Well it has been sometime, since I have done any work on this blog and for that I am sorry. there has been a great deal going on so I will recap the last month or so for you...The last race I covered was the round Island Relay here in Penang, after that we were on our way back to the US for our annual holiday visit. We began our home visit in St. Pete, after some rest days with Roxanne's Dad and then with her Mom...Wow did I miss St. Pete, especially during the months of December and January. its beautiful, blue skies, cool temperatures and just the beauty of the berg. I got in a few runs in some of my favorite spots, The Pier and Coffee Pot Bayou, and the hotel we stay at, big time nod to the Hampton Inn downtown, is right at the St. Pete Yacht club so I just walk out the doors and I am off! See Dolphins playing in the bay, tons of birds, and sometimes even a manatee or two, and with temps in the high 30's low 40's...it was epic! I even got a chance to run with two friends while I was there, which makes it even better.
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| The Yacht Club, St Petersburg. |
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Coffee Pot Bayou
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The Next thing on the agenda was a return to Roxanne's Dads place in Lake Wales, Florida. I was to have done the Zombie 5K, an adventure run where you are required to run from Zombies through a maze of different conditions, one of the things was through water....now this would have been fine, however it was supposed to be near freezing temps that morning and the venue was almost 2 hours away from where we were staying. So I begged off and gave my spot to a friend...The last thing I wanted to do after spending the last year in sub tropical conditions was to wade through water on a near freezing day...not a good plan. I was disappointed as I was supposed to do the race with my friend Jason, I have not seen him for well over 2 years and it would have been a blast to do the run with him. there will be other chances though I am sure! sorry Jason hope you guys had a blast!!
Running on the roads out by Roxanne's dads place was really nice, generally empty back roads, lots of cows and Sandhill Cranes. The weather was equally good, however a few morning presented a new problem, dense fog, which is not always the best idea to run in on a back country road...usually waiting to a bit later in the morning helped, and it was still just a cool outside. Cow pastures offer a whole new sensory experience though, mostly for the nose...they stink, not to put to fine a point on it..
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| cows |
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| Sandhill Cranes |
Now it was on to Roxanne's Moms in Lakeland, Florida. Another great visit and another great place to run, although this run involved a short drive to Lake Holingsworth. then a few loops around a beautiful lake, surrounded by multi million dollar homes and a university...nice!
Then it was on to my parents place in south Florida, I was also slated to do a 10k in Boca Raton, on 30/12/12. The race was right along the ocean on A1A. That day dawned very cold. It was only in the 40's at race start, but this was a really nice race. most of it along the highway, the rest through a neighborhood. It was a lot of fun, and I ran fairly well...47:44 was my timing.
So on 5 January we were back in Penang, I ran once more before that in the states, then 2 times more when I returned to Penang. Then I got very sick, bringing a cold/flu back from the states. Today after almost 10 days off, I finally feel normal, I still have some respiratory issues, but the rest has really helped. I feel rejuvenated, and ready to go back to it. Loyal reader, its a new year and lots of new challenges lie ahead...Thanks for reading, Run Happy!
