Hello again! One of the things that I have noticed about going somewhere new is that the first year just flies by. Everything is new and interesting. The second year... eh... not so much. At this point I am at one and a half years. And judging from my blog posts or lack there of, things are no longer as interesting as they once were. Also, my two favorite friends have both left! On to much better places happily but I miss them! Not to say there aren't new friends of course, but I miss them nonetheless.
Currently, we need to decide if we are going to stay for another year or not and it is looking like we are so I guess I need to find a way to make things interesting again. We are planning on doing a bit of traveling this year so that will be nice. It's always good to get out of Saudi for a bit. In fact, I have just recently returned from a visit back home. Right now the weather here is a bit cold which is quite nice. I found when I came back last year in September that I was a bit grumpy to be back. But returning this time was much better. Winter is a pleasant time of year here weather wise. June, July, and August are a bit difficult to say the least! If you want to know a little about what I did when I was home check out this blog: Mostly Legos
So my last blog post stated that I had been sick. A lot. I think part of my problem came from exercising outside in extreme heat conditions. I didn't really realize how much it actually takes out of you. When I originally arrived here (in the beginning of August) I tried running outside once, and then I promptly switched to running inside on the treadmill which was much easier. I didn't start running outside again until September, which is still hot, but not nearly as hot as August.
Since I was here all year last year, (minus vacations home) I was a little more acclimated to the heat and so I continued to exercise outside. (running and a circuit training class) I guess it gradually took its toll on me because since about June, I started to notice that I felt tired a lot. Then around July, I started noticing that I couldn't remember the last time I felt good during a workout. Then I went home to LA and felt a little better but really arrived back in Saudi still feeling crappy. Then the running season started and I noticed my times going from OK to gradually increasing! WTH? Which brings me back to the current running season.
My last blog was just before the second ten miler of the season. (I was unable to finish the first one and only did 7 miles.) I am happy to report that this time I felt pretty good and I was able to finish with a time of 1:40:12. It's over ten minutes longer than my best time on this course but I was actually quite happy with that time considering that I had been so sick the month before. This was 2 weeks out from the upcoming half marathon so I jogged another mile afterwards so that I would be OK training wise to complete the half marathon if I wanted to, which was a good thing because in the following 2 weeks I didn't finish anything more than 5.5 miles. Normally it probably would have been good to get in at least an 8 miler.
Despite feeling crappy, I still wanted to keep my options open to do the marathon in March. My logic being that if I got in a 13 mile run before I left for LA then I would be on track to get in the minimum amount of training to try again for the full. I decided to treat the race like a long run and not worry about time, just go for completion. The course was 3 out and back "loops" of about 4.33 miles each or 7K. Each loop starts out flat and then has a steady incline until you turn around and go back down and back to the start. The first loop was fine. The second loop was crap. My knee hurt and I just felt tired. I seriously considered dropping out at that point. Since this was an out and back course, I was very much aware of the fact I was pretty much last. There were a few people still behind me when I started out on that last lap but I could tell that they were not planning on doing the third lap. Nevertheless, I went out again feeling super crappy. By the time I got to the last uphill, I had to walk a bit. My knee was killing me and I just felt exhausted, but just before I reached the top I saw another runner heading back down. I was still in last place, but I was only about 200 meters out from the "next to last place runner." This was a bit of a relief because I was a good 15 minutes behind the other runners and it bugged me a bit that the time keepers would be hanging around waiting for me to finish before they could pack it all up and go home. Now that I knew they were waiting around for two of us, I could relax just a tad.
So here I was, officially in last place. The guy ahead of me kept looking back to see if I was gaining on him but clearly I wasn't so he kept stopping to pick up trash along the way. (To give you some idea of how slow I was going.) I had absolutely nothing left. And when I finally arrived at the finish line everyone who was still there cheered for me. It was very clear that they thought this was my first half marathon. (It was my 6th.) My time? 2:38:16. Last year around the same time I finished (a much friendlier course mind you) the half in about 2:03. In August I finished in around 2:20 and that was in 90 degree (F) heat!
Last year was just not my running year. Between injuries and illness I did not have a whole lot of success. Hopefully, this year will be better. Time will tell. I started taking magnesium and that has helped a lot! (Evidently it is very easy to sweat out magnesium... who knew??) Anyway, I was so tired after the super long flights back home that it took me about a week to start feeling human again. Of course I did some running but no where near enough to do the marathon. And after seeing the course, (which is the same as the half just double) I am pretty sure I am not currently up for it. Maybe next year! Also, considering my current times I would be looking at around 5 hours to complete it. Hmmm, no thanks!
