November Hash

So let's see.  This week wasn't so great either. I've had a lot of Skype calls to make which has been quite an issue for two reasons. 1) Construction is going on behind the house and they're at the stage now that involves the dumping of steel grids onto concrete from a nice tall crane. 2) The Cable has pretty much reached its digital capacity and our internet connectivity is now constantly fluctuating (if not outright dead). Not good for internet-related work. We'd switch to Cable & Wireless, but don't have a phone line coming to the house, and as renters, don't plan to pay for such a thing. So we suffer....Michael's excitement was watching one of his tires via his rear-view mirror as it rolled away in the opposite direction he was driving. Thankfully, he kept control of the vehicle, retrieved his wayward orb, and had lots of friends stop to see if they could help (and found out this has happened to other people too - if you go to TDC for a tire swap, make sure you check the lug nuts).

Anywho, I've been escaping the melee and frustration by doing some training for an upcoming marathon a bunch of us have decided to enter. I've been debating between doing the 10K (6 miles), I know I can run; and a 1/2 marathon (13 miles), I'm not so sure about. I typically run or walk 4-6 miles every other day + do a couple of intense hill workouts/week (lunging) and am pretty satisfied with that.  Lately though, I've been torturing myself by hitting the track once/week with 2 friends to do sprints and see if I can get my speed up. How humbling.  As a final F-you to my body, I decided to run 12 miles with those same two crazy people the other night. I was able to do it and kept up with them (sort of), but really felt it. A lot. I also almost threw up afterwards. Good times.  Now you'd think that would convince me to stick with a respectable 10K for race day. But noooooo.  I have decided that my life resume needs to see a 1/2 marathon completed just after my 46th birthday. What is wrong with me??  So in a couple of weeks, I will tackle 13 miles - the one and only time I will ever do that. I'm a wee-bit scared...

Saturday morning, the construction noise began at 8am. And then for good measure, the next door neighbors alarm went off. It would shut off every 1/2 hour and then restart 5 minutes later for another 1/2 hour of hell. It did that for 2 hours (at least. We finally went grocery shopping to get away from the insanity). AAAGH!!!!  Hash time - take me away!!  Off to Molineux, or Mansion Estate, to be exact. Hey, we don't have to do any hiking to get to the ruins!



But we do want to get away from the bugs, so let's walk! Good job to Jail Bait and Max Factor for a great hash. It wasn't overly scenic, but was a good length (I think the latest ones have been a little too short) and through a wide variety of fauna. We had wide trails and some overgrown spots. The volcano peak, waaaaay up high, was nice and clear (we've been up there!).



Steve-O was a happy hiker, propelled along by German techno music, thankfully contained in his mp3 player.

We ran into the runners coming from the opposite direction twice in about 5 minutes. Lost???

Afterwards, we hung out in the ruin shadows and I got to me meet blog readers who came allllll the way from Normandy! I'm so popular (ha!). They're snowbirds, as we called them in Arizona, part-timers chasing the best weather season to season.  Hello to Alexandre and Patricia (I don't think they're in that pic)!

We seem to be running out of "virgins," with only 4 or 5 this time. Note that the next hash (Dec 10th) will be the Christmas hash, so if you want to chow down have $30EC/$11US at the ready. The food was great last time. Sorry Steve, but we did have popcorn last night, but I promise we're having a healthy breakfast and will eat that pasta tonight. Several friends are worried about our crappy diet and poor liquid intake and gave us a lecture (we were even threatened with handcuffs, which led to another lively conversation not meant for the masses). It's nice to be cared about; thanks guys.

Sunday - 8am.  The bulldozer engine has been fired up. The crane is swinging. The hammering and drilling has begun. Another morning spent shouting at each other over the din, unable to hear our tv, cursing at the peek-a-boo internet. Beach - here we come.