To Run or Not to Run

Jerusalem is full of hills and I'm not talking about little ups and downs.  The best way I can describe them is to picture running up Capital Hill on Independence Ave in DC.  I can't run without running up that hill 3-4 times.  It has taken me a long time to get back into running here but I feel like I've finally done it.  I've been running consistently for the past 2 months and it feels great to conquer the hills that intimidated me so much when I first got here.

To keep me running, I've signed up for 2 big races which have finally arrived.  There is the Dead 2 Red race this week and in 2 weeks, I have the Jerusalem half marathon.  The Dead 2 Red is a relay race (in Jordan) from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea.  We have 10 runners on a team and 2 drivers and 2 cars.  We start Thursday around 4pm and expect to finish Friday around noon.  My brother-in-law and nephew did it last year and I'm joining them this year.  We end in Aqaba, Jordan

I learned this morning that our team was down 2 runners and 1 driver due to illness AND it is supposed to be cold, rainy and possibly snow during the race.  WHAT????  Snow?????  I can't believe that my only chance to see snow while I'm here is when I'm running 240+ kilometers (divided by all runners) from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea.  The team met this afternoon and decided to stay in the race and somehow they had also found extra runners and an extra driver.   I'll leave tomorrow afternoon to drive to Amman and stay there one night before running on and off for 20 hours in miserable rain.  It's sounds crazy but I'm actually very excited.  My biggest fear is that my muscles get so tight and I'm in so much pain that I don't recover in time for the half marathon in 2 weeks.  I don't really think that is going to happen but a friend of mine who ran this race a few years ago said that it took her several weeks to feel better.

March 16 is the half marathon.  I'll be excited to run that.  I've been running all parts of the race during training runs including the awful hills and I'm excited to see how fast I can run.  I'll let you know.

For those of you in the US, think warm thoughts for me on Thursday!

Golan Heights

We just had our first night away from the kids.  It was great.  I love them to pieces but it was nice to be with friends and have an uninterrupted dinner and a lazy morning.  Our friends, Jen and Ben, met us at a B&B on the border of the Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights.  We got there midday and went to lunch in a Druze village where Ben thinks he's eaten the best falafel.  It was very good.  The restaurant was packed and there were people there who were skiing on Mt. Hermon which was not too far from there.  We could see the snow on the top of the mountain as we were driving up into the Golan Heights.  It's winter now so there was rain earlier in the day and it was cold - in the 40s and 50s.  After a relaxed lunch, we drove to the Pelter winery.  It is a winery that has been working for the past 14 years.  Tal is the owner and was very informative.  We were shown the winery which is on a kibbutz in the Golan and then we tasted wines for about an hour or so.

After wine tasting, we drove to a peak that overlooked the border between Israel and Syria.  There is a UN controlled area (which we could see) between the two countries (which are still technically at war).  It was so interesting!  We drove back to our B&B and then later had a great dinner.  The next morning after a long and delicious breakfast, we went hiking near Banas waterfall which was a trail of mud after all the rain.  It was well worth it though with the beautiful scenery.   Then we had a 2 1/2 hour drive back to Jerusalem.  I could have stayed an extra night and done some more wine tasting but we didn't have the time.  Maybe we'll get away another time.

Gormans, Gormans, and more Gormans

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We have had a very Gorman holiday season this year.  Almost all Gormans were present for Christmas and New Year's.  We all missed Sean very much but were excited to have Bart, Judy, Bart #2, Donna, Seamus, Aidan, Kyra, Ainsley, Brian, myself, Julia and Thomas.  Bart and Judy flew in from NY to Amman and the Amman Gormans brought them over the border to Jerusalem a week before Christmas.  All 12 of us went and toured Bethlehem and Shepherd's field.  We occupied the last few rows of a bus from the consulate and had an awesome tour with Habib.  All 6 kids behaved pretty well.  We waited in line to get to the birth place of Christ in the Church of the Nativity.  There were a lot of people but with some patience, we all got to see and touch the supposed spot.  Julia was with me and I told her the importance but I'm sure she didn't really understand the significance.  For me, the significance of the locations doesn't always sink in unless I really think about it.  I love having a picture of what we think happened.  For example, Christ wasn't born in a stable like we picture but probably a cave.  I also had the impression that the shepherds had to travel a ways but Shepherd's Field where the shepherds supposedly saw the star is only about a half mile from the Church of the Nativity.  I pictured them following the star for a while but apparently they didn't.  We also went to the Milk Grotto where Mary nursed Jesus and some of her milk spilled.  Apparently, if you drink something made from powder from the grotto, you may conceive if you have had trouble with fertility.  I thought Donna - after having 4 kids - should probably not even enter the grotto.  You never know what could happen if some of the powder rubbed on her.

The whole Gorman clan went to church for the 4th Sunday of Advent at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City on Sunday.  Julia was excited to introduce Pastor Fred and Gloria to Nana and Pop.  She also had a chance to light one of the 4 advent candles that morning which was so exciting.  The Amman Gormans went back to Amman and Nana and Pop stayed with us for the week.  It was great - more updates are coming!