Hmmm.... I guess I have been a bit lazy lately. 3 weeks plus and not a single blog entry. I guess that I can blame jet lag for the first week and just plain tired for the last two! I arrived "home" on the 30th before 6 AM. I did OK until my husband left to go play soccer. I fell asleep at 1 in the afternoon and didn't wake up again until he returned home at 7. Even with my little "nap" I was still able to go back to sleep at 10 that night. I woke up at 5 AM and was up for the rest of the day. Unfortunately this was also New Year's Eve, so an early bedtime was not possible and for some reason I could just not fall asleep for a nap. Still, I forced myself to go to another party at the US Embassy. Apparently the tickets were really hard to get. It was fun but I was really tired and it just seemed like midnight would never arrive! Also it was outside and it was really cold. I had scrapped my sleeveless dress for a skirt and sweater but it was still very cold despite the heaters. It was uneventful but I did see a super drunk guy get kicked out. That's got to be a bummer because if you get kicked out it's for good. You can never come back. A party blacklist. But I guess that is not my problem.
Before I left the US, I had been doing a lot of running because I am still planning on running a marathon here in Saudi. I had wanted to get to 18 miles at home but alas it was not to be! My daughter, who gave me a Bedazzler for Christmas, also gave me her cold. I spent most of Christmas day in bed and there was no way that I was going get 18 miles in before I left on the 28th. I did manage to squeeze in a bit more hill work though so that was good. Too bad I couldn't squeeze the Bedazzler into my luggage though. Just too much stuff to bring back. Next time!! (Thanks Neekole Peekole!)
Looking at my sad little running schedule though, I realized that tired or not, I had to get my run in soon because I had a 10K race coming up on the 6th. So, I sucked it up and did it. I did 11 miles on the road and then had to finish the last 7 on the treadmill because I was so tired. My 10 K race went fine but no PR. The 20 mile run a week later went better because by that time my friends were back from their holidays. I did 8 miles on my own and was feeling completely knackered which is odd because that is not that much considering I had to do 20. Luckily it was at that point that Crystal came out and ran the next 2 and a half miles with me. She talked the whole time and got my mind off of things. Then my Nike+ said, "halfway point," and I said "phew!" I felt better and continued on. After about another mile and a half, Tiffany came out did the last 9 with me. Also Crystal came back at the end to do the last mile and a half or so. When my Nike+ said, "400 meters to go" I thought that sweeter words had never been said! The whole thing took 3 hours and 50 minutes which was not that bad considering that it previously took me 3 hours 40 minutes to do 18. Thank you, thank you, thank you ladies! I really could not have finished on my own!!!
Anyway, just yesterday we had our 10 mile race at a Farm. We pulled up and there was a herd of (I think) goats and lots of trees and it was an actual farm! (I have seen signs in the desert and they say there is a farm and there is absolutely nothing that looks like a farm.) In fact, I saw several of these supposed "farms" on an attempt to find the "Edge of the World," but alas, we did not find it. We did however find "Pump #5" out in the middle of the desert. Not all that interesting. But I did take a picture because if we drove around for almost 4 hours, I should have something to show for it. Admittedly, it's not much.
Before I left the US, I had been doing a lot of running because I am still planning on running a marathon here in Saudi. I had wanted to get to 18 miles at home but alas it was not to be! My daughter, who gave me a Bedazzler for Christmas, also gave me her cold. I spent most of Christmas day in bed and there was no way that I was going get 18 miles in before I left on the 28th. I did manage to squeeze in a bit more hill work though so that was good. Too bad I couldn't squeeze the Bedazzler into my luggage though. Just too much stuff to bring back. Next time!! (Thanks Neekole Peekole!)
Looking at my sad little running schedule though, I realized that tired or not, I had to get my run in soon because I had a 10K race coming up on the 6th. So, I sucked it up and did it. I did 11 miles on the road and then had to finish the last 7 on the treadmill because I was so tired. My 10 K race went fine but no PR. The 20 mile run a week later went better because by that time my friends were back from their holidays. I did 8 miles on my own and was feeling completely knackered which is odd because that is not that much considering I had to do 20. Luckily it was at that point that Crystal came out and ran the next 2 and a half miles with me. She talked the whole time and got my mind off of things. Then my Nike+ said, "halfway point," and I said "phew!" I felt better and continued on. After about another mile and a half, Tiffany came out did the last 9 with me. Also Crystal came back at the end to do the last mile and a half or so. When my Nike+ said, "400 meters to go" I thought that sweeter words had never been said! The whole thing took 3 hours and 50 minutes which was not that bad considering that it previously took me 3 hours 40 minutes to do 18. Thank you, thank you, thank you ladies! I really could not have finished on my own!!!
Anyway, just yesterday we had our 10 mile race at a Farm. We pulled up and there was a herd of (I think) goats and lots of trees and it was an actual farm! (I have seen signs in the desert and they say there is a farm and there is absolutely nothing that looks like a farm.) In fact, I saw several of these supposed "farms" on an attempt to find the "Edge of the World," but alas, we did not find it. We did however find "Pump #5" out in the middle of the desert. Not all that interesting. But I did take a picture because if we drove around for almost 4 hours, I should have something to show for it. Admittedly, it's not much.
Pump #5
Exciting stuff!!
Anyway, back to the race! So we got out of the car and not only did it look like a farm, but it smelled like a farm as well! I imagine that 100 or so goats will do that. But really it was quite a nice place and it was a nice change of pace from running in compounds all the time. I didn't even think to take pictures until afterwards so sorry. Next time the pictures will be better but here is the only one of the farm.
You can kind of see where they kept the animals. Mind you, when we got there, that was where they were keeping the goats.
So anyway, the race was 10 miles with 2 loops of 5 miles each. They mentioned a hill but since I had been doing some hill work at home I wasn't too worried. Besides, I really like the hills. We started out going past the goats and pen full of shetland ponies. It was a really nice race, but the problem was that once we got to the hill and went up you could see this really long course stretch out into the desert and it was all a bit of an incline for a very long time! It looked really long and then it turned a corner. It seems a lot further when it is all stretched out in front of you. But it wasn't too bad. Shortly after turning the corner there was a roundabout and we headed back and then down again. At four and a half miles I decided to take a gel and I was just finishing up when I noticed the herd of goats crossing the road up ahead. It was the funniest thing I ever saw during a race. The group ahead of me had to slow up a bit while the hundred or so goats passed over the road and into the grass. I would have stopped to take a pick but I felt like I was making good time. And as I neared the halfway point, I could see that the clock said 44:44 and I realized that I was actually on pace to break 1 hour and 30 minutes which was my goal. As I passed the clock it read 45:10 and if I just ran a little faster on the second loop I could actually do it. So I kept on running now that I knew what to expect on the second lap. I passed the shetland ponies and the now empty goat pen and headed out to do the hill again. Anyway, I managed to pass the finish at 1:29 something and I was very pleased with myself and completely pooped out! So, new PR for the ten mile is 1:29 something. (Official results not out yet.)
Oh, and I also found out that they are delaying the marathon by 2 weeks because they have an 18 mile race scheduled for 2 weeks before the marathon which makes no sense if you are supposed to be in a taper at that point. But now my training schedule is a bit off but more time is better than less time so I am happy about it.
Here is me Happy!
Here is Tiffany. (Hope you don't mind Tiffany!)
It's a nice picture.
And that is what has been going on for the last 3 weeks in Saudi. Mainly running. Hopefully something interesting will come up! Until then, well... I guess we will just keep running!
Tiffany doesn't mind. She's such a good friend, really ;-)
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