Viva Mexico!
We’re back. But did we actually go away? Walking off the plane into JFK, we immediatly felt the cold and the anxiety of being back home.
But it was an awesome trip. Every last bit of it: the resort, the beach, the food, the weather, our time together; awesome. We ate chips and ceviche and fajitas and drank margaritas and watermelon juice (mmm!).
The resort, Ceiba del Mar, was really spectacular.
While we were away, I did two ocean swims (swimming outside in February!). The water was nice and warm. They had a roped-off area right in front of the resort that I guessed was about 450 yards around. On Friday and Sunday mornings, I did six laps (four laps, short rest, 2 laps). I did them at a solid, even pace. The water was relatively clear – especially considering that I didn’t go very far off-shore. During the first swim, the water was calm; there was a bit of a strong current on Sunday. There were tons of small fish and a few medium size ones. But, about half-way through my first lap on Friday morning, I looked to my left and saw:
A friggin’ spotted eagle ray! I nearly jumped out of my skin – especially because just that morning I was reading a little article in “Outside” that mentioned Steve Irwin’s death. But then, I realized it didn’t want anything to do with me and I looked for it during the rest of my swim. Unfortunately, that was my only sighting. There was also one tree on the bottom that at first looked like a dead shark! It was all bleached out and could have been a shark, it even had a small, thick branch coming off it’s middle, looking like a dorsal fin!
We each did a couple of runs on the beach. Running on the soft sand was tough. I ran slow and easy, but couldn’t keep my heart rate down. The challenge of picking your feet up out of the sand, while avoiding the tide and holes dug by kids made for a different running experience. But no matter all that, we were on the beach, in the sun!
While sitting at breakfast on Sunday morning, we ran into Jeff and Sarah, friends of mine from college. I haven’t spoken with them since our five year college reunion. How random is that? It was great to catch up with them on the beach and over a delicious Mexican dinner.
btw: Have you seen “Yes We Can”? I can’t stop watching and re-watching it. They took a speech that brought tears my eyes and have created a song that gives me goosebumps over and over again. If you haven’t seen it, or even if you have, here it is:
Obama’s won eight in a row. I just listened to his speech from Madison, Wisconsin. Yes We Can!
Swim – February 8
Distance: 2,700 yard (estimate)
Time: 45 minutes
Ocean swim at Ceiba del Mar beach
Run – February 9
Distance: 4.5 miles (estimate)
Time: 40 minutes
Average heart rate: 150
Course: Puerto Morelos beach run
Conditions: Sunny, warm (high 70´s)
Swim – February 10
Distance: 2,700 yard (estimate)
Time: 49 minutes
Ocean swim at Ceiba del Mar beach – current was kicking a little harder this time
Run – February 11
Distance: 4.5 miles (estimate)
Time: 45:30
Average heart rate: 136
Course: Puerto Morelos beach run
Conditions: Partly cloudy, some wind, cooler (low 70´s)