Two years ago I was all signed up for the San Francisco Marathon and all hell broke loose and I obviously didn’t get to partake in that (we also had flights and accommodations booked). I deferred to 2021, and that too ended up being questionable and it moved from the regular July date, to a new November date, so I deferred again to 2022. This trip was literally years in the making! Two days ago I got home from a truly wonderful vacation that was book-ended with unexpected circumstances.
First off, my Marathon training couldn’t have gone better. I spent six months building up my distance for this, which would be my 7th marathon. I had the perfect timing of being able to build for twelve weeks and run the Vancouver Half Marathon in early May, then continue with another twelve weeks getting from Half Marathon to Full distance. I was never injured or sick. I had no real aches or pains and continued to weight lift two days per week (sometimes three!) throughout. I remembered Marathon training as taking over your life, and perhaps it truly can, but I seemed to have struck some sort of balance that my body was okay with during this time and was able to recover well and even bike in small doses. So this was sort of like having a really good first born and being tricked into thinking that I probably want to do this again someday…Like with tattoos, I can never truly say that this one will be my last.
As I got closer to race day, we begin to plan our trip and my boyfriend was getting super excited to buy cigars in the States (cheaper) and we planned things we planned to do, and outings we want to take. We booked flights way back in February and booked two separate hotels so that we could change the scenery up mid trip. Countdown is on. Taper time was happening and the last few days of work before vacation was upon us.
The morning of the trip we get all ready and make sure the place is spotless for our return (I’m not coming home to chores!) Unplug unnecessary appliances, water the plants, and grab an Uber to the airport. We are on time and ready to go. Security is surprisingly fast and everything is smooth. Customs is normal and seemed seamless. Then, once it seemed like we were good to go, the officer says he’s just going to hold onto our passports and that we need to head on down that hallway over there. Ok, fine, we have been “randomly” selected for secondary screening; no problem, we have time, we’re in vacation mode. We wait in an area that is sterile and has the feel of a hospital waiting area or, as it would so happen, like a police station.
My boyfriend, who can crack a joke so dry it’s alarming, says “Maybe this has something to do with my possession charge”. I’m like “har har…..wait, what!?” And no, dear reader, he was not joking. What’s the best way to discover that your boyfriend of four years has a criminal record? I’ll tell you, it’s not at the airport when you’re about to board a flight to another country…
So it turns out that when he was younger and slightly more foolish he was busted with point 3 grams of pot. That’s correct; not even the amount you could use to roll a joint! Basically, smaller than the end of a pencil eraser. Talk about zero tolerance…literally zero! He was 20; he is now 46. At the time of the charge he received a $300 fine and 8 hours of community service and that was that. He has been to Florida and to Mexico multiple times. He never looked back. And now, 26 years later (when pot is legal!) he is “pulled over” at the airport in US customs for this criminal record. So we wait and they are back and forth and our boarding is approaching. The one officer is pretty optimistic and thinks it shouldn’t be a big deal. Then we continue to wait. He asks the officer about me and she is like “oh, she can go” and he asks for my passport and comes to tell me that I need to go on without him and make sure I catch the flight. (He had to ask! Presumably I would have just sat and waited as the plane took off, had he not have).
So I am in shock and disbelief, still assuming that he will come around that corner and be cleared of this ordeal. Nope. I board the plane, and ask that they wait a few minutes as my partner is still in secondary holding…they go check and return to say that no one is in secondary holding…and I get a message that he has had to “redact his request to enter the United States” and was escorted in the arms of two police officers from the airport. Removed from the airport in police custody for a minor drug charge 26 years ago like he was a violent offender or actual criminal. What the serious hell is happening!?
I had his clothes and toiletries. I trained for this race. We had plans and tourist dollars to spend! But no, I arrived in San Francisco solo while he paid cab fare to go back home. He was so supportive. Despite how mad and disappointed he must have been, he encouraged me to have a wonderful trip and do all the stuff and have a great race. (He transferred me a bit of money too, because I also was not planning on paying for this whole trip myself). I was very upset. I got there and got the bags and headed to the first hotel. I walked around and explored a bit and regrouped and headed out for a few hours of walking to the race expo to collect my race swag. That evening I did cry and felt emotionally drained. I went to bed at probably 7:30 and the next day I realized that, yes, I could see about coming home early; or, yes, I could decide not to do all the stuff because WE wanted to do the stuff. But then I was like, screw that! I saved for this, I waited for this, and I’m here and I’m doing the vacation.
