My First Dubai Workout & It's a Small World

Yesterday started with breakfast at the hotel. The buffet has five stations that basically offer: breads, hot foods, cereals, cold cuts/salad, fruits, and yogurts.

After breakfast mrC went to class and about an hour later I went to the fitness center for my first run in Dubai. It is really hot here and since I hadn't yet figured out the dress code for running in public, I opted to do my 30 minutes on the treadmill.

It felt so good to run, even if it was inside. My goal is to keep my focus on time, especially as I get used to the different climate here in Dubai and eventually China.

And just because, the I'm-so-happy-I-just-ran #runfie.

After my run, I continued my workout in the pool. Although my swimming endurance needs some work, it felt really good to be in the pool. After about an hour of swimming and sunning, I was tired.

I went back to the room, blogged a little, and had a protein bar for lunch. Then I took a nap :)

It's such a small world sometimes! Before dinner I had a date with Sarah's (Run Far Girl) mom! Sarah put me in touch with her mom who lives here in Dubai. She generously shared tips and suggestions for what to do and how to get around Dubai while we are here.

For dinner mrC and I went to Deira City Center Mall for dinner at Texas Roadhouse! My appetite has been a little off from traveling (I guess), so even though I ate a lot less than normal, the bbq chicken was really good.

Do you like to swim? 
Does traveling affect your appetite?

We Made It To Dubai!

Ahh, it feels good to blog again! (warning! lots of pictures in this post!)

Since leaving New Hampshire on the last day of March, the days have been speeding by. We filled our cars with what we will need in China that fit into four suitcases, our Cape Cod bikes for vacation in August, and the dog.

First stop in Springfield, MA to visit with mrC's family, celebrate his mom's birthday, and leave our favorite running buddy in loving hands. We will be back in August to get Booney for our Cape Cod vacation.

Man, I miss him!

Next stop in Cincinnati where we visited with friends and family, and went to the Reds Opening Day Parade (practically a holiday in Cincy!).

They won!

After 10 days of no running (and a lot of eating and drinking), I finally squeezed in a 25 minute run. Between the days off, the food, and the humid weather, this run sucked but it felt amazing to be out there.

2.5 miles at my mom's favorite park

On our last morning we had breakfast with some of my family before my mom drove us to the airport.

Pics with my mom, dad and stepmom, and aunt 

Our flight out of Cincinnati was delayed four times. Our plane was late because of bad weather pretty much all over the midwest. Once the plane arrived, we got on only to be sent back to the gate because of lightening and hail. We made our connection in DC, but ended up being grounded there for about 45 minutes. 13 hours and two movies later we were in Dubai.

We woke up on our first day in Dubai at about 2AM and explored around the hotel. We had a buffet breakfast, lunch at the mall across the street and went for a swim before taking an afternoon nap. We picked up some dinner at a small grocery down the block and spent the evening trying to FaceTime/Skype with the kids and our parents.

We're staying in Dubai for a couple of weeks for mrC to attend refresher classes and I'm hoping to squeeze in as much tourist activities as possible around his schedule!

Have you ever been to Dubai?
Do you prefer warm or cold weather running?