More Daylight

I admit it… I have been a very bad blogger in the last couple weeks. Don’t feel left out, because apparently I have also been bad about checking my email, since I had two from my mom this morning asking if I was alive. Oops… sorry Mom. So here is a blog to prove to all of you that I am, in fact, alive. ;-) The base is doing a big exercise this week, and last week was crazy busy getting ready for it. Two weekends ago, I was on weather standby and got called in to work both Saturday and Sunday, which was not too fun and meant I didn’t do much else interesting that weekend. I did put Dover pictures online, so here is the link, though I am guessing most of you on Facebook have already checked them out: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=392098&id=701905001&l=5066889e9e (P.S. The link should work even if you are not on Facebook.)

Last week was good, though busy. On Wednesday, I had lunch with a bunch of other Lts, most of whom I have met through my intel friends from Red Flag. I really like getting to know new people, and it was a fun lunch hour that turned into a planning session for outings over the next two weekends. Friday morning, my squadron ran in a base 5K, which I was really excited about. Official marathon training for my May 23rd Edinburgh (Scotland) full marathon began last Monday, so I have been running more and was looking forward to a little competition. I was happy with how I ran, but irritated that the course turned out to be only 2.7 miles (a 5K is 3.1). Poor race organization, in my opinion, plus it should have been announced at the beginning so there weren’t people walking around afterwards thinking they took 4 minutes off their 5K time (not me, thanks to my Garmin GPS watch). Anyway, despite the distance foul and the frigid temperature, it was still fun to get out there and run with the squadron and others on base.

On Saturday, I went out to dinner with a bunch of my new friends at an amazing restaurant in Bury St Edmunds. You may remember Bury from my two sightseeing expeditions there back in August, most notably Abbey Gardens, St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and the extensive Saturday market. I now know three people who live in walking distance of the Bury town centre, so it is the perfect location to meet up and walk to all kinds of restaurants, pubs, and entertainment, not to mention the historical sites like the Gardens. Saturday night, we met at a restaurant called Benson and Blake’s, which had the most incredible sweet potato fries I have ever eaten. I should have taken a picture, they were that good… haha. :) After dinner, we visited a few pubs, one of which had a live band playing that wasn’t bad.

Sunday was my first “long run” day for marathon training, and Martin offered to do my 6-miler with me on a nice route he knew in Bury, so we went out to run in the late afternoon and it was GORGEOUS. Though it was cold, the weather was clear with little wind, and perfect for running. We ran to Abbey Gardens for a warmup, stretched in the shadows of thousand-year-old abbey ruins, then set off for 6 miles past the towering cathedral, through the picturesque town, and out a long paved trail past fields of sheep and some rolling hills. This was one of those runs that reminded me of why I love running, especially as the sun was setting on our way back and turned the sky pink and orange behind the fields and cathedral profile. Amazing. :-D

Believe it or not, it really is starting to feel like spring here. The most noticeable factor is the amount of daylight rapidly increasing. For several months, I have been driving to and from work in the dark, as the sun would rise after 0800 and set before 1600. Now, it is daylight by 0630, and stays light until after 1800. It is really motivating for running, and just puts me in a better mood overall. It also has me itching to start traveling more on weekends again! This weekend, I am going with a bunch of girls for “Ladies’ Weekend” at a spa in the historic city of Bath. We are going to tour Bath, hang out at the spa, and also visit Stonehenge, which is in the same area. Though I have never been to a spa and am not really sure it is my kind of thing, I’m excited for the new experience, sightseeing, and getting to know the other girls better.

I kind of feel like my life has been in a time warp since returning from Red Flag a month ago. Work has been so busy, and then with so many old friends gone and getting to know new ones, it is like life has never returned to “normal”… and that’s not necessarily good or bad, just something I am trying to get used to, and it has made the last month fly by. I’m excited about the possibilities coming with spring, like travel, races, and visitors. All that plus the good weather and daylight has me in a good mood even though it was a long Monday at work, so I hope it continues through the long week of this exercise!