America's most wanted

This is so not a training post but has to be shared. I got an urgent call from my HR lady today saying that I had to go to the immigration office by 1:30 to confirm I am who I say I am so I can leave the country Friday. WTF? It is 1:00 and traffic here sucks worse than LA. So I made it just in time to meet my really nice lawyer. Apparently they were trying to get the letter released that says I am allowed to leave and come back and my signature on my passport was a tad different than on my paperwork. Yes, this is true. My signature changes yearly, it has never been a problem before.

So after clearing this up I asked when my FM3 would be ready - I have been here for three months taking paychecks and still no work visa. He had to pull me aside to tell me the situation because apparently there is some shady sh*t going on here and he didnt want the immigration official to hear. I guess with where my Visa sitation is now, they wouldnt release me from the counrty if they heard what he told me. Apparently it is ready to go and all I needed was a photo and to answer 1000 questions about how I look. I have no idea if my nose is a little to the left or right or if my eyes are close together or far apart, but after I got the photos back I know that I resemble a serial killer.

I normally take ok photos in these situations. Not anything frame worthy, but definitely nothing I am embarrassed to take out....until now.
Here is the latest mugshot....In my defense I was given 100 different directions about how and where I needed to look with about 10 strong ass lights on me so I was sweating and could barely see it was so bright. Plus I was told no smiling, closed mouth and look serious. Really? I dont take directions well apparently. I look like I just got busted for making crystal meth in my house in the boonies.

When I gave it to my HR lady she just burst out laughing and said that noone but immigration needed to see it. Then she promptly showed it to the girl she was with.

Here is my passport photo - not too terrible for one of these types of documents.

Here is my DL - again, not totally embarrassing.

So the good news is I can leave the country with my passport and the approval letter, but when I start using the Visa in May, the photo may cause some problems with customs and questions may arise about. I thought about retaking it, but it was already $120 pesos and there are worse things to worry about. Like whether or not the dude on the corner is going to steal my last $120 pesos causing me not to be able to even buy this photo.

The plan....finally

I got this card today from a friend. It isn't my birthday which made it really weird, but my friend apparently has ESP and knows that I am still sick with a stomach bug and that this day may come sooner rather than later. Preferably not at work.



One of my goals this year was to have a plan, and I finally sort of do. I figure if I have until April to pay my 2008 taxes, I have until the end of March to come up with my 2009 plan. It is kind of weird to be planning out an entire season of running races for someone who is not really a runner, but here goes:

Houston Half Marathon - 1/18/09
Houston Med Center 5K - 1/31/09
Diamond Head 8K - 2/8/09
Great Aloha Run - 2/16/09
Memorial 5K - 4/4/09
Radio Center 10K (Mexico City) - 4/26/09
Contra el Cancer 10K - 5/24/09
Sport City 10K - 5/31/09
Bosque de Tlalpan 21K - 6/21/09
Chapultepec Park 10Mile (16.1K) - 7/19/09
San Diego Half Marathon (TBD) - 8/16/09
Mexico City Half Marathon - 8/23/09
NYRR Half Marathon Grand Prix (TBD)- 9/13/09
Nike Run Mexico City 10K - 10/25/09
Houston Turkey Trot 10K - Thanksgiving Day

My goal was to have at least 6 10Kish distances, 4 half marathons, and a marathon, and all that is left is a marathon. If I can make it for the NYC marathon, I will be doing that on November 1st. If I cant my other optiions are: Chicago Marathon (10/11) and the San Antonio Marathon (11/15). Why San Antonio? Because it is at the right time, close to Mexico City, sea level, and I can make a trip back home to Houston on the way. If I do Chicago I still may do the San Antonio half.

Additions that may come are a race in Calgary because I am heading there in July for the stampede (I have to see what a Canadian rodeo has on a Texas one) and I may try and find a race there, if the boyfriend will allow. I also am going to Hawaii for two weeks in May and will do any race that is going on. I hope there is a triathlon and that my week of surfing next week will count as swim training and twice weekly spinning sessions will count as bike training. And I am hoping to run a half marathon with my brother in NYC. Other than that there may be a few 5Ks or 10Ks added here and there depending on what is going on when and where I have to travel for work. Let me know thoughts! Now all I need is a training plan.

