We were dropped off at race headquarters, and I was relieved to get rid of my drop bags and have a little bit of a lighter load. When I booked the hotel it didn't seem like it was that far from the race start/finish. Turns out, it was a little over a mile, and the entire route there was walking on the shoulder of a busy road. I was sweating like crazy AND my phone was going berserk and kept calling Kendra (my attorney??) over and over. Like I would cancel the call and the next thing I knew it was dialing again - happened a half dozen times! Very relieved when I finally arrived at my hotel and got to my room. Another very nice space! I had booked it for the entire week, JUST IN CASE I didn't finish, so I would have somewhere to stay and all my stuff would be there. (In retrospect, I could have left my luggage at the race start and saved some money, but this was just as "easy").
Realizing that I was not going to want to do this walk in the morning before the race, I went to the office to ask if there were public transportation options (yes, we have a hotel shuttle that can take you, but not until 8). I found out there is one "guy" who has a taxi service. I had to find him on Facebook and then message him through whatsapp. I was about 70% sure that he would pick me up in the morning, but I figured I asked him to come early enough that if he did not I could still walk, although that would not be ideal.
I really wanted to go to bed early, but needed to eat. I wanted to go somewhere close so I would not be doing a ton more walking. Unfortunately, the first place I went only took cash. Then, realizing the taxi would probably also need cash, I had to walk to find somewhere to convert money. I got that done, then went somewhere close by to get food.
The curry was actually the first thing that was almost too spicy for me to eat! Turns out, "Thai hot" is pretty hot. Walked back to the hotel and rinsed off, getting everything ready for morning. Tried to watch some Gossip Girl before bed but didn't even make it through one episode before determining I was too tired. 
As soon as I got dropped off at the hotel I went in to get my bags and there was a shuttle there in minutes to get me and another couple to the airport. I still had over 3 hours, but I figured there was nothing else to do at this point since I had all my luggage anyway. I was not going to be able to drop my bags until 2 hours before departure, so I got a little snack near bag drop. Mainly just so I wouldn't have to find somewhere else to sit, plus I still needed to spend the rest of my baht if possible.
I went to check my one monster bag. That bag was under the weight limit. Then they said that I needed to weigh my carryon. Unfortunately, I was told that it was too heavy (even though almost everything was in my big bag (??) so I had to move out of line to take stuff out. Somehow in the confusion, I misplaced my phone. I had already dropped my big bag, and I wondered if in the rush I accidentally put my phone in that bag?? While I was talking to security trying to figure out what to do, I found that I had put my phone in the secret pocket of my purse. Ugh. Anyway, got through security and then had a few hours to kill. I got my blizzard from Dairy Queen - delicious!!
I wandered around the terminal to get my steps in and also to pick up a handful of small souvenirs. Finally, it was time to board my first flight. I got a window seat, although an aisle would have been preferred so I could get up once in a while. Food was served pretty early.
The flight did not seem that long at all, comparatively. I did not have a very long connection in Taipei, and as soon as I got off the plane I ran to use the bathroom and brush my teeth. And here is where things started to go wrong. I was following all the signs for transfers and then ended up at immigration again. I was sort of arguing with the gal because I was trying to figure out why I would have to fill out the Visa if I was only at the airport and not leaving, but she had me re-fill out the form, which was irritating. Then I got through and realized I was headed to baggage claim - which again, is not where I needed to be. So I found someone who could direct me where I needed to go. Once again, following the signs for transfers and it seems I am walking in circles. In my head I am almost going to miss my flight, although the time on my boarding pass was "boarding" and not departure. Finally, I found someone who escorted me basically to where I needed to be. OK great, I had to take the train to the other terminal and then found the gate area. Only of COURSE I went the wrong way and somehow missed THIS immigration section. I'm in line and wondering if I am even going to make my flight at this point. As I finally got to the plane I really thought I was the last to board. I had another window seat, ugh, but it seemed the plane was not full. Until I realized that lots of other people were narrowly making the flight and it was pretty full. We left about 45 minutes late. Tried to watch Good Boy, but it was a little silly, plus I kept dozing off. First meal shortly after takeoff was pretty good. 
Other movies I watched "The Fault in Our Stars" and "About Time." Breakfast was a few hours before landing, and it was probably the worst tasting meal out of all the airplane food I had.
