Had a Good Travel Year in 2011 and Bermuda is Waiting in Just Two Days......

.....and, yes, that pink building in the background will be my hotel while I'm there.

2011 was very good to me travel-wise: Work in Indonesia; birthday in Iceland; mission trip in Peru; and work in Nigeria. Counting an overnight job in Canada, I visited five continents this year.
I'm pretty excited about Bermuda--everything points to it being a really interesting and enjoyable four-day trip in the middle of winter.

After the half-marathon in Iceland, my right knee problems came back with a vengeance. For nearly a month, I didn't even walk as exercise. Then came the Peru trip followed by the Nigeria job so I'm really not in any kind of "running shape." Actually, after the pain following Iceland, my doctor told me to quit running and I may, or may not, follow his advice in Bermuda.

I'm signed up for what they call the "Bermuda Triangle," which consists of three races in three days (get it, the "triangle"). The first night is a one-mile race through the business district
and what's neat about it is that us "turtles" will go first and clear the street, then the "elite milers" will run for a $10,000 prize--the runner who breaks the four-minute mile walks away with ten grand. There are reportedly runners enrolled from all over the world: Ethiopia, Jamaica, Kenya--all the major running cultures. Given the metric measurements for all races today in the Olympics and other world competitions, the one-mile race is an anachronism. Nobody really trains to be a one-mile runner, yet the allure of breaking the four-minute mile is something all elite runners strive for.

The next morning will be the 10K (6.2 mile) race. It will wind along narrow, often cobble stoned, streets along one of the beach fronts. I plan to walk both the one-mile and 10K races and save my knee for the third day when I will do the half-marathon (13.1 miles). Of course, my knee will be making those decisions and not I, however, my ultimate goal is to finish all three races and receive the Bermuda Triangle medal.

If I don't, I plan to just have a heck of a good time. Most of the days will be free time (even the half marathon is only [for me] three hours. That means I'll have plenty of time to explore the island--even though I may be limping and groaning.

I'm going with the same tour group that Devin and I used in Iceland so I may, or may not, know anybody else. To save money (the hotel is pretty expensive), I'm sharing the room with a runner from Philadelphia that I've never met. I've found serious runners to be an ok type of group--basically they're self-reliant, non-whiners, and pretty nice people.

I leave on January 12 and return on the 16th. A short trip, I think it'll be just right for the middle of winter here.

And in case you think I've impressed Devin with any of this: I haven't. He and Alida are leaving in February to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary--to Tahiti. He's running the Tahiti Marathon and she's doing the half-marathon.

And I will have free Internet in Bermuda.....