Another Obsession

So I have spoke many times about my Zoots obsession, and even though shoes make an outfit, I am also obsessed with Lululemon. If you have looked at race pictures in the past or ever seen me out running, I am head to toe in Lululemon and Zoots. When my sister-in-law and her friends introduced me to their pants about 6 years ago I was hooked. So needless to say one of the things I am most looking forward to next week on the trip home (other than seeing friends and family) is the fact that Honolulu and Houston each have one of these stores:


I get to hit it twice (or maybe three times) in Houston and Honolulu to stock up on all of the newest clothes. And seriously, I get so jealous when I read about all the new things so many of you are wearing that I can barely stand it. If any of you ever get free swag that doesnt fit, you can always send it my way! Every time I am in Houston I beg them to open up a store in Mexico City, but apparently I am not that good of a beggar because they still havent opened one here, which actually is really good on the pocketbook. Chris has even looked into franchising, but they dont do that anymore either so we are stuck with the few trips home that we have to stock up. My mom thinks I am crazy to go there every time I visit, but I have to remind her that you have to look good while exercising, and Lululemon's clothes do the trick. And even though I am on vacation next week and dont usually like to get up early on my days off, I noticed that Lululemon has a runnign group now that I may try and meet up with when I am in town. Sorry to the family who is looking for pictures on this blog - I ran out of battery juice and keep forgetting to charge it. I will do that soon and start posting some more pics. Most likely of me modeling my new gear.

God has a sense of humor

He was listening the other day when I told Chris that it would be nice to lose a couple of lbs before the race next weekend. I do NOT think I am fat, but it is always easier to run with a little less weight. Anyway, come Friday late (around 3AM) I got a stomach bug and spent the next 24 hours in bed. Which happened to be the last 24 hours that Chris was here. At least I get to see him in a week. This means no run today, no training until I can eat again (which I havent been able to do successfully since Friday night) and no getting to far away from a bathroom for extended periods of time. I am drinking lots of fluids so I dont get too dehydrated, but they dont stay in for very long (TMI I know).
in other news I am headed out to put a deposit down on new big apt here. Hopefully everything works out this time and we actually get the place.

Not really a training post

This past Saturday Chris came in town for his first ever trip to Mexico City. I figured he needed to see it before he actually moved here, and so far he loves it. Especially the food. Chris loves tacos, so every meal has pretty much been trying out a new taco. Here are some chicken tacos from last night - I think he took down 7after having already eaten 6 at lunch.



Here we are at Saturday's comida - he had just gotten off the plane and is about three margaritas in. Lunch lasted until about 10PM.

And here are our friends - Erica is my spinning/girl date friend. Her fiance is in the US and so we have lots in common. That is not her fiance though - Tiago was a stand in at lunch.

Hopefully those photos will satisfy my family who keep asking me to post more photos. Now onto the training. Not much has been going on in the running front since Chris has been here and we have had lots to do, but tonight I have a speed workout and spinning class so i am back at it. I also found this great website that has all the running races in Mexico City. I am doing a 10K next weekend (my first ever at altitude). Then the following week I have a run till you puke 4 miler in Houston. It is literally 4 blocks from my mom's house so I can wake up and walk over - I love those races! After that I may actually try to put together a racing plan for 2009 instead of finding races on random websites and signing up for them a week before. Maybe in one of my future posts there will be a plan or at least an attempt at a plan.
Also, I am heading to Hawaii in a week and if I can get the airline to allow me to bring it to Mexico, my tri bike is coming back with me!

I'm debating.....

I have been on active.com three times and filled out all of the information, but never pulled the trigger. It is a lot of money when I still havent really found anywhere to train other than run in the city. But at the same time, it is a year away and I am sure by then I will have found what i need to. There is also an ironman Cancun that I have been thinking about, but Utah seems more fun.

A new feeling

Last night I went to spinning again and had a new word that was repeated over and over again - venga venga! apparently I wasnt going fast enough. Which was true. My friend and I did the lazy spinning last night that most of you dont ever do. We pretended to be working hard but really the resistance was low. And the teacher knew it, so he kept yelling at us to go faster. There were reasons for this - she was sick and i had just completed a sick running workout. I did 5 mile repeats at 7 min pace with a 400 jog in between. Now I know for you runners out there, this is your E pace, but this was a first for me. And for the first time in a long time, my muscles are sore. I was so excited after I ran up and told my mom (who is still visiting me) what I did. Her response? "finally you are back, i am starving and have been waiting forever for you to finish"
So now i have a goal in mind for the 4 mile race I am doing. I want to break 30 minutes. It is a totally new feeling to actually be able to post mile times that I havent done since highschool. I guess that is what happens when you cut out swimming and biking. Faster miles and no more man shoulders. I have no clue about my race fitness since I havent raced in a while, but I have altitude on my side and a guy friend that I am trying to beat. We have a beer bet going, and there is little I wont do for a free beer.