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FLRC Newsletter - January 2005
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| Aruba: Warm Winter Wanderings |
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My wife Wendy and I go to Aruba the first week of
December each year. This year I borrowed a Garmin Forerunner to
accurately measure the distance of my runs. Standing on the beach at the
Divi all-inclusive resort, I was 5 feet above sea level. I only missed
one day, and that was to go golfing. Aruba is on Atlantic Coast time,
which is one hour prior to your alarms going off. I would start at 6 am
to beat the sunrise, which was about 30 minutes later. At that time the
temperature was around 80°F with about 80% humidity. The last 15
minutes was in sunlight, which jumped the temperature a few more
degrees. As soon as I got back to the room I would head for the pool and
submerge for about 15–20 minutes. I measured out a 10K that took me
past all the hotels/resorts on my side of the island. Even without any
elevation changes, my best time was 43:23. My last day was 45:20. Could
it be that every day I ate three-plus times and hydrated for a good 12
hours starting at 9 am. When it is all included, might as well try to
break the bank. Which is also what I tried to do at the casino each
night. Well the casino was still there when we left with a few more
American dollars in the register. If there is anyone who would like to
challenge themselves to gorge, read, and run let me know, and I'll point
you in the right direction.
—Jim Chely