Because Being Ordinary Is Boring

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Week in Review (April 14 - April 20)

Tuesday (13,639 steps) - I had plans to start the drive relatively early since I did not want to miss the shuttle and definitely wanted to get a walk in at some point. I took a shower (boo hiss that I forgot conditioner, shampoo "for all hair types" is the death of me) and got ready to head out. Figured out my stuff as much as possible and loaded up the car. Drive was on highway until the last section when I got dumped on extremely terrifying local roads that were narrow and I was so relieved when I finally got to Rhosili - the finish line of the race. I had only about an hour before the bus was leaving so I didn't have much time to do what I wanted to. I first had to figure out where I needed to pay the 40£ to leave my car there for a week. I also had to move it further away as this is a popular tourist area and they needed the closer spots. I decided I would be able to get a mile walk in, so after I used the bathroom I headed out. The finish line area was SO COOL.

Right away, I saw WILD HORSES!!! We weren't supposed to get too close to them, but I figured this one wouldn't mind getting a selfie.

Also saw this adorable mom and baby.

I stupidly had not eaten anything yet, and it was getting closer to the time we were to be leaving. There were a few restaurants open, so I went to one and asked what I could get for takeaway. I got a sandwich of some kind and a few things to drink. It took longer to get than I would have hoped and I was getting nervous about missing the bus. I grabbed my food and then talked to the guy at the shuttle and grabbed my things to load on the bus. I was one of the last people on board and sat in the very back. I did at least sit near some chatty people, at least while we were waiting to depart.

We actually got our bibs on the bus, so that was fun - these are completely waterproof because "it tends to rain in Wales."

Otherwise, drive was kinda boring and just read my book. We got back with a lot more time than expected, so I decided I would walk back to my BNB and try for a nap since I was still pretty tired. Then I had to walk BACK to the Boat Inn area for packet pickup and the mandatory race briefing. Sat with Krista, Guy and their crew. Rachel got a picture of the three American ladies (and with only 27 females toeing the line, we are 1/9 of the female runners!

This was very chaotic and not a huge space for so many people. The briefing didn't cover that much, I didn't think, but we did also have to do the gear/kit check, which took some time. I did find out from Rachel that they don't flag/mark the course at all, which was shocking to me, but thankfully I had the map in Gaia and planned to run the route on my watch as well. Krista ordered pizza and offered me some to take back with me. I dropped everything off at the BNB and then rushed up the street to pick up some bottled water from a nearby convenience store. I had dinner and got all my stuff ready to go. Read more of my book and tried to go to bed relatively early since I had an early wake up.

Wednesday (116,215 steps) - Wild Horse South Wales 200

Thursday (122,858 steps) - Wild Horse South Wales 200

Friday (86,354 steps) - Wild Horse South Wales 200

Saturday (91,319 steps) - Wild Horse South Wales 200

Sunday (54,210 steps) - Wild Horse South Wales 200. Once I crossed the line I was SO HAPPY that I was going to be able to take my shoes off. My drop bag was brought directly to me and I put my Crocs on. I wasn't sure how far back Daf was, but I did want to watch him finish. I dropped my stuff off at the car and then went up the street to get some food and a coffee. Went back to the finish and saw some people cross. Spencer mentioned that if I was going to the bunkhouse that they had to go there now, so I was going to have to follow them up. Felt bad not sticking around for Daf!!

When I got to the bunkhouse, parked the car. Hoped to nap for a few hours before driving to my hotel in Swansea. When I got there Spencer noted that my back left tire was very low. He said they would find a pump and help me put air in it before I went out on the road. Was brought into the main room and was sitting there charging and catching up on some other stuff when Spencer came back in and said that my tire was now completely flat. WTF!! I went out and looked and he was right. Of course this would happen on a Sunday on the coast and 45 minutes from anything. The other volunteer - I cannot remember his name and feel bad about it - sat with me and helped me to make phone calls. He found someone that would be able to come out that same afternoon and put a new tire on!

I fell asleep at some point and was woken up while the tire guy was there. I went out to talk to him and he said that the tire wasn't exactly the same (which was a bummer because when I had talked to the people at the car rental place they said a). it was my responsibility to get a new tired b). they don't have spare tires for a reason and c). I had to get the exact same tire). At this point I didn't even care because I still have to get home. Charge for the tire? 170£ (over $200 USD). UGHHHHHHHH.

I stick around for just a bit longer and then finally decide to start the drive to Swansea. Back on the super sketchy narrow roads. The map didn't take me to the right address the first time so there were some navigational challenges that were annoying. Finally found the hotel and checked in. Room on the third floor. Of course. Showered (again with no conditioner, boooo). I was also hungry and in no mood to drive anymore and the only thing nearby was McDonalds. Ok, I can eat that. So I walked over there and had to order from a kiosk because customer service doesn't exist anymore. The machine didn't print out a receipt and it was busy, but I sat close by and listened as they were calling out orders. I heard my name and went up but didn't see any food. By now it's been almost 20 minutes. I finally talk to a manager and they don't have my order. "where did you order it from." "Do you have a receipt" "it's not that I don't believe you, I just don't see your order." After over a half hour they finally remade it for me. I ate every last bit and was really glad that I had gotten the Oreo McFlurry -SO DELICIOUS. When I got back to the hotel I hung up all my really wet clothes so things could dry better before going home. Also went to the lobby to get some bottled water and pillows I could elevate my swollen ankle. Went to bed early. Trashed.

