Back to reality

Oh, my poor neglected blog.

Let's see ... when I last wrote I was getting ready to run the Loco Ocho the next day. It turned out to be my favorite race EVER. The weather was perfect -- it had rained the night before and started up again later that afternoon but was dry during the race, and the temperature was around the upper 60s. I LOVED the course, which mostly consisted of hilly trails with a few gravel fire roads thrown in for variety.

The whole atmosphere was refreshingly relaxed. There was no chip timing or even mile markers -- in fact, I don't think there was an official consensus on the exact length of the race. It kept being referred to as "approximately eight miles," which might drive more pace-conscious people crazy but was fine with me. (At the first water stop, someone asked the guy manning the table how far we'd gone and his response was "three or four miles.")

Best of all, there was very little pressure to post a respectable time because the terrain was such that you could only go so fast, and on top of that, the trails were muddy from all the rain (though somehow, the overall winner still managed a 6:48 pace). I forgot my camera but Lauren R. got some good pictures, which I'll post eventually.

And then Monday we went to Turks and Caicos with Matt's family and it was truly one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been. I liked it better than most of the Caribbean/tropical places I've been because it's neither too touristy and commercialized (Cancun, Aruba, etc.) nor too "authentic" (in Roatan, you ate and drank at your own risk, and couldn't enjoy the beach because of the sand flies).

The rest of the crew is still there, but Matt and I had to come back yesterday because today and tomorrow I had a handful of important things that could not be rescheduled. That rarely happens to me lately and the timing was unfortunate but I refuse to complain about anything related to a closing these days. Again, I didn't take a single picture, but Carrie took a bunch and I'll post some when I get them from her.

While I was gone Melissa and Sallie both gave birth to healthy baby boys, Noah and Eli, respectively! I was sure Morgan would give birth to Taylor while we were gone too but for now he's still chilling in utero. All these sweet new babies! And Brianna could be here any day now! It makes me really happy.