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I am back in Shippensburg!  I got to sleep in my own bed last night, which was the first time I had slept in a bed in two nights. 

The night after the race I wrote my blog and said I was going to try to get some sleep, but that was at 3 a.m. and I had to finish packing, so by the time I was ready to sleep the prayers had started going off and my roommate and I decided it would be more painful to try and sleep for 45 minutes rather than just stay awake. 

We left the hotel completely packed at 6 a.m. on Sunday and drove 3.5 hours to Petra.  It was raining when we got there, and our tour guide said she had been working there for six months and it had never rained once, so it was just my luck. It did eventually stop and we started exploring the ancient carvings of the stone city.

I was really sore from my race and not sleeping didn't help that matter, however, it was an amazing experience to walk through this place that was built in the 14th century and realize that people had carved it from hand.

Some historical facts about Petra: The city of Petra was a junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India, and Southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece, and Rome.  It was widely known for its refined culture, architecture, and elaborate system of water dams and channels.  One of the scenes from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed there, so there was a lot of touristy stuff about that.

It was overall a really neat thing to see and the pictures don't give it justice. It was about five miles of walking round trip, and I didn't even make it to the mountain where you take 900 stairs to get to the temple of great sacrifice, which I heard was worth while, but I was too tired and I decided to have a picnic with Ashley (one of my junior teammates) instead. 

Once Ashley and I began our trek back to the headquarters (which was all up hill) we really noticed the fatigue and soreness setting in... and thanks to God these two arabic guys came along and offered us free horse rides back. It was so fun and I was so thankful for the offer.
   
When we got back to Amman it was time for dinner. The USATF staff took us all out to PIZZA!!!! It was the best pizza I have ever had. It was Papa John's-Americanized, greasy and delicious. 

What was really interesting about our meal was that the building was surrounded by cops, the door was guarded by cops, and we were the only people in the restaurant. I still don't know why they were all there, but it had something to do with protecting us which was interesting because other than the first night there I never felt unsafe. 

Our security guy must have known something we didn't, for he didn't like having police around unless it was necessary because it drew unwanted attention towards us. 

After pizza we went to a different hotel where we had five rooms, (one for each of the teams and one for the staff) so that we could shower and get ready for the airport and the 31 hours of traveling that were ahead.

After all of the junior girls had showered the masseuse had us each lay down in a row on a king sized bed.  She did an assembly line 10-minute massage to help us relax before the trip.

We went through three sets of security before finally boarding the airplane for the flight home. It was 12 hours straight, than an hour layover in Canada, then two hours to Detroit, then a 5-hour layover, then one hour back to Dulles, then a two-hour drive home.  

During my layover in Detroit I went for a run with Delilah. She was on the senior women's team, and she asked my dad to watch her stuff while she ran, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity and asked if I could join her. She is the girl that the song “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White T's is written about!  It was really neat running with her, definitely one of the highlights of my trip.  She is a professional athlete who is sponsored by Puma and it was very interesting to hear her stories and past experiences.

Overall the trip was absolutely amazing. No letdowns, we were treated really well, the race was tough but satisfactory - it was just an special honor to have made the USA team, and the trip was not a disappointment.

It definitely makes me hungry for more international opportunities. But, for now, I am happy to be home and I am excited to get some quality training in and start competing for Ship in outdoor track when I open up the season in three weeks!

Thank you for all the support. I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventure.

- Neely