:30am, I converted the temperature from celcius to Fahrenheit and it was 53 degrees!! The coldest water that I've ever swam in. I texted one of my friends (who is an experienced OWS) and she told me that I am now part of the <100 swim club - when you swim in conditions where the water + air temperature adds up to <100. Who knew there was such a thing! 

It took a while for us to warm up in our hotel room. Around 8:30am we went to get some breakfast in the hotel. After we ate, I was so exhausted. The swim really wore me out! I struggled for the next two hours and after getting some work done, I found the energy to get outside for a 38 minute run on some of the run course (paved sections) around 10:30am. Suprisingly, I still don't feel the altitude and when I exercise, I feel really good. It's when I am sitting/laying down that I get super tired. 

Karel left for a run while I was working on the computer. He decided to check out some of my run course (since he will be running all of it with me as my support crew). He ran up to T2 and then back to our hotel. It was an 18 mile, 2:33 run w/ 1800 feet elevation. He took some pictures from his run and it looks beautiful. Here are some pics from the run course that we each took. 

The lake (swim venue) during the day. 

We ate lunch at the hotel around 1pm and shortly, after we went to check in for the race. The race headquarters is a quick 350 meter walk from our hotel. 

The requirements for this race are pretty strict. You are required to show your triathlon license (USAT).  Thermal booties and swim cap are required for the swim. A change of clothes must be in the support car for the bike (if needed). The athlete and the support person must check in a bag that must be worn from T3 until the finish (last 12K) that includes a hat, gloves, long sleeve shirt, waterproof jacket w/ hood, running pants and a headlap. Because of the difficulty of this event (the bike alone will take me over 9 hours), most athletes won't be starting the 26 mile run (4000 feet elevation gain) until late afternoon. Because the last few miles of the run take us up to 9000 feet (3000 mile climb), weather can be unpredictable. 

After I picked up all my stuff, we went back to the room and I started to organize all of my gear. Unlike Canadaman which was rainy and warm, this race will be cold to start but because of all the elevation gain and loss throughout the day, the weather is up and down all day which requires a lot of different clothing options. I use the Epic Weather app to help me plan my gear. 

I'm hoping for a good night of sleep tonight as I know I won't sleep well on Thursday with the race starting at 5am on Friday. 

ICON XTRI Livigno Italy - Travel + day 1

 

With a 6:30pm flight out of Atlanta, we were able to get in a workout on Saturday morning (8/26). Karel went for an hour run (7.97 miles) and I did a 90-minute workout on the trainer (MS 6 x 90 sec high cadence w/ 2 min EZ spin. Then 4 x 4 min steady effort w/ 2 min EZ spin). I watched the live broadcast of the 70.3 World Championship while on the trainer. I did a quick 2.4 mile/19 min run off the bike. I felt really good for this brick workout. 

We ate, finished up last minute packing, said good-bye to Karel's mom and all our furries and left for the Atlanta International airport around 11:15am. 

It's always hard to leave Campy, especially since his dementia is getting worse. He threw up bile twice on Monday and wasn't eating (and was really lethargic) which wasn't like him. He really enjoys his walks throughout the day but something was off. He's also been coughing for over 2 weeks. We had him on a med for it but it wasn't getting any better. I made a vet appointment for Thursday (when our vet was back in the office) and she worked me in for blood work, Xray of the lungs and an overall check up. I didn't want anything to suddenly happen to him while we were away so the vet visit felt like a priority. Thankfully, his blood work and organs looked great. Although his brain is struggling, his body is still showing up for life. She gave him a steroid shot to help the coughing (it was our 2nd resort, first we tried an antibiotic pill) and that seemed to help. We go through a lot of diapers each day but it's worth it for this not-so-golden anymore, golden nugget. 

Karel's back has been bothering him since Breck Epic so I drove the 3 hours to the airport.
Whenever we fly international, I like to get to the airport around 4 hours before our flight take off. This gives us plenty of time for delays and there is less waiting/lines. We also like to check in first before parking the car as this is easier for us than lugging our bags and bikes around the airport (and on the shuttle). We drove directly to hourly parking and brought in our bikes and bags to the terminal for check in at Virgin Atlantic. 

