The tickets are bought and I am in theory heading to Houston on Friday. I’m still somewhat in denial about this. It will be a bit of a lonely trip. It doesn’t look like it’ll work out to meet up with S. My SIL does live in Houston, so hopefully we’ll get together briefly, but we’ll see. I held off on making plans since I’ve frankly thought I would go to Carlsbad instead until a few days ago when the weather turned.

I continue to think that Houston has the craziest weather I’ve ever seen. I feel like it was quite consistent when I was there in the summer – hot and humid every day. But it’s certainly been quite variable lately. Here’s where we are for Sunday:

Note the forecast for the day before is now Wind, which is really not ideal for marathon running.  So let’s hope it clears as projected before race day.

I’ve been at sixes and sevens since the New Years.  The weather here has just been ghastly.  Yesterday, for example, I delayed my run since it was 37 and raining steadily.  I ended up running that afternoon in the low 40s, and, of course, more rain.  I am just very burned out after extending my running for 6 weeks past my original planned race.  I had a break, but a break doesn’t really feel like a break if you’re sick.

I am, like I assume most people, tired of Omicron and thinking about Omicron and worrying about Omicron.  They are now testing the kids at school three times a week, and they are now advising they wear N95 of Level 3 ASTM surgical masks.  I guess I should be thankful they’re not mandating double masking if you don’t wear an N95, like some Seattle area private schools, but it doesn’t seem like they’re going to end masking any time soon.  Meanwhile, Roanoke County will, per the local paper, vote out masking as soon as Youngkin takes over and strikes down the statewide mask mandate.  Virginia governors are only in power for two years.  It seems likely a Democrat will succeed him.  Will the new Democratic governor reinstate a statewide school mask mandate in two years?  I guess we’ll see.

I am at a loss as to what to do with S these days.  The weather is just so awful, it’s rare we make it to the playground.  If we do, it’s empty.  Many indoor playplaces are closed, and it just doesn’t seem like a great time to visit the ones that are open.  I wasn’t a fan of those places for germ reasons even before Covid!  I think after the marathon I’ll get over my germ-phobia and start going out more indoors.  Otherwise, we are going to lose our minds.

I would like to join a gym.  (So stereotypical, right?)  But gyms require masks here – not a problem for weights or whatever, but a serious issue for the treadmill.  Furthermore, and more importantly, I haven’t been able to find a local gym with childcare.  State guidance calls for bubbles, meaning the same kids every time, which is antithetical to drop in childcare.  So most gyms have discontinued it.  I did find one down south, but it’s a 30 minute drive without traffic.  At this point, I’m leaning towards a Peleton app membership (which I think is only about $15 / month) and possibly buying a treadmill and more weights.  The primary implication is that I really would need the garage for a treadmill, or to take over our front room.   Either option is fine for me but maybe not fair to the rest of the family.  So, we’ll see.