Last movie watched before landing was "Am I OK?" We landed in Seattle just before 7 pm.
Initially, I had hoped to see if I could get on the last Alaska flight out of Seattle, but with us leaving Taipei late and the ridiculously slow customs process - we had to collect our bags and then re-check them, there was no way I was going to be able to do that. I got on the phone with Ben and had a $13 NA beer - what a ripoff! Then I figured I should eat something before all the restaurants closed for the night.
I had a VERY long layover, so I was wandering around looking for somewhere to get my phone charged and try to get some sleep. I found this semi-magical bench that did the trick.
Tried to watch some Gossip Girl, but opted to have very restless on/off naps for the night.
Wednesday (72,600 steps) - Thai 300
Thursday (104,179 steps) - Thai 300
Friday (113,368 steps) - Thai 300
Saturday (110,320 steps) - Thai 300
Sunday (63,708 steps) - Thai 300. Once I realized I was actually going to finish the race, I had spent a good portion of the last few days wondering how I was going to get checked out of my hotel and back to the race headquarters to catch the shuttle. "Thankfully," I finished hours before I had to be out of the room. I only spent a few minutes at the headquarters - mostly just enough time to get all my finisher awards and put my drop bags and pack in a pile. Then I had to walk the mile to the hotel. In retrospect, it would have been smart to book somewhere much closer, but what was I going to do? I got to the hotel and first thing I did was schedule the shuttle to "walking street" at 9:45 since the awards ceremony was supposed to start at 10. That barely gave me enough time to shower and pack. I got dropped off a few blocks away, and even though I should have known exactly where I was, I still had to map to get to where I needed to be. I dropped off my bags inside and then sat outside to watch all the awards - it was pretty neat, unfortunately I couldn't understand a lot of what was being said. Ana and Paul showed up after the ceremony. We got some food at the finish line. Since my shuttle to Chiang Mai didn't leave until 3, we went to their BnB for a bit. It seemed cute, but I made the mistake of lying down on the end of the couch and basically missed the entire visit since I passed out! They dropped me off at the headquarters and I got all my things loaded up on the bus. Also found out that I could get a ride directly to my hotel instead of airport and THEN scheduling a ride with the hotel separate, so that was nice. It was also nice that I was so tired, because I slept through the entire drive back, only waking up when I dropped something (including my award, which I was going to have to fix at home). Got dropped off at my hotel, a really cute spot! Thankfully an employee helped carry my bags up. I was on the third floor, which was a little rough.
I had planned to walk somewhere to get food, but quickly realized there was nothing close so I just ate in the hotel. Food was good, service was slow.
Back at the room I showered and tried to get everything organized and re-packed since I had to be up early in the morning. I went to bed earlier than planned and basically blacked out from exhaustion.
Monday (16,868 steps) - I had to be up early for the one thing I planned before I left! A visit to the elephant sanctuary. My pickup window was 7-7:30, so I was down in the lobby with my bags to leave at the desk at 7. I didn't think I had time for breakfast, but I did grab a croissant from the buffet while I waited. At 7:30, I still hadn't been picked up, so I sent a whatsapp message to the sanctuary. A few minutes later I got picked up and was the only person on the bus. Uh... We drove for about 15 minutes and I thought that we were at the sanctuary, and the driver just got out of the bus and was standing around on the phone, confused. Meanwhile, I am messaging Ben, because I have no idea what we are doing and why everything is taking so long. I share my location with him and he starts tracking me since he is worried that I am alone and not going where I think I am. We then make a couple of stops and pick up other people. Turns out the sanctuary was nearly an hour outside of town - which was fine, but that was not clear to me (or anyone else that got on the bus). Anyway, when we arrived at the sanctuary, we immediately went to change into their special clothes and flip flops. The whole tour was kind of neat. We learned about the elephants, got to feed them and helped prep their food. We also got a meal of fruit and Pad Thai before we got back on the bus. Including transportation to/from my hotel it was only a $50 excursion - I think it was totally worth it.
Stats:
- 506,007 steps
- 194.03 miles run
- 8.62 miles walked
- 0 minutes of cardio
- 0 minutes of strength
- 0 minutes of sauna
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