Monday (14,580 steps) - Woke up and still had a mess of things to pack.

Originally I had hoped to get things down to two bags, but that wasn't seeming likely. Also - SUPER IMPRESSED with how great my feet held up - especially with all the rain and mud.

Ankle still swollen!!!

I found a castle that looked interesting that would be on my way to the hotel that I was staying the second night. The Margam castle and grounds were free, I just had to pay to park.

I had no idea where I was going, but there seemed to be a lot of walking paths, so I just wandered around. I followed signs for "Farm Trail" that took me to an outdoor "zoo" of sorts. There were adorable pygmy goats!!

And donkeys and Shetland ponies!

And of course, more sheep. I wandered around for quite a bit, thinking my ankle was feeling decent, but then decided I was hungry and wanted something to drink. I wasn't even sure where the restaurant was, but finally found my way back to the castle. I got a coffee, sandwich and carrot cake (yay for no raisins!)

Walked around the other side of the castle and decided I had enough and didn't need to visit the gardens - 4 miles on a sprain is probably more than enough.

On the way to my next hotel I decided I better stop and get some compression socks for the plane ride home - especially since my ankle was still so swollen. I mapped to a running store in Bristol. This is where things got truly terrifying. Now the rental car I had was supposedly compact - I don't see how that is possible. This town was so scary. The most narrow roads ever and I had no idea where to park. I finally illegally parked in a grocery store lot and walked over. I was in and out of the running store in minutes, so I think it was probably fine. Another 20£ spent - I should've just brought socks from home!!

I had nothing to drink so I made yet another stop at a travel center. Picked up Costa coffee and more bottled water. I kept making wrong turns and being in the wrong lane for the roundabouts. I cannot wait to get rid of this stupid car, driving here is NOT FUN.

The hotel is seemingly in a suburb. The lot was also teeny tiny and terrifying to park in. My room was really complicated to get to and I had to go up/down about 5 flights of stairs to get there. Thankfully they had a restaurant on site because - NO MORE DRIVING. I waited a bit to go down and by then there was a wait. It was a relatively fancy dinner and way more than I wanted to spent (about $40).

A gin espresso mocktail since I'm still not drinking

I asked the girl at the desk for ice so that I could elevate and ice. Tried to watch some tv and everything was garbage so I just went to bed.

Stats:

499,175 steps
212.54 miles run
9.68 miles walked
0 minutes of cardio
5 minutes of strength
0 minutes of sauna

Week in Review (April 7 - April 13)

Tuesday (17,607 steps) - Still don't have my car, so I had to walk Olive about 45 minutes earlier than usual so Ben could take me to work. I went to the gym before work so I could do my short 15 minutes on the StairMaster (that still felt long). That meant I had my whole lunch hour free, so I went for a long walk. Nice day.

Ben picked me up from work and we took Olive for a walk when we got home. Dinner and Good Wife.

Wednesday (14,913 steps) - Quick 15 minutes on the Peloton. Still didn't have my car, so a repeat of Tuesday - walked Olive early. Had just enough time to do my strength workout at the gym before going to work. Another long walk at lunch.

Took Olive for a walk while Ben started dinner. Both the chicken and veggies cooked in the air fryer, although now Ben's talking about getting a second one so he can multitask. I think we are fine with one.

Good Wife.

Thursday (22,405 steps) - Yay for work from home day!! Since I leave in a few days, really nailed down all my running gear. Finalized my drop bag and my bigger carryon bag. I will still have a small personal item that will just have a little bit of non-running stuff and electronics.

I had hoped to go for my run up in Boulder, but STILL DO NOT HAVE MY CAR, so I had to run near the house and I really had to get creative with my hills to minimize the number of miles I was doing. My heartrate seemed really high the whole run, which I *think* was just my watch being weird, although I've been paranoid about getting sick ever since I found out that Ariel came down with strep the day after I saw her last. Anyway, the temps were fine for the run and I saw multiple bald eagles, which was fun.

Took Olive for her walk. We walked down a different cul-de-sac and the homeowners have a stone lion near the curb and Olive was afraid to walk by it. Otherwise, an uneventful walk.

Ariel's car was FINALLY ready for pickup late afternoon, so we picked that up after I got off work, then met Ben at Torchy's. We all actually played the trivia game, which was a lot more fun than what Ben and I normally do (yell answers out at the tv).

Good Wife.

