Madonna in Abu Dhabi!!!

We got back to Saudi at the end of April and we pretty much spent the month of May here in Saudi doing the same old thing.  But, since both of our birthdays are in May we planned a trip to Abu Dhabi to go and see Madonna at the Du Arena on Yas Island.  She was playing on the 3rd and 4th of June.

Neither of us had been to Abu Dhabi so we decided to make a very long weekend of it and we went for 5 nights. We arrived the day before the concert.  The flight from Saudi is less than 2 hours.  It was such a nice change from the usual 24 hours it usually takes me to get home!

When we purchased the tickets back in March, there were three sections.  General admission, Golden Circle, and Grandstand seating (which was way at the back of the stadium.)  Both the general admission and the golden circle were standing room only.  The problem was that even though we bought the tickets the day after they announced a second date for Madonna, they were sold out of the basic Golden Circle tickets so if we wanted Golden Circle we had to purchase a special package which was twice the price and basically the only extra thing that we got was early entry.  We decided to call it our birthday presents and an anniversary present and we spent the extra money to get the better seats. (Or area rather, since there were no seats to speak of.)  

We really couldn't have cared less about early entry (especially since Madonna showed up totally late) but we went early anyway so we could get our special "extras" which came with the package.  (It was a really crappy watch... Nicole... guess what mommy is bringing you home!!)  Anyway, while we were waiting to get let in, we would occasionally hear people in line start to cheer and we couldn't figure out why.  About every ten minutes or so, someone would scream and clap and we would look and we couldn't figure out what they were getting so excited about.  

Eventually, we saw this woman with an iPad going down the line.  She was having everyone in the line touch this button on it and she would either say yes or no.  Usually no.  Everyone seemed to want to touch this iPad.  So, naturally... I wanted to touch it too.  So I walked down the line to where she was and where everyone was gathering around shoving their fingers toward her.  Touch, no, touch, no, touch no... and eventually it was my turn and I touched it and she said, "You got it!" And I cheered! And I had no idea what I was cheering about but I figured it must be good!  Then she asked me who I came with and I pointed down the line to where my husband was standing and she said that he should come up and then this guy gave us both wristbands that he said would get us into the Golden Triangle and we would get super close to Madonna.  Needless to say, I was super excited!!

If there was ever a concert I would want to see up close and personal it would be Madonna! And you would not believe how close we were!!! We ended up actually inside the stage!!

The Golden Triangle is actually inside that triangle thing on main stage!!

 This is where you walk in and everyone would walk in, look left, and say... 

Oh my God, that's the stage!!!

And once you are in, you realize that you just walked under part of the stage! And she was going to walk down those stairs and all along the outside of the triangle.

Yes, this is a crappy picture because there wasn't enough light, but that is the stage right behind us!!

So then we waited for a couple more hours and finally she came out! And my pictures totally suck... but there are a couple where you can actually see Madonna so here they are...

And yes, my pictures are pretty bad but I was taking them with my iPod and I was RIGHT THERE!! I took some video and while the picture is decent, the sound is horrible.  But someone else posted some much better footage on YouTube using an actual camera so here is a link if you want to see it.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thmV3KVTjZc

There are definitely better videos but this one was short and you can see how close we were.  She was freaking touching people!! 

That was the closest that I have ever been at a concert and it was Madonna!!  Can you believe how freaking lucky I am??? You can't buy those tickets!!!!!!  Happy Birthday to ME!!

Bermuda

Wow! How lazy have I been with the blog?  I guess... very.  I could claim to have been very busy... but that is probably not completely true.  But, since the last blog post was at the beginning of March... I guess, I need to catch up.

At the end of March I went back home for a quick visit and a vacation.  It all seemed so hurried and I barely got to see anybody.  But, I did manage to get in a quick race in Carlsbad.  It was only a 5K since at that point I was still having difficulty with the (now officially diagnosed) ITBS.  We did the Carlsbad 5000.  It really hurt, but I finished in just under 30 minutes.  Not my best time, but considering I had to stop a few times to shake out my leg, I was OK with it.

