Mission: To update since my last post (been a while)

Sub-mission: To avoid it being a simple timeline telling

Sub-Sub-Mission: To be at least a little interesting 

Ready?

Ok… go…

Admittedly there are worse places to be settling down with the laptop and hammering away on the keys for a while (hammering being a deliberately used term, as I have been told on a few occasions that I treat my keyboard with ‘purpose’). While a large swathe of the USA is succumbing to a severe storm, here in Miami the weather is fine. And that means fine, in a Will Smith style of delivery. The Sun is shining, scattered clouds and mid 20’s. Happy days.

I managed to get out of Dodge yesterday (well, New York to be accurate) to locate down here for the weekend between two separate business trips; New York last few days, and then Bahamas first part of next week. So I am back in my US ‘base’ – albeit at a different apartment from where I wrote my last update. Unfortunately that one was not available this time, so I am somewhere I have not stayed before – a hotel / private apartment blend, which to some extent is the best of both. Although I would have preferred the peace and quiet of my little art deco place. Next time.

The view is pretty good though, even if the music from the pool area below is a little too party for my ears on this fine Saturday afternoon. In a nice twist of convenient timing, a friend was also in town for the night yesterday so that meant dinner, catch up and a walk about was on the agenda, before he sets sail on one of those cruise ships out there. Enjoy a week on the Ocean waves Mr T!

Anyway, drum roll please… We finally signed the Bahamas deal! If you have followed along between this and my former Indian focused posts you may recall I have been involved in this for a couple of years now, and it has been a persistent cause of frustration at just how long it has taken. But we got there. Finally. I shall spare the narrative of detailing what the deal actually is, except to describe it as a management contract to operate an airport there and oversee its development with a new terminal and all that jazz.

We have already started the job at the beginning of the year but – in another twist to the tale – have yet to announce it publicly, as there is a desire to do this in alignment with some other commentary. It is therefore best described as not a secret, but also not something we are shouting about either (yet). Hopefully mid February my LinkedIn can be updated with a post and all the glory can be sought!

It does come as relief that it is concluded. We now need to deliver what we have signed up for, but I am less concerned about that. I have a good team and we are all very much pulling together positively to bring it all to life. Yes, there will be curve balls, and occasional chaos I am sure. But we shall keep the proverbial ship sailing through occasionally choppy seas – nautical references are well suited to this region – and do a good (‘fine’) job over time. It also means on a personal level I shall be out this way probably every three months now in my oversight capacity, which will be a reduction from the intense amount of back and forth needed to finally get it sorted.

The first few months of this year will still be a little demanding though as we get up and running – this is already my second time to Miami/Bahamas this year and we are not even at the end of January! But that will calm down as, in parallel, it calms down and settles into a steady flow. I hope…

With my work hat on, I have a ‘bunch of other stuff’ (technical term) going on too, so will welcome the bandwidth reduction and ability to spend more time on the other opportunities now. Some exciting things on the cards, and if they came good would be a real professional boost. The next few months will be interesting. Equally it all could go the other way, in which case it may be interesting for completely different reasons. But I will keep an optimistic approach. The work the team and I are putting in is very intense / energised / crazy busy / hard [delete as applicable], so we hope it will all be worth it!

Anyway, to pivot away from all that, and attempt to address the sub-sub mission objective…

It is January. And what does that mean? It is dry January, that’s what. It is also ‘lose a stone’ January too. Which means the month is a barrel of laughs all round.

24 days in though, and I am firmly on track and committed to the cause. As of the 20^th Jan I had lost 10 pounds since the start of the year and nicely on track to achieve the goal by month end. I needed to as well. Ok, I may not have been fat in a conventional sense but I knew I was carrying extra bulk and could feel it. There was a lot of holding the belly in, and my “am I still fat?” shirts were not being overly complimentary. Now I am back at the 12 stone mark (168lbs) I am feeling notably lighter and more comfortable. Even if I do not lose any more I will be happy, but may as well see the month out and keep going. I am basically eating to survive, not for any other reason. Embrace the hunger! 