Friday (14,599 steps) - Not a great start to the day. First, the Keurig broke (I swear, these just get more and more disposable, I think we are now on our 4th one??), so Ben had to pull out our camping gear to make old school coffee. THEN, I missed the Wordle (wtf is "carom"). Took Olive for a walk. We hit a TON of traffic going into the city, which is rare for a Friday. Really busy morning and took Olive out for a late, long walk. Thankfully it was overcast and just slightly breezy. Good walking weather.

After work I dropped Olive off at home and went to 4 Noses to meet Ben for happy hour. We actually got a spot at the bar, which is rare for a Friday night! We ordered Panda for dinner and I took Olive for a walk. Good Wife.

Saturday (16,925 steps) - Change in our normal routine. Did the last bit of my packing while Ben picked us up coffee - essential since our Keurig broke!!!! Drove up to Boulder for a run/hike with Olive.

Rails End afterwards.

Took Olive for a walk later in the evening and just missed a rainstorm - we need it. Good Wife and snacks for dinner.

Sunday (18,357 steps) - Went for our run relatively early (for me) - around 9 am. It was an easy hour with Ben.

This was entitled “grimace for the camera”

We decided to get Dutch after the run and sat in the longest drive-thru line ever. When we got back home we took Olive for a long walk to the lake. After I showered we got everything packed up and headed for our (new) tradition of going to Parry’s before heading to the airport. It was freakishly crowded and half the time we had to sit in the sun until someone left. I had a delicious calzone.

Traffic to the airport was horrible, but thankfully we had left with plenty of time to get there. I had pre-checked my bag and dropped it outside, which was very helpful. I think it took less than five minutes to get through security and for once I didn’t have anything flagged on my person OR my bag. I had a decent amount of time just hanging around the airport waiting for my flight, but I made sure to use the time to hydrate and charge all my devices. I ran into Walter at the gate and we chatted a bit while we were in line and found out we were ironically only sitting about 5 seats apart! We boarded on time and I was really happy that I had my aisle seat.

We got fed a few different times and the food was... fine.

Watched a few episodes of Gossip Girl and "Song Sung Blue" - which was pretty good and not at all what I thought it would be. Did some reading. Tried to sleep. Failed. Watched "When Harry Met Sally" - which I'm not even sure I have seen before. We got more food shortly before landing.

Monday (14,225 steps) - Once off the plane it was off to get through customs, which was pretty quick and collect bags. I don't remember this taking too long, and then it was time to figure out how to get the rental car. In my quest to save money, I booked from somewhere offsite that apparently didn't have a shuttle to get to. I finally asked ChatGPT how to get there since I was not having much luck figuring it out on my own. Found the supposed free bus that would get me there. First, the bus wasn't free. Ok, that's fine, whatever. It was supposed to take about 15 minutes to get there, so after about 10 I figured I should start figuring out when my stop would be so that I would be ready. That's when I realized that the stop that was supposedly on this route WAS NOT ON THIS ROUTE. I pulled up my gps and it looked like we were heading further away from where I needed to be. Decided to just get off and figure out from there. I figured I couldn't be that far away and I would call a Lyft (since I won't use Uber after my credit card was compromised multiple times) ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT LYFT DOES NOT WORK THERE. So then I am carrying all three of my bags, sweating to death, with a nearly dead phone walking to the car rental place. It was over a mile and a half walk!!!!

FINALLY get there. Walk in, over an hour after my reservation time (which shouldn't be an issue) and pull out my information. The guy claims he cannot find my reservation. Multiple people come over and look at my information and no dice. They seem to have something since they know that I prepaid for my reservation, but in general, I feel like I am starting from square one. They also needed everything but my first born for this rental. Drivers license. Passport. Screenshot of my credit card statement with proof of address, a $2,500 damage deposit, proof of return flight, etc. It took over 30 minutes just to do the paperwork. By the time we go out to get the car it is pouring rain and I am instructed to take a video so that there will be no disputes over damages upon return. FINALLY, I will be on my way.

I have never driven on the "wrong side" of a vehicle before and will admit that this was TERRIFYING. The streets in "town" are incredibly narrow and often only wide enough for one car. Then I was almost immediately thrown onto the highway - which I thought would be worse, but it wasn't because at least I had my own lane. Not to mention that people seemed to drive nicely and below the speed limit so it wasn't that bad. I stopped about halfway to Chepstow, Wales so that I could get something to drink and a snack. Arrived at my bnb just after I was allowed to check in. It was tiny, but cute and all I really needed.

Having not slept at all, I decided to take a nap - I basically blacked out for an hour or however long I decided to sleep. I figured I would walk into Chepstow to the Boat Inn (where packet pick up was supposed to be) so I would know where I was going and get dinner.

The walk was easy to navigate and about 3/4 of a mile. Found the Boat Inn and had dinner on the patio. Had hoped to see some other runners, but ate alone.

After dinner I walked back to the BNB. Got everything ready to go for morning since I was going to be driving to the Worms Head on the west coast to drop off my car and needed to leave anything I didn't desperately need in it because everything else would have to fit in my drop bag. Read my book for a bit before deciding to turn in early because I was so tired. LONG DAY.

Stats: