RUNNING REPORT

OK, here it is, documentation and description of the first 2 weeks of running in Israel. This is a perspective that you will not get in anyone else's blog but mine! Hopefully you'll appreciate its uniqueness, but please feel free to skip this post if it simply doesn't interest you.

Friday: I arrived in Israel on the 1st of July 2005, a Friday. It was evening, and after a long plane flight without any sleep, it was time to go to bed.

Saturday: was my first full day in Israel. It was then that we had our tour of sites around the Sea of Galilee. We returned to Kibbutz Ein Gev with plenty of the day to spare. I asked my roommate Mark Kaetsu, also a runner, if he would like to try running Israel for the first time. I had brought with some powdered gatorade, and I mixed it up and poured it in small bottles. They were 12 oz bottles, small enough to carry in hand while running. I put on my running short, jersey, sunglasses, and white running hat, and we headed out the door. Dr. Schuler was OK with our running, as long as we were always careful and took fluids with us. There is one main road (a highway) that goes by the kibbutz, and it runs north and south. We headed south, running on the shoulder of the highway, since we could not run on the road itself or in the ditch. It was hot and sunny, with a moderate level of humidity. After 20 minutes of running south, we turned around to go back. The return run only took 19 minutes, though it was rather tough toward the end, due to the heat. Going south on the highway would turn out to be the easiest route we found because of its shaded sections and lack of hills. 39 minutes, apx 5 miles.

Sunday: The first day of digging. Dr. Schuler advised us not to run today so that our bodies could get used to digging. After a hot and strenuous morning, we swam in the Sea of Galilee in the afternoon.


Monday: The way our daily schedule is set up, the only free and convenient time to run is early afternoon. (This not the case on Fridays and Saturdays, when we can run in the mornings, early enough to avoid the heat.) We ran north on the highway early in the afternoon. It was very hot, and the faint breeze we had on the way out seemed to die on the way back. To make matters worse, the north route had no shade whatsoever, and the terrain was moderately hilly. One word describes how today's run felt: terrible. Finishing it though was an accomplishment, something to be proud of! 39 minutes, 5 miles.

Tuesday: The road that goes up to the dig site at Hippos is one long uphill. The road has several switchbacks and it climbs about a quarter mile into the air to get to the top of the hill. Today Mark and I ran 2 miles out and two miles back to the Kibbutz, about 1.5 miles of which were steady uphill. The road is very steep. We were breathing heavily, and my legs were burning. After 17 minutes, we turned around at a switchback corner overlooking the kibbutz and the lake. Coming back was easy, and only took 15 minutes. I am definitely not used to hills of this magnitude in Minnesota. I challenge you to find a 1.5 mile hill in the St. Paul area! 32 minutes, 4 miles.

Wednesday: Ran south on the highway. It was hot because we ran in the afternoon again. My body acclimated quickly to the heat during the first week. Today's run had a nice breeze which allowed us to run a little farther on the highway than we had the first time. 48 minutes, 6 miles.

Thursday: Today I took a nap in in the afternoon, and when I woke up it was almost dinnertime--too late to run. So I skipped dinner and ran at dinnertime and ate some food in my room after I got back. At 6:00 in the evening the sun is already quite low (it sets just after 8:00 here), so the intense heat was not a factor that late in the day. Nevertheless, the run was intense as I ran the Hippos hill again, but farther than I did on Tuesday. 38 minutes, 5 miles.

Friday: Today I ran offroad east of the highway. All the fields of crops there have adjacent dirt roads so that farm vehicles can access the fields. We did not open or jump any fences or anything, but still, would anyone care that we were there? The test came as we ran by a field worker riding a tractor. He looked up at us and then kept on working. I'm sure it was immediately clear to him that we had no business with the crops, that we were harmlessly "passing through". 42 minutes, 5 miles.

Saturday: The Jewish Sabbath. Mark and I woke up early when it was still slightly dark. This was a long run day, so we ran north on the highway for 40 minutes before turning around. We ran conservatively on the way out, but picked up the pace on the way back-- 36 minutes. There were many cyclists out on the road today who were also taking advantage of the cool morning air. Biking must be very popular here, but we have not yet seen any other runners. I am begining to think though that Mark and I are the the only runners in the whole country! 75-76 minutes, 10 miles.

Sunday: The only comment I made in my training log for today is "very hot". 35 minutes, 4 miles. Week 1 in Israel: 39 miles. (My "training week" goes from Monday through Sunday)


Monday: Another "VERY hot" day, but with a decent breeze. The average daily temperature is still rising at this point in the summer. However, my body is adapting and is becoming very good at keeping cool, even when it's 95 degrees and sunny! 40 minutes, 5 miles.

Tuesday: 37 minutes, 5 miles.

Wednesday: A good run at a strong pace, north on the highway. Felt much better than the first time I ran north on the highway! 40 minutes, 5 miles.

Thursday: Today's run was a great accomplishment; I ran all the way up to "downtown Hippos" at the very top of the hill! The last mile uphill was quite a struggle though! I ran at the very end of the day. The hard work made the sunset across the lake more rewarding. Sunset?!?! I hurried back down the road before I completely lost my light. In the dim twilight, I could see dozens of bats swooping around in the air; the night was just about to begin. After that brief scare at the top, I made it back to the Kibbutz before it got too dark to see. 60 minutes, 7 miles.

Friday: After sleeping in for the first time since I got here, I felt very refressed. I ran through the field trails Southeast of the kibbutz at 11:30 in the morning. The sun (did I mention that it's sunny every day in Israel this time of year) was overhead, but the air still retained some of its evening coolness. 40 minutes, 5 miles.

Friday #2: A slow jog, right after the Friday evening Shabat dinner. It was getting dark, so I ran around the Kibbutz for a while and discovered the small Kibbutz harbor, north of the beach, seaside restaurant, and gift shop. 33 minutes, 4 miles.

Saturday: Long run in the morning. Today I decided to run up the Hippos road all the way to the top of the Golan heights, about 5 miles out and 5 miles back. Even with a 30 second break every mile or so, I was breathing very heavily and my legs were burning. Even so, I came up behind and passed a group of about a dozen Israeli bicyclists! They had a very funny, baffled look of disbelief on their faces! I did make it all the way up to the highway that goes along the ridge at the top. From there I could look farther east and see the next range of hills. Somewhere over there is the Syrian border. The Golan was taken from Syria by Israel in the 1967 war, I believe. It is not recognized internationally as part of Israel, but is occupied by the Israeli military nonetheless. Anyway, the 5 miles of downhill coming back were much faster and easier on my lungs and leg muscles. However, the pounding on my skeleton was more than what I'm used to. Today's run was a great accomplishment for me. 82 minutes (45 out, 37 back), 10 miles.

Sunday: I plan to run a very easy 4 miles today (30-35 minutes) so that my body can recover. That will put the weekly total for week 2 at 45 miles.

Week 3: I plan to continue to build my weekly mileage through this week and then back off the 4th week. Tentatively 50 miles during the 3rd week and 35-40 miles during the last week of the excavation.

In general, I love running in Israel. I have definitely seen more of the landscape than I would have just by digging and touring!