I might need help for an addiction

This is a picture of my desk from 10:00 today. I may have a problem with caffeine. I can barely wake up in the morning, but by lunch I am totally wired. I wonder why? Does it mean I am addicted if I cant function without a venti lite latte with an extra shot?
But I am slowly getting rid of my vices. This will be the first saturday in a while with no donuts for me. I told Chris he had to go to the store while I was running and eat all 6 of his donuts before he comes home. And then lie to me when I ask him where he was. I hope I can make it all weekend with no krispy kremes. We do have two comidas planned so maybe the tequila will make me forget about the donuts. Although history tells me it will make me forget about my deal not to have donuts and I will wake up next to an empty krispy kreme box.

I needed sleep

This past weekend didnt really go exactly as planned. Friday afternoon at 4PM I was ready for bed and could barely keep my eyes open. Usually this time of day I am wide awake and ready for a run. I spent 43 hours of the weekend like this.

The rest of the time I was in that same position on the couch. I had no energy and needed sleep. I made it outside three times - twice for a run (very slow ones) and once to go to the grocery store. My only other form of exercise was a trainer ride. I didnt have to move far from the couch to the trainer and I didnt even have to hit pause on the movie. Needless to say the half marathon didnt happen. I have some friends who ran it and it was their first half, so congrats to all of them. Apparently the weather was nice, but I wouldnt know.
I also gave up cheese and Krispy Kreme until after the marathon. The only caveat to that is that I get to eat queso when I am in Houston. I am not crazy enough to give that up. For you non-Texans, queso is what you may call cheese dip and looks like this.

It is a heart attack in a bowl full of deliciousness.
In other news the current water supply in Mexico city will apparently last us through december and then we are out. It should make for an interesting first part of 2010. The city has been trying to save water and one of the ways is shutting off water supply in areas that are in the most trouble. The office where Chris works doesnt have water during the day because the city shuts it off, so he has to walk to the hotel to use the rest room. I am pretty freaked out by going through potentially one of the worst flu seasons in recent history with no water supply. But at least now I may not stand out as much when I go to the store or to lunch post workout because I wont be the only one who hasnt showered that day - see, I am trying to stay positive.

NYC Photos

Finally the pictures have been posted. Chris said I had to wait until he fixed (photoshopped) them, but I was too impatient. He told me that I was going to ruin his new photography career if I said that he took these photos since he hadn’t made them perfect yet, so for the sake of this blog, I took all of these photos. Yes, even the ones of me running. I am just talented like that.

Saturday was all about sightseeing and shopping. We went to The Dakota and Strawberry Fields so Chris could see the Lennon shrine.


Then we met up for lunch with my friend Tia who moved from Hawaii to NYC.


It was great to catch up and do what we do best – gab and shop...

Here are some photos from the race on Sunday. Ryan Hall kickin some ass…

Then here is a picture of me and the pace car. Ha I wish! Paula Radcliffe way ahead of the rest of the ladies.

Here I finally am, running and dying and possibly about to puke.


This is what the water stops looked like when we went by. Nothing on the tables. Hence the 1+ minute per mile pace difference.

After the race it was all fun. We went to take a ferry to see the statue of liberty. It was nice, mostly because it was windy and I could sit down. Apparently I have done this once before when I was little, but I dont remember it. I have a horrible memory, and it makes my mom so mad because I dont remember any of the trips we went on as kids. I actually dont even remember the whole NYC trip, so I could be lying about what some of these photos are.
Mom and me. You will notice a theme. I wear sunny gs to hide my wrinkles in photos, but my mom never lets me wear them in photos with her, and it drives me crazy.

Ahhh, sweet relief. Back to hiding my wrinkles.


Mom and me at one of our three stops at Magnolias. Each time we left with enough cupcakes for 6. That's not so bad is it?

At the top of the Rock for sunset. The view here was way better than when I went to the top of the Empire state building when I was younger. Or so I am told because I dont even remember going to the top of the Empire state building.



