Friday after the morning sessions at the conference were over and the conference ended, most people headed right out. Within a short time the church was quite abandoned. I had thought to bring some casual clothes in my backpack so that I could change before heading out for some last day shopping. I asked a friend to take my dress clothes back to the hotel. I was still wearing my dress shoes though. I have probably logged many more miles on my dress shoes than I ever will on any pair of running shoes. These shoes have served me well for 7 years. I get them re-soled every 6 to 12 months. They get a lot of use.
On my way to the big used bookstore that I was planning to visit, I saw a Taco Bell. Besides Krispy Kreme, that was the only other food place I was planning to hit. I had my standard soft taco and bean burrito meal. Though it tasted good, I realized something from that meal. One of the podcasters I listen to, Scott Smith, always says to ask the question “How do I want to feel?” before sticking something questionable in your mouth. I have eaten so well for so long here in Mexico that I did not remember the yucky food choices in the US made me feel awful. I just thought that I felt good because I lost weight. Now I know I feel good, at least in part, based on what I eat too. All that to say, I did not feel good after eating at Taco Bell. Though the flavor was just as good as I remembered, the gastro intestinal stress I was in for the rest of the day just was not fun.
On my way to the bookstore I realized that, in my desire to clean out my backpack to make maximum room for my shopping purchases, I left out my list of books I needed to look for. My wife had given me a full typewritten sheet of books to try and find. I also had hand scribbled my Amazon Wish-List on the back of the paper. Now I did not have that as a guide.
I got to the book store with just a vague idea of what I needed. Obviously I would remember the books that I wanted if I saw them on the shelf. I did find one (Running & Being: The Total Experience, George Sheehan). I also found a few in the right genre for my son. Nothing for my wife since I certainly would not remember even a small handful of titles she wanted.
Then off to the sporting goods store just to look. I had nothing else on my list that I specifically needed from there. I just wanted to browse. Nothing caught my eye.
Wal-Mart provided a new set of headphones that I like. I can get them here pretty easily. Wal-Mart had them for about $3 less. I am hard on headphones and have to replace them every 6 months or so. I just pull the wires too often or get them hung on something. I am sure the 6 gallons of sweat I pour on them every time I run does nothing good for them too.
I then headed on down to the Queen Mary just to get a closer look. Not sure why I did not snap a picture of her. Just do a google search for images and you will see what she looks like. I am talking about the ship, not the person she was named after.
Back to Borders where I picked up Duel in the Sun.
Finally back to my hotel. This was all a 6 hour walk. Some of it was covered on train and bus.
I was then all blahed out. I talked with my wife over IM for a bit before she headed to bed. All my hotel friends were still out (those who had not left yet). It was only about 8:30 and I had nothing to do. So…I changed shoes and went out for a walk.
I walked up a road I had not ventured up yet this week. I found the very top of the hill that my hotel was on. I walked around in the dark until 10:00 and then got back to the hotel and into bed quickly. I wanted to get a fresh start early the next morning for a nice long run I had planned.
