Saturday's run is for the Pit Viper and his clan! Thanks for the donation, friend. I appreciate it quite a bit. The kiddos that will get to experience YMCA Camp Miller with a gift in the name of Ty Taylor will appreciate it too. Hopefully your generosity will inspire more donations - http://www.ymcacampmiller.org/donate/ty-taylor-campship-endowment/!
I have to confess, today's run is not the one that I want to dedicate to you. It was a nice run, with good people and I enjoyed it. I will present the run stats and apologize to Scott for leaving him behind (his fault, not mine. Besides, he gets his run soon - stayed tuned).
Instead of that run to Lodi Garden, I want to dedicate my ONLY run in New Zealand to one of my favorite Kiwis!
I have to confess, today's run is not the one that I want to dedicate to you. It was a nice run, with good people and I enjoyed it. I will present the run stats and apologize to Scott for leaving him behind (his fault, not mine. Besides, he gets his run soon - stayed tuned).
ACTUAL RUN STATS
Distance: 6.68 miles
Duration: 59:35
Soundtrack: Dan Auerbach, Keep it Hid
Date: December 28, 2015
Place: Abel Tasman National Park
Reason: It's beautiful
This winter our family joined two other families and campervanned (is that a word?) through New Zealand. Of course, it was an amazing experience and we all had an incredible time. I was excited to be out in the fresh air was planning on running as much as possible while in NZ. As it turned out, I went for exactly ONE run in the two and a half weeks we were there. That said, it was an amazing one.
Our trip started on the North Island. We flew into Auckland, secured our Jucy vans (plus one giant camper) and headed out to Waitomo to see the glowworms. Incredible! Equally incredible? The boys' group photo for our Black Water tubing adventure.
From Waitomo, we headed to Kawhia, where we got our first New Zealand pronunciation lesson. There's an F sound in that word. No, really. Christmas in Kawhia, then off to Wellington to get to the South Island. Arlo was very excited about driving onto the ferry.
The first stop on the fabulous South Island was Kaikoura for whale watching! It was amazing. Not only did we see sperm whales, but we saw seals and a pod of almost 30 dolphins.
Without turning this post into too much of a New Zealand travelogue, our next stop was the spot for the run. I had been in NZ for a week without a single run and a hike in Abel Tasman combined with my wife's stories of the "good old days" and a multi-day walk along one of the most famous walking trails in the country forced my running shoes onto my feet. Jake joined me for a run along a small section of the famous Abel Tasman Coast Track. The views were breathtaking, and we of course stopped for a selfie. We made it as far as the Tinline Bay campsite before turning around and running back. The hills were a treat. My elevation map in Delhi never looks like that. Trail running and city running are very different. I'll leave it at that.
After Abel Tasman, we headed south along the west coast, which became my favorite part of the trip. Punakaiki and Fox Glacier were incredible - we flew in a helicopter for our anniversary! Then inland to Wanaka, then back out to the Milford Sound.
From Milford, we started our trek back to real life with stops in Queenstown, Mt. Cook and Christchurch.
Pit, thanks for the donation and good work on being from one of the best places in the world. Seriously, NZ was a trip of a lifetime. The only thing that would make it better would be downing a cold one on your deck. Let's make that happen!
RUN STATS
Distance: 5.13 miles (8.25 New Zealand Kilometers)
Duration: 43:15 (43:15 New Zealand Minutes and Seconds)
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