Not drinking is a core component too of course, and I can certainly feel the benefits of that – all the narrative ascribed to it is true. Sharper focus, better sleep, weight loss etc etc. Everything in moderation and all that for sure, and once February kicks in that will be the mantra. I confess now that on day one of the rest of the year I shall be having a glass of wine and a MacDonalds! But, having felt the benefit of the last few weeks endeavours I am actually looking forward to drinking less and eating better, with the occasional naughtiness thrown in the mix. At least I shall be starting from a lower baseline weight, and will work to retain that going forward. 

The other piece to that jigsaw puzzle is of course exercise. And for me that means running in the main, although I am growing more and more partial to a good long walk too. This morning I flew the Knaresborough Striders flag (well, T-shirt) on a little lap around South Beach and it is great to feel fitter and be able to get out and about. Plus carrying nearly a stone less weight helps! However, I am going through a process of checking out a consistently high heart rate while I run. It seems to have always been the case for as long as I have been measuring it (about three years since I got my go-faster-stripes version Garmin watch). But I have become more atuned to it in recent months. Following my friend James around parkrun a few months back and looking down at the top of a climb to see it registering 204bpm was a bit of an eye opener. 

For my grand old age of 55, I should not (if the medical books are to be believed) really be exceeding about 170 beats per minute (bpm), and yet when I am running at even the easiest of paces I am regularly in the 180’s. That sort of rate should be when I am giving it some (again, another technical term), not when I am cruising along relatively gently.

Ironically if it was not for my watch heart rate monitor I would not even know. I feel fine, and often I could go quicker if I was not holding myself back by looking aghast at how my heart is going. Earlier this morning in fact I was having a gentle cruise around the local area and started to pick up the pace along a nice segment (for the Strava subscribers amongst us) on Ocean Drive which spans just shy of a mile from North to South along the boardwalk. But shortly into it I realised my heart rate was topping into the high 190’s and so I just had to back off. Such a rate at what should be a relatively easy, verging on slightly pushing it a bit pace (9min/mile or so) for my current fitness level, should not be seeing that level of heart rate. So very frustrating. I am having tests though, and the Echocardiogram (ultra sound) and ECG both show all good. Next is to wear a 48hr heart monitor. I will go for a run while I have that on next weekend for sure. 

It could be that is just the way I am. And if so, then the days of pushing harder, faster and emulating Rocky’s final sprint to those steps could be over. In which case I shall have to settle into a future of just enjoying steady runs and being outdoors for the fun of the run. No harm, and all be good. But it would be nice to be able to open it up a bit on occasion…

Ok, pivot number two… I’ve said it before, and I’ll briefly say it again. I have no intention of making any religious or political commentary here. But with all that is going on in the world right now, it does cast a shadow over a person with the word ‘International’ in their job title (i.e. me). Aside from the professional slant it presents on how we are inclined to this part of the world, from a personal perspective it does feature in my considerations too. Given how often I come in and out of this country I am registered in a scheme which allows me quick entry and often now do not even need to show my passport. If anyone out there genuinely thinks what is happening is a good thing they need to have a strong word with themselves, and drop any bravado of sticking to former opinions. You cannot be intelligent and / or sane to concur with the current direction of travel. Given my personal connections to this country I want it to be a united and happy place. I do though keep a long term perspective. Things will change and normality will return, and hopefully we shall all be the better from what is learnt during this phase. I hope…!

2025 had some sad moments toward the end with both Barney and Jen’s dog Dexter both going up to doggy heaven to play with Bailey in the sky. As sad as that was (and always will be) they lived long and happy lives and that is most important. My lesson from their departures – make the most of them while they are here. Don’t take our little best four legged friends for granted. Throw sticks. Support them in their squirrel watching. Play ready steadies. Be with them. Be silly. And most importantly, bark just for the fun of it…. Woof.

And so 2026 has begun. A year that has started with self discipline, and with close observance to some numbers on my watch. A year that has seen a fair number of air miles already accumulated. A year that has seen me trying to balance time away with quality time at home. And a year that has some exciting things in store.

Despite all the negatives so prominent in this world at the moment I choose to embrace the positives. This is an amazing ‘International’ and ‘Interconnected’ world. Let’s make the most of that interconnectivity for all the richness it can bring. 

Now, where shall I go for a run tomorrow? I may not be able to be speedy right now, but that doesn’t matter. It is just good to be out and about enjoying the view. That is what matters most.

Primary mission(s): Embrace life. Be kind. Have fun. 🙂