Update from Shanghai

hello from Shanghai. I’ve been so lazy since we got here… with no plans no schedule… the only to-do list I had is to run, enjoy running in 30s 40s! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IN THIS WEATHER AND SHANGHAI.

Girls are doing well… getting new toys, exploring Shanghai with grandmas, and just chill. We all need that from time to time.

Lizzy getting breakfast

We love taking bus in Shanghai, which only elderly and tourists take these days as metro is so much faster, but I prefer bus, so we take it whenever possible.

this is my everyday outfit, literally I have one outfit for the week hahahahha… I’m sure Kae would have packed for more.

we went to Shanghai touristic places with the girls

pollution was bad that day

Since husband and I live apart, he stays with his parents, I stay with the girls at my mom’s, when we get together, it feels like we are having a date. What did we do? We visited the largest book store in Shanghai, got a guide for Sichuan to help us plan our summer trip, and we did food hopping in bicycle. hahah…. I honestly don’t like eating in restaurants when I visit Shanghai, I prefer going to those traditional small stores with special food that I ate when I was little. Same for husband.

This is fried buns, my absolute favorite shanghai dish.

this is steamed buns from Wuxi, rarely found in other places.

Girls had a hair cut. This is the hair salon at 6pm, so busy!

I had malatang several times for dinner, love love it! I get to choose assorted vegetables and tofu, and they cook them in a tomato based broth.

and my breakfast every morning: steamed corn and tofu. I can’t get enough of them.

Other things we did:

• I met with my childhood friends over lunch.
• We had lunch with my favorite uncle and untie.
• We visited my dad’s cemetery with my cousin.
• We did a lot of online shopping: toys, snacks, clothes for the girls, and 10 kg of corn that I’ll bring back to Jakarta.

Update on my ankle: It’s an evolving issue. First, I had some pain/discomfort on my front ankle. Then I had pain at the end of a mid-length run on the back left heal, and then shin splints. Fortunately, I managed to run as much as I had to following the training plan because none of these issues were severe enough and progressing well toward healing. My coach is guiding me through this process and keeping me positive. I also went to see my Chinese doctor twice, second time involved acupuncture, which may have helped. I am aggressively massaging my calves, shin, and everywhere possible with a newly acquired massage stick, per my coach suggestion. I am hopeful that I will be able to run the marathon in 3 weeks, not sure if I will PB but that doesn’t matter anymore. I just want to run without injury and have a fantastic trip with the family in Paris. All booked including Disney stay.

We are leaving on Sunday evening, few more things to do:

• A get together with mom’s friend’s family
• A visit to my chinese doctor to have another acupuncture session to give another push toward healing
• Pedicure, lash extension
• Foot massage