I really enjoy watching travel vloggers on YouTube (I really like Kara and Nate) and I've learned a lot about travel hacking with credit card points. In other words, saving a lot of money on travel with the help of being savvy with credit card sign-up bonus's and understanding the perks of each credit card. I told Karel to give me three years to see if I can pull off some travel hacking and it only took me less than a year to book our first first class international flight with money and points. I do a lot of research and plan well in advance. I booked our tickets in the early sprint/late winter for our September flight.
I transferred points from AMEX to Virgin Atlantic and booked 2 upper class seats for ~$800 each and ~65,000 credit card points. Compared to an economy ticket on Delta (which is what we usually fly), I saved us over $800 (total). With our upper class ticket we got lounge access to Delta Sky Club (which we have already thanks to our biz Amex Platinum Credit Card), 2 free checked bags up to 70 lbs each, priority boarding, priority luggage and the best part, lie-flat seats. This 8.5 hour flight took us from Atlanta to London Heathrow. Originally I booked our next flight on British Airways from London to Milan w/ 15,000 points but after hearing a lot of stories about lost luggage (and bikes) with BA from London, I decided to go with a more reliable airline (Swiss). I spent a little more than I would have liked but it gave me peace of mind knowing that there was a better chance of our luggage (and bikes arriving). I booked two business class seats (so that we could get the priority luggage and extra weight w/ 2 free bags) on Swiss from London to Zurich for ~$250 each. I booked a flight 6 hours after arriving in London so we would have time to go to the Virgin Atlantic arrivals lounge after getting our luggage and going through immigration and also in case of any delays. In total, I spent ~$2200 on flights to get us to Zurich from Atlanta. The flight would have been ~$500 less had I not changed to Swiss but I was really worried about our bikes not arriving. I can't wait to share about our flight home from Milan to JFK (it was less than $200 thanks to points...and on Emirates business class!). 

After checking in around 2:30pm, we drove 6 miles to off-site parking. 

I booking off-site parking online a few days prior to our trip (Park 'N Fly Plus, free airport shuttle to domestic). I was able to save $63 by booking in advance. We got on a shuttle right after parking and got dropped off at the domestic terminal (no shuttle directly to international). We went quickly through TSA (thanks to pre-check, well worth the $85 for 5 years and our Amex card covers the cost) and then took the plane train to terminal F. We had to wait over 20 minutes to get into the Delta Sky Club (it's somewhat small for a lounge compared to domestic and very busy) and we were really hungry. Once we got in, we got some delicious food and worked on the computer for the next 2 hours until our plane boarded at 5:45pm. 

I was so excited to board the plane. We went to our seats and Karel was surprised by all our amenties and our seats. He never really knows what I plan for our trips - he is just wants to show up and not have to worry about travel planning. I love travel planning so it works out. 

The flight was a bit bumpy but overall it was incredible. Many people said once you fly first class you'll never want to fly economy again. Although the staff, lie flat bed w/ a comfy blanket and pillow, wide screen TV, delicious vegetarian options, complimentary PJs and extra perks were great, I don't feel like we always have to fly first class. I consider this a luxury (and something to check off our bucket list) and I will only "buy" first class seats if I can use points. Otherwise, it's not worth the $5000+. I actually saved money with points and paid less than had I purchased economy seats so I consider this a big win. 

Karel wasn't able to sleep as his restless legs were bothering him throughout the night. I slept on and off for a few hours. The PJs were SO comfortable. 

When we arrived in London, we went through immigration, collected our luggage and "left" the airport. We had access to the Virgin Atlantic arrivals lounge (we could store our luggage/bikes there) so we had breakfast in the lounge. Our flight arrived almost an hour early and since I slept through breakfast, I was pretty hungry. 

The Heathrow airport was huge! We used a cart to carry our bikes and suitcases from one terminal to the next. It took us almost an hour to get to the desk to check in for our Swiss flight. After checking in and dropping off our bikes at oversized bags (which we do at every airport when checking in), we went through security and had a choice of a few lounges to go to. It took us about 20 minutes to walk from the A to B terminal and we went to the Singapore Airlines lounge. Neither of us were hungry but Karel got a coffee and some juice. We both took a long nap as we had over 2 hours until our flight was boarding (it was delayed by 40 minutes). I set an alarm on my phone so we wouldn't oversleep on the couches. I had a light lunch and then we walked the 20+ minutes back to terminal A for our Swiss flight. 