Andrea on the other hand did really well.  Notice that she is wearing a medal in the picture!

Way to go Andrea!!

After that, Matt came and we headed off to Bermuda via New York.  I must say Bermuda was one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen!  When we got in it was dark so we really couldn't see anything, but once I woke up, I went out onto the deck and this was the view.  

Amazing, I tell you.  We ate breakfast out on the deck every morning for a week and it never got old.  

 The whole island was just beautiful everywhere we went.  But the hotel/ resort was just amazing.

 This was the family pool.

 This was where our hotel room was.  We had the top corner room... hence the amazing view.

This was the pool and part of the golf course... not that we golfed... but we did swim every day.

 And this was the beach club.

 And the beach.

 That's Matt in the red shorts.  He went in.  The beach water was COLD.

 But the beach club had a heated pool if the ocean was too cold!

Freaking amazing I tell you! I have never seen anything like it.  

And while we were there we did leave the hotel and head into town.  You can't rent a car there but there are plenty of taxi's and you can rent a scooter which we did for a  couple of days.  

 Here is Matt with the scooter.

 I think he looks a little bit like this guy from the Flintstones.  I believe they called him the Great Gazoo.

 We took the scooter to see this lighthouse.  

 This is the view from the top.

 This was the city of Hamilton.  We went there quite a bit.  It's right in the center of the island.

 We also went to see some caves.

 It was 100% humidity inside there.   Can you tell??

And that was our trip to Bermuda.  It was gorgeous and I had a great time... but I really don't feel any need to ever go back there again.  But you never do know!!

The Edge of the World!

Before the sandstorm I had actually gone to a place called "The Edge of the World."  It's a big cliff that (on a clear day) has a view below for miles of desert.  We had gone out once before to try and find it but we didn't quite make it there.  Previously we made it to a sort of desert checkpoint where the road was blocked by a long arm barrier gate.  There was a guy there manning it, but he basically just shooed us away and wouldn't let us through.  At that time, we tried to go around but we just ended up on a main road eventually and just went back home.

After another try (on another day), the guy driving eventually found a way around (the other direction) that bypassed the checkpoint by using Google satellite pictures and a GPS. So last Friday, we went to go see it.

We drove out on the road and eventually we came to a point where you are supposed to turn off and drive down a desert road.  It is at this point where things start to get a bit bumpy and it is necessary to have a four wheel drive vehicle.  We bumped along for about a half an hour where we came to the same checkpoint and saw four other vehicles sitting there because they had been refused to be allowed through the checkpoint.

So we drove up to them and the driver (Matt's boss) asked them if they wanted to follow us because he knew a way around the checkpoint.  Now if you have made it out that far already, it is kind of a bummer being stopped before making it there so it was no surprise that all four SUV's decided to follow.  So off we went, now a group of 5 cars total.

The desert here is this vast open space that all looks very much the same, so it would be very easy to get lost.  There are "roads" all over the place, but all the "roads" are just tracks where someone has previously driven.  They are randomly all over the place going all directions.

It was a bit of a windy day, so the visibility isn't all that great.  Basically, the desert just stretches out like this in all directions.  It would be very easy to get lost and just be stuck out there.  Not surprisingly, cell phone reception out here is sketchy at best.

So we kept on driving and eventually we came to a place that was a bit hairy.  It was about 3 kilometers away from the Edge of the World.  But, you have to drive over it if you want to get there.  It was at this point that I am certain that the people following us started to have second thoughts or rather started questioning why they followed some random people so far out into the middle of the desert without knowing where exactly they were going.

The thing that you can't see on the video is that on the left of the vehicle is a rather far drop off the side, so if the vehicle tilts left, you could easily roll off the side and then roll down to the bottom.  Not a very desirable outcome.  This was probably why the last SUV decided to go more towards the middle.  Please note that another car had previously done this successfully.

