Does life get better than this?

Last night was awesome: no studying, no partying; just great wine and even better conversation with a colleague followed by an early bedtime. Then I woke up early this morning and went for a run along the lake. It was cold by my standards, about 20 degrees F, so I really appreciated the Underarmour ColdGear items I received for Christmas. Between the topography and the temperature, running here in Lausanne is a lot different than running in Houston.

I was planning to take a nice, slow jog but the cold air and rest must have envigorated me; I quickly found myself running at my fastest pace since my arrival. Two of my study group members (Martin and Sergei) and I go running together once a week, which is always a pleasure. However, I still find it beneficial to run by myself now and then. It's a great opportunity to get away from the IMD world for a little while and do some thinking.

Additionally, whenever I run on my own I finish with two steep, uphill sprints. These are followed by yelling "DRAGO!!!!!!" as I struggle to refill my lungs with the cold air--I know at least one of my readers will get that reference, AH!

Now I'm back at IMD for another day of presentation skills. Steffen, our Danish student, is throwing a party tonight, which I'm sure will be a lot of fun. The work is really piling up for the coming week, though, so I'll need to resist the temptation to linger. Still, after this morning's run, I'm pumped and energized.