I spent the next day’s walking and walking and doing the stuff. I saw the sights and went to the places. I got up on race morning and there was the silver lining of not having to wake someone else up at 3:45 am when I was milling around getting ready. The first hotel was hardly a block from the race start/finish. Amazing! Race morning was cool and at some points nearly cold. The race was a challenge and the hills tire out your legs eventually. I did figure I’d come in around 4:20 because I knew I planned to walk anything too steep. I came in at 4:30 and certainly DID walk anything too steep…which eventually added up to a lot…but it was a great race and I felt pretty good, but pretty spent by the end. I went back to the hotel and had a 30 minute nap then showered and got ready and headed out to spend the remainder of the day walking around and checking out the city a bit more.
The rest of the week I spent countless hours walking. I felt a bit physically drained by Tuesday evening (the race was on Sunday) but spent the longest time walking on Wednesday and felt really good (I’d say that my ankles were the most tired from the hilly streets). I really made the most of the trip. I missed out on restaurants I guess, I only ate out for breakfast one day and dinner one night, but otherwise grabbed food at markets or to go. And that’s fine, saved me money and vacation pounds. I felt bad for my love being at home in a heat wave but he was endlessly encouraging and supportive, and kept any annoyance of the situation to himself. I don’t know that I could be that way if the roles were reversed. I actually guarantee I couldn’t be; between the sadness of missing out and losing the plane fare and vacation experience, and the total boiling anger I would have had about the whole situation, he is a better person than me.
When I headed home on Thursday, it was smooth. The flight left a tad early and we arrived early too. Baggage was fast and customs was totally easy and smooth. (Even reporting the cigars I did pick up for him in the States was a non-event). Then I get out of the airport and into the car and receive email that I have been randomly selected (You win!) to have a Covid test. I knew this was possible, as the government of Canada had recently re-implemented random testing upon entering Canada. But one would assume that they would pull you aside at the airport and test you. But no! They email you and tell you to go get tested in the next 24hours OR ELSE!
Then I discover that no, you don’t book a test, you get a kit and have to self administer via zoom call with a nurse and send in your sample. So, okay, we are expected to return from a trip, get a kit, arrange a zoom call, administer a test and send it back for results in 24 hours? Sounds reasonable. Not like people have jobs or other things to do. Or that said test results can take over a week, and oh ya, you don’t have to isolate or wait for your results. You feel healthy and have no symptoms, cool, do all this stuff on your own time and we’ll get back to you with your negative result in two weeks. Oh you do actually have Covid? Well, go about your life and do all this stuff and you’ll be over it by the time the test tells you that you are positive. The whole scenario is beyond any comprehension! Like seriously, pull me aside at the airport and test me! Don’t, make me chase down a test I probably don’t even need and waste resources and my time. (Note anger and frustration…and I wasn’t the one who got put on the no fly list! Imagine.)
So I have my test kit and I’ve done the online forms and called the numbers and have tried to find out what is going to happen to me for having not complied (or been able to even meet this ridiculous deadline) and they tell me that its fine, as long as I do the process. I get an email today that states on one hand that I have an appointment with a nurse online to do my test on Aug 4th (7 days after I’ve landed!!) but also says that I should ignore if fully immunized. So, What? Am I doing a test a week after landing where; if I do have Covid, I’ve been spreading it around for a week and likely over it, or if I don’t (most likely) seems redundant and a waste of everyone’s time. Or do I ignore it because I’m fully immunized? I don’t even understand what is happening and will I be fined? It’s seriously unreal and beyond any comprehension. (Like I say, test me at the airport when I arrive, if it’s necessary, don’t make it my job to seek out a test and administer it myself when I am totally feeling healthy) Rant over, is it hot in here?
So what has this whole experience taught me? I can still travel alone and have a great time. Uber and Google maps are the best. US/Canadian exchange rate is utter garbage. I can be 44 and not only train for a marathon but walk miles and miles for days and days after running it. A criminal record can haunt you forever kids! Covid protocols are strange and ill-conceived. It is an amazing person who suffers loss and embarrassment and still is supportive to their partner. And, apparently, I like “bad boys”.
Periscopecake 