Sometimes I feel so astonishingly
lucky. I have a lot of things for which I am very grateful. Most recently I
have had reason to feel thankful because of a random Tuesday. On the Tuesday in
question my wife and I—spurred on, I am sure, by the return of two of my
coworkers from tropical vacations—decided to look at plane tickets to Puerto
Rico. We had been to the island last year and were both longing for warmth and
sun. To my astonishment, plane tickets were less than half the price we had
paid the year before! No way! I conveyed this information to wife, who
expressed similar disbelief. Well, since
plane tickets are so cheap, I might as well look at rental apartments, I
thought to myself. And I did. And I found multiple affordable, beachfront options.
NO. FREAKIN’. WAY!!!!
Long story short: we bought plane
tickets and rented an apartment on Tuesday after work. We arrived in San Juan,
PR on Saturday evening! How can I possibly describe just how excellent it is to
be able to think on Tuesday, “Hey, let’s go to the tropics!” and then actually
be there on Saturday? I can’t. I mean…part of it is the flexibility of our
respective jobs, part of it is having the financial resources to do this—and that
comes from a giant portion of dumb luck and just a soupçon of hard work and responsibility—part
of it is having a partner who is open to wild ideas like jet setting to the Caribbean
on a moment’s notice, and so many other little bits of fate and luck and
happenstance that align.
Anyway…we got to spend the better
part of 4.5 days laying on the beach and exploring beautiful Old San Juan. As
has been my new travel habit, I packed my sneakers, sports bra, and running
gear so that I could get out and get in some miles while we were away. After
all, I needed to find some way to offset all of the rum I consumed.
I was super excited to get outside
the first day. I decided that I would stick to the area immediately around our
condo and on the beach. Security is pretty tight in the touristy neighborhoods—this
is a fact that is comforting when you are in these neighborhoods, but also
vaguely menacing when you are contemplating leaving these neighborhoods. At any
rate, I was going to stay close by for my peace of mind, and especially for the
wife’s. I suited up, slathered on a healthy dose of 70 SPF, and grabbed my
sunglasses, phone, and water bottle. My first obstacle appeared before I had
even left the property. Remember the aforementioned security? Well, you
actually need a key fob to leave the gates! I had to bang on the security
office’s window and have someone let me out. This really only took about 30
seconds, and I was off! I ran around the complex and down the access road to
the beach. I hit the beach—I was concerned, having never run on sand before—and
followed the other runners’ lead and moved down close to the surf where the
sand was packed. The surface was pretty manageable, and it sure is nice having
the waves crash in as you run by.
See, I told you it was nice! That
first day, I was just in awe of the beauty around me. The waves and the sand
and the beautiful blue sky was amazing. The sun was blazing in the sky, and
suddenly I realized I had nearly finished my bottle of water and I was only
about half way through. By the end of my three miles, I was sweating profusely
and feeling like I had run WAY more than a mere 5k. Because of my steady
training and increase in mileage, three miles generally felt like a leisurely
run—this is a fact that I am quite proud of! However, these were the hardest
three miles I had run since my first 5k in October. The sun, the sand, the
heat, and the insane humidity made this incredibly challenging.
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