What you don't see in this video is the water draining out of his now cracked radiator.  One of the guys tried to seal it up with some sort of putty but it didn't really work.  They were able to get enough water into the radiator so that they could drive it back over the hairy part and then tow it all the way back across the desert with a tow rope.  (And this is why you probably shouldn't go out into the desert alone!)

In the meantime, the family in the broken car piled in with the people in the other cars and we drove the remaining 3 kilometers to get to the Edge of the World which was definitely something to see.  Here are the pics.

Hmmm... does this picture look familiar? 

Same shot, but without me blocking the view.

The other side.

Notice that Sammy is back.  Matt went to Germany in January to go pick him up.  So Sammy has lived in the US, Macau, Germany, and now Saudi Arabia.  (Note* he also had stop overs in Taiwan and he was ferried over to Hong Kong as well.) He is looking a bit older, but none the worse for the wear.

In other news, today was the Marathon.  I am sad to report that I was unable to run.  I was holding out hope but yesterday I realized that it just wasn't going to happen.  To say that I was disappointed is an understatement.  It just seems so anti-climactic!  All that training and then no race at the end! Currently, I can't seem to make it past a mile without my IT band giving me trouble.  But, I can still walk, bike, and swim with no problem so I have been doing that.  It only hurts when I run. :(

I am looking into finding another marathon to run when I figure out how to get rid of this annoyance!  But, I hope that the race went well for the others who were running today.  It probably wouldn't have been the most exciting race anyway as there were only 15 people signed up to run the full marathon.  Others were competing in relay teams but in total, it probably would have only been about 50 people in attendance.  This would have been much less than the previous half marathon we ran and that was quite  a lonely race! So, I didn't get to run my race, and finishing the rest of the running season here is not looking good, but the injury doesn't seem too bad so it could be worse.  

My First Sandstorm!!

People keep telling me about sand storms and they try to describe them to me but really, its just something that you have to see to believe!  Lately the weather has been sandy and dusty.  It looks like smog, but when you go outside you really can taste the sand particles.  And occasionally there is a bit of a crunch in your teeth.  It's weird.  The weather reports from weather.com look something like this:

Well today thunderstorms were predicted.  The temperature was pretty warm today.  The thermometer outside said 31 degrees when I went outside.  (This is about 87 F) It was warm but a bit windy.  I decided not to go anywhere today and I am so glad, because I would not have wanted to miss my first sandstorm!  I didn't even know it was coming! Anyway, I checked the weather after the sandstorm and this is what it said:

Notice that it said visibility 0 mi. They weren't kidding!  I went down to the compound store to get some water and shortly after I returned, I was fiddling around in my kitchen and basically the air outside the windows started turning orange.

It went from looking like this:

To this:

To this:

And then it went totally dark! As soon as I saw that something very out of the ordinary was going on I grabbed my ipod out of the docking station and ran upstairs to take pictures and of course, video.  So here is the video.  Sorry, I have no clue how to edit these things so please "bear with."

Basically, all you see is it going from red to dark.  Then it was dark for about a minute or two and then it started getting light again.  I started the second video from when it started getting light again.  The second one is about 2 minutes and it was actually much more exciting if you were actually there, but I am telling you it was the strangest thing I ever saw! (Weather wise that is... there are other things I've seen that I just don't want to talk about!)  So here is the second video hopefully.  It said something went wrong trying to upload it.  It may be to big but hopefully it works. I tried to edit it because it is kinda long.  I am not good at this.  If you see it change color suddenly, well I cut out a bit.  The whole thing took about 3 minutes.

And then, when it was over, it started to rain a little and it went back to looking like this:

Crazy I tell you! CRAZY!  And that is what happened today in Saudi Arabia!

The Usual, but with Goats and Needles!

The running season in Saudi Arabia runs from September through March.  This being February, things have been in full swing.  In fact, we have had three weeks in a row of races.  The first one was a 30K that I missed because my driver couldn't find the compound. (Was disappointed at the time but it was probably a good thing.) The second race was a week later.  It was a charity half marathon and Tiffany's first half marathon distance!  It was very hot.  About 85 degrees with zero shade on a bit of a confusing and repetitive course. (Confusing because we weren't clear on where the race ended...)  We ran together and Tiffany did fabulously! Here is a picture of us.

