Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Rotorua redux

My dad lives in Rotorua. It's two years since I was last there, when two friends from Oz and I ran the Rotorua marathon. This time I ran the half (second half of the full marathon course, which follows the shores of Lake Rotorua); it was #6 for the year.

My times in the halfs in KL, Bali and Rotorua have been consistently slow. I should be running sub-2 hrs (Austin, TX in February was 2:00:05) and I want to get back down around 1:54 this year.



Rotorua marathon and half marathon course

My father is a kayaker/adventurer whose current plan is to paddle 1000 km on local lakes before his birthday in late June. He has done this sort of thing before. Now that my visit is over, he can focus on ticking off some klicks.

Kayaking/tramping friends of Dad's put on a lovely dinner on Saturday. Good to see Joan and John, Bob, Blanche, Brenda...

I saw my dear friend Rob from my year at school here way back when we were 13 going on 14. We usually manage to get together when I'm in Rotorua. After catching up on family news with Rob and her husband Rod, and seeing kids and grandkids, Rob and I went to a French film together, "The Women on the Sixth Floor". A very charming film, which we both enjoyed.

I also saw a New Zealand film, "The Most Fun You Can Have Dying" and, the same evening, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" with Dad and friend Blanche. It seems like months since I've seen any good films, so this was a real treat.

On Monday I came up to Auckland, where I saw "We Need to Talk About Kevin". I was lucky to find a documentary film festival happening, based around the art gallery and a cinema in Newmarket. Yesterday I saw "Shakespeare High" (USA) and "The Flat" (Israel), and today my friend Sal and I saw "Epilogue" (Belgium). Sal and I met in Santiago in December, where she was visiting her daughter.

Yesterday we went for a walk on Takapuna Beach, on Auckland's North Shore, at sunset, then had a Thai meal. Lots to talk about with that gal!



Takapuna Beach, Auckland

Tonight I'm flying back to the US and Canada.


2 comments:

  1. You must be one heck of a packer with all the traveling you do. I'm pretty good, but bet I can't compete. Great job on all our marathons too. I don't think your current times are something to sniff at. Congrats!

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  2. Hi,
    I have a quick question about your blog, do you think you could email me?
    David

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