The Calm Before The Storm

Not much to report really.

OK, so that’s not a very interesting blog on its own I guess……… I suppose I could report that I ran Yas Marina circuit last night, the first lap with my mate and the second lap rather faster.  I should mention that I have a house guest at the moment.  An old colleague of mine from my previous contract over here has got some contract work with my new company and is off to Saudi on Saturday, and for various reasons, mostly to do with the cost of hotels in Dubai at the moment (it’s the Dubai shopping festival and therefore all the cheap stuff is booked solid apparently), he’s come to live with me out in the desert until his trip kicks off on Saturday.

He has work he can do anywhere so it’s all worked out really well for both of us.  I get some company and a training partner for a few days, he gets out of the office and the hurly burly of Dubai.  He came circuit training with me on Monday night (we he did a bit of running and I did all the circuits – to be fair, he’s just starting on a new fitness regime after a few months off and Christmas etc. which is chiefly designed to give him something positive to do when he gets to KSA, and might keep him off the booze and cigars !) and then as a treat I took him to Yas Marina circuit last night – he’s never done it before.  SO he ran a lap (5.5k) then I ran the second on my own (we ran the first lap at 5.5 min kilometers – which isn’t too bad in itself, then I ran the second lap at 4.5 min KMs – great negative split times for those of you that care or understand.

The really big news is that after we ran Yas Marina last night we went to IKEA and I now have wardrobe doors (they are still in the box but I’m sure that I’ll get them fitted tonight !).  I also purchased a tool kit (about 5 quid – IKEA, you can’t knock them !) and some picture hooks, and put up Psychos Christmas/leaving present (which looks very nice thank you very much.).  That in turn gave me an idea for some cost effective wall decoration for the company apartment.  I have set my friend in AD, who’s into photography, to finding me somewhere where I can get pictures made into posters (at a reasonable cost !) and then we can set about getting them mounted (at a reasonable cost !) and then onto the walls in the apartment.

I can take them with me then or leave them (at a price………..) but it should bring a bit of individuality to the place.  The photographer chappy has to come out to the office here in the desert so he’s going to bring his camera and we can go and seek out some atmospheric pictures which will convert into posters.  Whatever else then it’ll give us something to do !

This weekend is looking interesting, if not a little hectic – Thursday I’ll be driving to Dubai (and taking my housemate back ready for his trip to KSA) so that I can go to the office with the last of the requirements for my Residency Visa, and to sign my final papers (I hope !), then pick up my race number for the 10k on Friday morning.  I’m then bunking up with a friend who lives near the race venue (it’s also the Dubai Marathon at the same time – too far for me at the moment, and roads are going to be closed and 10s of thousands of people are going to be clogging up the surrounding area looking for somewhere to park – therefore, with a bit of luck, I can get up and walk to the race start without too much hassle – a 0715hrs start is just cruel frankly, as well as the fact that I should be finished around 8 should mean that I can get at least 2 breakfasts in !).  Once the race is over and I’ve had a shower I have to take my car and swap it for a service, then I have to pick up my new bike……………….. nothing to get excited about obviously !

I haven’t decided yet whether I stay around in Dubai on Friday night or come back to the desert.  The reason there is a decision to be made (assuming my friend still has their sofa available obviously) is that I have booked to go on a triathlon training course on Saturday morning in AD (run in conjunction with the AD International Triathlon on 3^rd March).  I don’t know whether I’ll find it interesting or useful but it’s only about a tenner, so I thought “what the hell” – I might learn something/ meet people/ fill in half a day etc.

Then I’m in the throws of possibly meeting another ex-colleague on Saturday afternoon for a catch-up……… and of course, I have to find time to go for a ride on my new bike…….

On another completely unrelated note, I went and picked up my medical test certificate for my Residence Visa this morning, and I’m officially “FIT”…….. which I think is fair enough !

That’s about it in the run up to the weekend.  My guest and I are thinking of wandering up to the Tilal Liwa later to say hello to some of the staff……… and I’m thinking of sneaking in for a quick 1000m swim…… we’ll see I guess, although after two hard sessions my legs are feeling a bit stiff so I might just go for a little jog to loosen everything off as I’m not doing anything tomorrow with the race on Friday.