Freak of Vacation

I've found that the amount of exercise I do is perceived in different ways depending on the person I'm talking to.

People who are moderately serious runners, former college athletes, and the like usually shrug after I tell them I "only average around 40-45 miles or so a week" and tell me I should train harder.

On the flip side, a large portion of people look like I am A SUPER FREAK when hearing this mileage figure that I see as being very moderate.  Because of this, I generally tend to avoid talking much about my running in detail with most people.  Luckily for them, most non-runners don't give a shit about my 5 mile tempo run, so my avoidance of discussing this part of my life is really keeping them from dying of boredom as well.  Win-win!

I mean...I kind of get it...like when I was in middle school and we had to run the mile it was about the worst experience ever.  So if someone had told me they ran by choice on a daily basis, I would have thought they needed a mental exam.   But at this point....easy 5 mile runs are about as easy as walking down the street.  It's just a way to clear my head and get some fresh air.

There are a few times, however, when my policy of "non-running discussion" is not an option.  One of them is when I visit my boyfriend's family mid-marathon training and I try to sneak out of the house before his sweet mom pounces on me to make me a bacon and eggs breakfast.  (don't try to do a long run after this, you will regret it the entire time!).

The second time is when I'm on vacation.  I know I may be in the minority on this, but I really enjoy running when on vacation.  Not workouts, but slow 40 minute jaunts as long as the schedule permits.  If it can't happen, it can't happen, but as long as there's a safe stretch of road and some time, I figure why not.

Like this last weekend, I went on a quick vacation.  I went to Vegas for a bachelorette party!  It was good times!

And for both of the mornings...even after heavy boozing....I got up and went on a run.

When people on a group vacation who don't know you very well realize you are running the mornings in a place like Vegas, they become perplexed and give you the super-freak look.  It brings forth comments like "Oh wow, you'll really earn this buffet!",  "You know I ran a half-marathon once", "Wow good for you...SO healthy", "You don't need to lose weight" and "Maybe I'll go on a run later..I DID bring my workout gear...".

All well-meaning comments.  But I never know what to say in response!  There are a number of reasons why I went on a runs in Vegas and it has very little to do with health or being virtuous.   It's just something I do, just like getting dressed, eating meals, and going to the grocery store.  The questions and comments make me a little uncomfortable because I don't think I deserve any compliments for going on a short slow run, and frankly it's slightly addictive behavior on my part.  And I am certainly not trying to make anyone else bad for not exercising.   So I tried to think of why I enjoy running on vacation:

1) I'm obsessive about patterns and routines as shit and so doing a daily run helps me feel normal and not freak out about other things.   This is the main one.  I admit it.

2) It's kind of fun to get a little time to myself in the mornings because I get overwhelmed in large social groups.

3) Why not?  We got hella free time!

4)  I've got some dope music on my ipod I want to listen to.

5) People watching, people watching, people watching.

and secret option 6)  It's a nice day out and I like to run!

So unless the weather is bad, I usually just go with option 6 as my explanation.   Unless the person is a psychiatrist and I'm in a chair, it's probably the best response.

I guess there's no end in sight to the "Super Freak Vacation Runner" looks, unless I manage to sneak out of hotel rooms at 3 AM and slip back into bed, sight unseen. I figure this pattern will just continue.  I'll keep running when I can in random places, people around me will continue to comment on the fact that it's surprising that I'm running, and I'll continue to feel slightly like a freak when I try to explain why I went on a run.

I suppose worse things could happen :).

Missed the Boat

It's been a while since I last wrote a blog entry.  That's because I went to Greece for two weeks and every time I thought about attempting to blog, I immediately felt too lazy to do it.  I didn't even reply to your sweet comments about my move stress until about...5 minutes ago.   Thank you for them!

Bottom line, anyone who said "let's meet up in LA" or "I want to visit you"....in the comments of my last entry....let's do it!  Drinks, running, surfing on my coach.  You know where to find me (electronically).  

As I thought about this blog entry in a jet-lagged stupor, I considered bombing you with happy beautiful photos, Facebook style.  Because...it was a glorious trip.  I got to spend time with family (my aunts and cousins live in Greece), see amazing places, and really get away from it all.  I even got to trail run a bit!

I've returned happier.  But ya know...all that family album stuff isn't really my blog style.  So here's a story from my trip....

Missing The Boat

My vacation to Greece was going awesome so far.  We were five days into our trip.  My brother, sister-in-law, boyfriend, and me toured around Athens, Meteora, and now back to Athens again for two days.  I figured it would be nice for Anthony and me to have some time as a couple, so we decided to take a day trip to Hydra - just the two of us.

My guide book told me that Hydra is an island off the coast of Athens and is known for it's charming atmosphere, mansions, and the fact that they don't allow any vehicles (including bicycles!) on the island.