I think this may have been lap 5 of 6.  It was the only section of the race where there was any cheering.  It was a bit of a lonely race since a lot of people didn't finish and those who did were some serious folks.  I believe that we were on lap 4 when the winner was coming down the finish which meant we still had four miles to go. (At least this clarified where the race ended.)  I look a little goofy here... I don't normally swing my arms like that ... I blame the cheering. Still, we finished and a couple of days later Tiffany did make a mention of doing another one so it's all good!  Well done Tiffany!!! You're fabulous!!

Since this was a charity race, it had nothing to do with our running group and therefore the following week there was another race scheduled.  (That's 3 weeks in a row.)  Oh, and did I mention that I did my final 20 miler 2 days after the half?  My logic behind doing it this way was that I was already tired and so therefore this training would be more like running the end of the marathon. (Running while tired.) It makes sense right?  Regardless, it's done.  But, it took 4 hours!  The week before, I ran 18 miles in 3 hours 15 minutes but that was when I was somewhat rested and ready for a race.  Still, after finishing the last 20, I felt certain that I could finish the marathon.  Not necessarily with any great time, but I definitely felt confident about finishing. That is, until yesterday. We had a 10 mile race at a venue that I was familiar with. I was not planning on trying to beat my previous time but I was still planning on giving my last good effort.  It was a hilly course that I had run back in January with NO PROBLEMS!

It was two laps of 5 miles each.  Should have been no problem.  The first lap was no problem.  When I passed the clock I could see that I was about 2 minutes off of my previous time.  No worries.  So, when I was running the second lap and I saw this coming towards me, I stopped to take a video.

I sound kind of weird because I was half laughing and half breathing heavy. It was just too funny to have this happen.  You just don't see that every day!

So anyway, as you can see, I wasn't exactly pressing things on this race.  I continued on, but when I started back up again I kind of noticed a weird feeling in my right knee along the outside.  It felt a bit like it needed to pop but it didn't.  So I slowed down but continued.  It didn't really hurt, just felt a bit uncomfortable.  So then I got to the hill and I stopped to stretch a bit but couldn't really work out the kink so I just headed up.  I got to the top of the first hill and felt a bit off and I could see the early turnoff coming up so I started thinking about quitting and I was torn between being somewhere that I could run the ten miles I had scheduled somewhere outside the compound and not wanting to hurt myself before the marathon.  Also, I really love hills.  Don't know why, just do! So I slowed down and kept running.  I went about ten feet past the turnoff and decided not to risk it and I turned back and took a shortcut back.  I walked a bit and then tried to jog and felt some pain but nothing I was too worried about.  It didn't hurt to walk but every time I started to jog it was very uncomfortable.  I made it back and wasn't too worried.  I iced when I got home and rested the rest of the day.  Stairs seemed to be a problem but I still wasn't too worried about it.  Until I woke up this morning and it felt really stiff and I was walking funny and it hurt! 

So I did the whole RICE thing, (rest, ice, compression, elevate) but it still hurt.  I am two weeks out from the marathon.  All of the heavy training is done.  I did two 18 mile runs and two 20 mile runs.  I feel fine with my training but right now I am walking funny, and it is not funny!! 

So, I haven't been to the doctor in Saudi and I was hoping that I wouldn't have to ever go.  So I went online to see if there was an alternative solution in the area.  A couple of years ago, I had some good results using acupuncture when I got injured so I looked it up and there just happens to be a clinic in the area.  I called and they said to come in and see the doctor and they would see what they think I should do.  

So we went, and it was a Chinese doctor with a translator.  After explaining the situation, the doctor said that she could do acupuncture.  She wants me to do 10 sessions in 10 days and hopefully that works.  Actually the phrase that the translator used was, "In shaa'Allah"  Basically this means God willing.  They use this phrase a lot here. So if they say that you can pick something up on Saturday In Shaa'Allah then  maybe it will be ready, and maybe it won't! It's probably best to call first before making the trip out there! So, maybe this will work and maybe it won't but I always love trying an "alternative treatment" first.  