The short 75 minute flight to Zurich was smooth. We were served a meal (Karel had tuna and I had a vegetarian meal that I requested online in advance) and then tried to nap a bit. We were both super exhausted. The nice thing about our business class seats on Swiss was no person in the middle seat. I think it's a bit wasteful (they may as well just make bigger seats) but Karel was happy about it (he isn't peopl-y :)

Once we arrived in Zurich, we went through immigration, collected our bags and bikes (we have an Airtag on all of our pieces of luggage and although not 100% reliable, it does give peace of mind to kinda have an idea where everything is). We walked to the rental car area, checked in at Alamo to get our automatic SUV (we usually get a manual for Karel to drive but got an automatic in case I need to drive). We left the airport around 6:30pm, made a few wrong turns leaving the airport and finally hit the road for our 3 hour drive to Livigno. The drive took a long time due to the mountain passes, construction lights and a 3.5K one-way tunnel. We also had to pay a toll of $17 to enter Italy from Switzerland. We arrived exhausted around 9:30pm. 

We checked into our hotel (Hotel Sporting) and the staff was so nice. They took care of parking our car, took our luggage (and bikes) to our room and left us with a spread of food as we arrived after dinner (Italians express their love and kidness through food). We weren't too hungry as we ate a lot of great food over the past 24 hours but we found some room for a little of everything. Around 10:30pm we went to bed and slept until 9am (11 hours). 

8/28 - Monday 

We woke up to rain on our first offical day in Livigno. We went to breakfast downstairs and were quickly reminded how much we love the hotel food options in Europe (we had our first experience during the Haute Route Alps and then in Molveno for Xterra worldss). I opted to stay in a hotel for 7-days during our trip as we could get all three meals included (Full board) for a small extra charge. At ~$200/night, I consider this is a great deal as we can eat, sleep and rest well.

The hotel also has a spa that we can use anytime between 2-8pm. We were slow moving in the morning and really tired but we managed to find some energy to get outside for an easy ~34 minute, 4 mile run. We warmed up pretty quickly despite it being in the 40's and a little rainy. The views were spectacular. I didn't feel impacted by the altitude at 6000 feet which was a great feeling compared to how I struggled at 9600 feet in Breckenridge a few weeks ago. 

After the run it was time for lunch (12-2pm) but we weren't hungry. We waited until 1:40pm and then decided to get a light lunch in the restaurant. I couldn't finish my first course (they offer 4 courses but we only had 2 + dessert for lunch) and the waitress was concerned I didn't like the food. :) I politely told her that I was full and getting on the new time zone. The presentation of the meals was amazing and everything was so tasty in the perfect portion. 

Karel getting his afternoon espresso. 

We both took a short nap and I had to force myself to wake up so that I could sleep in the evening. Karel built the bikes and around 5pm we drove a few miles down the road to the Aquagranda facility by the lake. This aquatic center/gym was massive! We paid $15 each to swim (a lot of money for one swim but well worth it. The only package we could buy was 10 passes each but we knew we wouldn't use them all so it wasn't worth it) and made our way to the 50-meter pool. I'm always taken back by the locker room situation in Italian pools as there is often one big changing area (private rooms with doors) for men and women. But it isn't unusual to have men and women taking showers, changing and drying hair in the same space. It's just normal in many places of Europe. 

We swam ~3000 meters with a mixture of sets. Again, I felt really good (similar to the run)  and the altitude didn't bother me. I was really amazed with how good my body felt while exercising - it must be from all the great food. I didn't want to swim because I was so tired and it was cold and rainy out but I was so thankful we went. We had to pay 1 euro for parking (per hour, first hour is free). I didn't have my phone in the pool area so I didn't get a picture. The water was 78 degrees F but it felt a bit warmer. It was the perfect temperature. The pool wasn't crowded (we had our own lane) but there were people in each lane. Everyone in the entire pool area (hot tubs, water park, pools) are required to wear swimming caps. I saw a lot of Ironman and triathlon swim caps. 

We drove back to the hotel and we had a good appetite for dinner. The chef prepared me vegetarian meals that were not on the main menu and they were delicious!! The veggie burger was the best I've ever had. After dinner we were ready for bed. Dinner is served 7-9pm and although it moves quickly from course to course, it's still kinda late for us. But our bodies are still adjusting to the 6 hour time difference. We went to bed around 10pm. 

I've been taking pictures of all the delicious food that we've been eating. I'll save those pics for their own special blog after we finish our trip.