In other news, Matt finished in 2:17:56. It was his first one. Congratulations!
And here is a picture of me and my daughter going out on New Year's Eve. It has nothing to do with this blogpost but I like it!
Currently, we need to decide if we are going to stay for another year or not and it is looking like we are so I guess I need to find a way to make things interesting again. We are planning on doing a bit of traveling this year so that will be nice. It's always good to get out of Saudi for a bit. In fact, I have just recently returned from a visit back home. Right now the weather here is a bit cold which is quite nice. I found when I came back last year in September that I was a bit grumpy to be back. But returning this time was much better. Winter is a pleasant time of year here weather wise. June, July, and August are a bit difficult to say the least! If you want to know a little about what I did when I was home check out this blog: Mostly Legos
Dinner in Vegas
So my last blog post stated that I had been sick. A lot. I think part of my problem came from exercising outside in extreme heat conditions. I didn't really realize how much it actually takes out of you. When I originally arrived here (in the beginning of August) I tried running outside once, and then I promptly switched to running inside on the treadmill which was much easier. I didn't start running outside again until September, which is still hot, but not nearly as hot as August.
Since I was here all year last year, (minus vacations home) I was a little more acclimated to the heat and so I continued to exercise outside. (running and a circuit training class) I guess it gradually took its toll on me because since about June, I started to notice that I felt tired a lot. Then around July, I started noticing that I couldn't remember the last time I felt good during a workout. Then I went home to LA and felt a little better but really arrived back in Saudi still feeling crappy. Then the running season started and I noticed my times going from OK to gradually increasing! WTH? Which brings me back to the current running season.
My last blog was just before the second ten miler of the season. (I was unable to finish the first one and only did 7 miles.) I am happy to report that this time I felt pretty good and I was able to finish with a time of 1:40:12. It's over ten minutes longer than my best time on this course but I was actually quite happy with that time considering that I had been so sick the month before. This was 2 weeks out from the upcoming half marathon so I jogged another mile afterwards so that I would be OK training wise to complete the half marathon if I wanted to, which was a good thing because in the following 2 weeks I didn't finish anything more than 5.5 miles. Normally it probably would have been good to get in at least an 8 miler.
After the 10 miler
Despite feeling crappy, I still wanted to keep my options open to do the marathon in March. My logic being that if I got in a 13 mile run before I left for LA then I would be on track to get in the minimum amount of training to try again for the full. I decided to treat the race like a long run and not worry about time, just go for completion. The course was 3 out and back "loops" of about 4.33 miles each or 7K. Each loop starts out flat and then has a steady incline until you turn around and go back down and back to the start. The first loop was fine. The second loop was crap. My knee hurt and I just felt tired. I seriously considered dropping out at that point. Since this was an out and back course, I was very much aware of the fact I was pretty much last. There were a few people still behind me when I started out on that last lap but I could tell that they were not planning on doing the third lap. Nevertheless, I went out again feeling super crappy. By the time I got to the last uphill, I had to walk a bit. My knee was killing me and I just felt exhausted, but just before I reached the top I saw another runner heading back down. I was still in last place, but I was only about 200 meters out from the "next to last place runner." This was a bit of a relief because I was a good 15 minutes behind the other runners and it bugged me a bit that the time keepers would be hanging around waiting for me to finish before they could pack it all up and go home. Now that I knew they were waiting around for two of us, I could relax just a tad.
So here I was, officially in last place. The guy ahead of me kept looking back to see if I was gaining on him but clearly I wasn't so he kept stopping to pick up trash along the way. (To give you some idea of how slow I was going.) I had absolutely nothing left. And when I finally arrived at the finish line everyone who was still there cheered for me. It was very clear that they thought this was my first half marathon. (It was my 6th.) My time? 2:38:16. Last year around the same time I finished (a much friendlier course mind you) the half in about 2:03. In August I finished in around 2:20 and that was in 90 degree (F) heat!
Last year was just not my running year. Between injuries and illness I did not have a whole lot of success. Hopefully, this year will be better. Time will tell. I started taking magnesium and that has helped a lot! (Evidently it is very easy to sweat out magnesium... who knew??) Anyway, I was so tired after the super long flights back home that it took me about a week to start feeling human again. Of course I did some running but no where near enough to do the marathon. And after seeing the course, (which is the same as the half just double) I am pretty sure I am not currently up for it. Maybe next year! Also, considering my current times I would be looking at around 5 hours to complete it. Hmmm, no thanks!
In other news, Matt finished in 2:17:56. It was his first one. Congratulations!
And here is a picture of me and my daughter going out on New Year's Eve. It has nothing to do with this blogpost but I like it!
Happy New Year!!!