It's a bit costly, so we decided to try one session first.  Here are the pics!

 The ones in the hands hurt like CRAZY!

 These hurt too but not as bad as the hand.  Matt said that they went in like an inch. 

He was very surprised when she pulled them out.

After the needles they did some cupping.  I think there were 6 cups in all.  A couple were on my back.  She was lighting something on fire inside them and then sticking them all over me and when the oxygen gets used up they suck onto the skin.  It didn't hurt but it felt really weird.  Anyway, the whole thing was really kind of cool! The knees still hurt (because the other one started hurting after walking all funny because of the original injury) but we will see what happens next.  I still have two weeks till the marathon so hopefully this goes away! Otherwise I don't quite know what I will do.  I mean, I made it through the whole training and now this?? Anyway, I am going to bed now and hopefully I will feel a little better tomorrow!  In Shaa'Allah!

Saying, "See you later!"

Clearly I am not nearly as into this blog as I was before I left to go home.  I think it has something to do with going home and seeing everyone and actually telling them all the things going on here that makes me feel like I have said all I need to say.  That being said, those who know me well, know that I can go on and on talking about nothing in particular sooo.....

Here is what has been going on in Saudi.  For starters I am extremely sad to say that Crystal and her family have left and moved on to bigger and better things. (And definitely colder weather brrrrr)  We tried to spend as much time with her as possible before she left.  She is beautiful and fabulous and will be greatly missed!  And if you ever miss her too, well here is a little clip of her at her going away party so you can watch and remember.  (Note* You may want to turn the volume down a notch!)

The tree was something that she really wanted but just couldn't bring herself to buy.  (I'm sure that you can see why.)  Here is a pic of her later with the tree after she brought it home and filled it up with dates.  It's quite useful really, we are all thinking of buying one next time we are in the souk!

You are missed my dear!!!

And one last picture of Crystal deciding on a carpet just before the most amazing negotiations I have ever had the privilege to witness.  I should have taken video.  She was AMAZING!  I couldn't believe it when the man said, "You win!" Especially since about a dozen men had gathered outside the souk to watch.  I will remember it always! (Although I am almost certain I will never replicate it!)

In other news, Tiffany and I were shopping the other day and came across some more pool toys.  Remember this pic?

 I am specifically referring to the woman with, what I thought looked like some sort of bone. It had really bothered me.  What is that woman carrying?  Well, apparently (and luckily I might add) the woman colorer inner at Saco got a bit lazy and this is what I saw there.

It was an arm!  I'm not sure if anyone else was wondering... but I was, so I thought I would post just in case it was keeping anyone up nights.  

And, well, here are a couple of more shots from Saco. 

How would you like to see them coming up on you while you are playing in your pool? I also found that you can use tape to cover up offensive parts.  I was looking for a hair straightener in Danube and the faces of the women on the boxes were taped over.  But, that is neither here nor there.  

Moving on to my favorite topic... Running! We are currently at just over 3 weeks to the marathon! I am super excited and super nervous! I have been going over my schedule and reading about tapering and everyone says something different.  I have a one half marathon and then I am planning one last 20 miler before I taper.  Some say to start the taper at 4 weeks but I am pretty sure that is for people doing really high mileage which I am not really doing.  These last weeks I have been doing around 35 miles per week.  When I first got back I did an 18 mile run and I was so tired and jet lagged that I could only do about 11 on the street and did the last 7 on the treadmill.  Time was 3 hours 40 minutes.  A week later I did a 20 miler on the street and it took 3 hours 50 minutes. I was still completely knackered but I was OK.  But just last week I did another 18 miles on the street and it only took me 3 hours 15 minutes and I felt quite good afterwards and even better the next day so there must be something to this whole training thing.  I will see how I feel after the next 20 but I think I am going to be OK!   I will definitely finish!