Wonderful, I thought.  Even better, we got to take a ferry to the island.  I love ferries.  My brother warned me that the Greek boat system can be confusing if you're not familiar with it, so we took extra care when buying the tickets and got to the dock super early.  A couple Frappe's later, we were off!

Anthony and I settled into the boat and watched an episode of Breaking Bad on his ipad.  The boat stopped at the shore and we hopped out.

We got some lunch and started walking around the Hydra.  It was a little weird because there were definitely bikes, cars, you name it, on the island.  But my Greek language skills sucked too bad to ask the natives about the change so we just rolled with it.  Neither Anthony nor I had done much research on the island so we wandered around from shop to shop.  It was awesome.  I even made a video log to share how beautiful it was!

(yes, I do always sound like I'm on drugs). 

Our tickets back were for around 9:15 PM so we got some dinner right by where the dock was.  And I made another video.  Because "I'm like Meryl Streep".

At some point, we started getting a little suspicious.  No one else seemed to be gathering for a boat.  In fact, we were the only ones hanging out at the dock at all.  I asked several people about the tickets, and they assured me we were in the right spot.  I figured hey...it's Europe...they do things on their on time scale here.

After waiting over an hour, I found a guy who told me to talk to some lady, who then informed me that our tickets were for the wrong island.  My heart sank!

I told her that was impossible because we got here on the same tickets.

And the it dawned on me.  The ferry made multiple stops.  We'd spent the entire day on a different island and had no idea!  We'd even checked in on Facebook into "Poros"!

How is it possible to spend 9 hours in one place and think you're in another? 

All the random things that didn't seem quite right throughout the day (like there being motorized vehicles on the island, etc.) started coming back to me.  Damnit!

The next boat back to Athens didn't leave until 7:30 AM the next morning, so we got a hotel, and Anthony chilled and drank with the random Greek family that owned the hotel.  They were crazy nice and fun. 

And I did what any Kardashian in my situation would do.  I made a another video.

All's well that ends well.  We got back to Athens the next morning safely and only a few Euro's lighter in our pocket.   Ok fine like 100. And maybe a tiny chip off my ego as well.

Learn from my rookie mistake.  If you're on a boat in Greece, remember, it may make multiple stops.  And you may be stuck for a long time.  But hey, even if you're not on the right island, you're still on a Greek island, right?

I'll  see ya next time, Hydra!
::face palm::

(PS:  If anyone is wondering "uh isn't this supposed to be a running blog?".  It still is.  I just haven't been doing that much so I don't want to write about it yet.  But I will soon, because I need to get my butt into gear for NYC!)

Oooh Mexico. (It sounds so sweet with the sun sinking low.)

Greetings, amigos!  I am back from the land of the palm trees, green-blue water, and humidity.   

This was our view from the deck at Tulum.  Beaut-i-ful.

Tulum's claim to fame is having Mayan ruins on the ocean.  The history geek in me loves this.  

The iguanas love it as well (they were everywhere!).













The first night Anthony and I were in Mexico, we cabbed into Tulum and got some Mexican food.  The food was delicious, but downtown was pretty sketchy with lots of police patrolling with lights on and automatic weapons.  Do not fear, we were able to consume tortillas safely.   Delicious delicious tortillas.  Totally worth it.

This smoothie on the right is possibly the most delicious combination of mango, cranberry, and yogurt possible.  En Serio.

After Tulum, we were excited to get into an air conditioned hotel (So Cal has left me with no heat tolerance) and rode the 2 hours back to Cancun.

We went Jet Skiing and Snorkeling.  This was the coolest part of the vacation, but I have no pictures.  Yeah, I am an awesome blogger, I know.   I've never been snorkeling before though and seeing all the gorgeous fish swimming in the ocean was amazing!  I kept trying to dive to the bottom to catch them, but sadly the fish were faster than me and did not want to play :).

And then...the wedding....

Hard to see in this picture, but her dress was perrrrfect!

As was the view from the reception:

And another modelesque couple....

Due to a surprise wind gust, I ended up catching the garter during the reception.   Yeah..not the bouquet, the garter. 

Apparently, I am a single man ready for marriage!  

I did manage to run a bit while in Mexico.  My most notable run was when I ran down the Cancun strip about an hour before the wedding.  I was cutting it close already, got lost, and ended up sprinting the last two miles down the strip.  It was sweat-tastic for sure.  Humidity, you schooled me.  

And here I am, back in So Cal, mosquito bitten, (semi-)tanned, and relaxed.   Vacation, you were wonderful, but I'd like to spend more time with you.  Don't be a stranger, ya hear? 

Way down here...you need a reason to move...