Relaxed, recharged and at peace

"No man is an island."
True statement. But after leaving St. John after a seven day hiatus from my existence in Houston, I am envious of the serenity and solitude that an island possesses. I made a commitment to rest, yes rest, a foreign concept to me, for the past thirty days following ironman which culminated with a trip to the virgin islands last week. Serene was the view from the beaches that we visited, and solitary was my life away from emails, conference calls and board meetings. Much overdue. Check out the view from the balcony of the villa we stayed in (apologies for the fedora, when in Rome...):

Although this was in theory a vacation, I still made a point to do something active each day. I was able to fit in some open water swimming, snorkeling without fins and even went for a jog. The jog was a disaster and my quads were destroyed for the rest of the week. Here's why:

Although the sea is accessible, we are not at sea level. Much to the contrary, the roads such as the above, disappear by cornering and falling straight down into a 200-300' descent. Not terrible on the way down, extremely difficult on the way back home. I got in approximately 2.2 miles which took an hour to achieve. In Houston, I can run 2.2 miles in under 15 minutes without elevating my heart rate. The views on the run were rewarding and the solitude was good therapy, and I felt a recharging of my body when I was finished. Damn those hills....

In my past life, vacation was something we did because I felt like it had to be done. I would go away for a few days, be stressed out the entire time and then come home more exhausted than I left. Not on this trip. I have put my body through so much turmoil (albeit enjoyable and rewarding) and my mind has been so busy at work that the island lifestyle was much appreciated. For the first time in my life, I felt what it was like to relax, to recharge and to find peace. I returned to Houston with energy and motivation to take on the next challenge. I cannot express how important it is to take a step back, relax and reassess.

Many thanks to my mother and father-in-law for setting up the trip and to Emily for making sure that I was on board to go. I have never seen such great snorkeling, eaten such great food and enjoyed the beach so much as I did on this trip....