I don’t really believe in catching up. I think that, for the most part, time lost is time lost. By the time you report on things gone by, the information has changed into the nostalgic, fluffy stuff of memory.
But I am here, catching up.
This weekend was fabulous. Not to sleight my family, but WB’s family puts a lot of effort into making it feel like we’re coming home somehow when we get off the plane – it’s a cozy, relaxing way to start the trip.
We successfully reunionized (re-uned?) on Saturday. I won’t lie – I had low, low expectations…I was ready to mingle with a group of bragging and nervous strangers from an unfamiliar small-ish town in a dingy bar and find something likable about the situation. We managed to paint WB as successful without being snobby or braggy (and didn’t embarrass ourselves once – a real accomplishment!).
Before the reunion we went to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants (pretty Americanized, but in my case that can be for the best). They have a very funny sign:
Sign says “Sorry wi du not espick inglich but wi promis not tu laf at yur spanich.”
And this cool mint dispenser (we didn’t partake, I just love it):
I had an 8 mile run scheduled for Sunday morning – it turned into a *great* 5.25 mile run in WB’s hometown. They have a long (20+ mile) trail that connects his town to a few of the adjacent towns. The trail is beautifully maintained and takes you by shopping centers, neighborhoods, gardens, and open expanses of prairie (full of flowers and butterflies at this time of year). I even passed a few cherry trees! I wish I had brought my camera, but my dSLR is pretty big to bring on a long run 
More amazing things about the run:
- It was 70 degrees *in the sun*! I can’t remember the last time it was that “cold” here! Bring it on, fall.
- WB came with me for the whole thing! He never comes on my long runs. I jog/shuffled while he walked for the first mile or two, and then I took off on my own while he walked behind me…and even ran a bit on his own!
- Everyone on the trail was so nice! A few of the “hardcore” runners that saw me looking at the trail map stopped to see if I was lost – that would never happen here! (Little did they know I was just waiting for my wonderful boyfriend to catch up.) We worked out a pretty good system for the run: I took off at about a 10 min/mile pace while he stayed at his 17 min/mile pace, and when I reached a certain landmark I turned back and caught up with him. It was so nice to run in better weather
- I didn’t get tired at all.
We had a pool party (I’m not kidding – WB’s parents are like Ward and June when they want to be) Sunday afternoon with lots of aunts and cousins and associated rugrats. WB’s dad grilled us some portobellos to go with the brats and other assorted meats that the “real” grown-ups were eating.
I had a deviled egg, a portobello cap with relish and mustard, some fruit, a few corn chips, and some gluten-free brownies that his mom baked just for me. (Thank you!!!)
I also had a can of Squirt. I don’t usually drink soda, but we can’t get this here without a special order so I decided to blow my sugar intake for the day in favor of sweet citrusy refreshment.
And then it was already time to fly home, just 30 hours after we landed, back into the wall of humid, smoggy haze that surrounds our city.
Ever since we got back I’ve been exhausted. I went to bed at 7 on Monday, and I’ve been taking naps, sleeping in, and drinking way too much coffee to make it through the day. I’m not quite sure what’s going on, but it’s kept me from doing any more training – I haven’t run a single step since Sunday except to catch the bus. I suspect dehydration or low iron/b vitamins, so I’m trying to fix those things.
I did go to yoga on Tuesday, which was excellent as always. Lots of twisting in this class.
One last tidbit: crackers and almond butter, packed to go.
I love little containers – they make it so easy to pack lunch without having to rely on prepackaged foods that can be less healthy and worse for the environment.
And my job is still great. More about that as I resume our regularly scheduled posts