And last night was a 7 mile run at goal pace. It was nice to run in the cool weather again. I had to run the same 2K loop 6 times since I didnt want to venture out into the traffic and develop lung disease from the smog. I am still debating about the half marathon on sunday. Mexico is really nice about letting people run even if they didnt sign up. You have to start at the back, and dont get an official time or any of the swag that the rest of the folks get, but they do let you cross the finish line. Depending on how I feel Sunday AM, I may run the 2 miles to the start and then do the race. I really need a better time than I have had in the last two half marathons heading into the full marathon to boost my confidence. Otherwise when we get to Vegas I may blow off the whole marathon and sit in the casinos with a beverage permanently placed in my hand.

Recap coming

I will do a full recap of the NYC trip later tonight when I have access to the photos and have more time to write about the trip overall, but this will be a semi-quick race recap. I have a habit of planning my races around fun cities to visit and since Chris has never been to NYC I decided to run the half there so he could have a chance to see the city. The trip all around was really fun and the only bummer was that the one week my brother and his wife take off for a Montana vacation happened to fall during our stay there so we didnt get to hang out with them. The race was another story. When I woke up at 6AM to 75ish temp and 58ish humidity I knew the run would be a slow one for me. I grew up in Houston and lived there for roughly 25 years and I once was used to this kind of weather, but not anymore. I am now spoiled by the weather in Mexico city and if it is too cold (below 50) or too hot (above 78) and there is any humidity, I cant function. I was really nervous because the hotter it is the harder it is for me to take in any fluids and this year has been a rough year with regards to my nutrition. It was also the hottest I have ever run a standalone half marathon. At the start things were normal, I was able to eat a banana before the race and half a bottle of NUUN, and I was feeling good, but it was so damn muggy. My goal was an 8:30 pace with the heat and humidity. The start was slow and it took me almost 15 minutes to get to the start line, but once I crossed it I was feeling good. The first two miles were right on pace and my breathing was easy since I was at sea level. Then I hit the first water stop and I couldnt figure out why there were so many people in line. When I got there I realized why - they were out of water cups. The volunteers were working their butts off to get everyone water, but it was like waiting in line at a crowded bar to get a beer. No joke, I was in line to get water for almost 2 minutes. I got one small cup and knew that I needed to put some on my head and had to wait back in line for another cup. My 8:30 miles turned into 9:30s really quickly. After that it was a chace through the next mile to catch back up, but when I got to the next water stop, the same thing was going on, and I had to wait for a long time for more water. I thought about running by, but I knew I needed the water (especially on my head since I do not sweat and it is pretty much my only way I can cool off). Every mile was like this. I talked to a friend who started up a little in front of me and she said that the water was out when she got there too, so I am not sure what happened. Maybe they didnt take into account how much people would take to cover their heads with the water.
I was trucking along fine with the long stops at every mile and then around mile 10 i got sick again. I drank a mouthful of water at every stop, and was feeling fine, but all of a sudden extreme nausea hit me and I had to walk. I puked once and walked a little more until I felt better and started to run again. After that I felt fine, but all in all I had to walk about two miles during the race. I am not sure what is going on with my stomach, I was very cautious to not take the gatorade and not over drink, but I still got sick. I am guessing some of it has to do with the heat and the fact that I cant train in these conditions where I live, but other than that I am at a loss. It will be my last long race in heat this year, and hopefully this problem subsides during the winter races.
Given the small issues, I still enjoyed the race, and had a smile on my face the whole time. And because I wasnt sore or tired since I really couldnt push myself too hard, I was able to spend the rest of the day with my mom and Chris showing him the city without having to go home and take a nap as per my ususal. This weekend I am contemplating the Mexico City half marathon. Marathon training started Monday and this weekend calls for 13 miles and I figure why not? I wont race it, but I really need all the practice I can get with my race nutrition.

We lost

And the worst part is that I am in an office full of Mexican fans. I have been getting heckled left and right. The good news is I dont have to move offices (which was a threat if US had won). Chris and I had a long discussion on the way to work this morning with our driver over how the US would win and it wouldnt be too close. Sr. (our driver) was at the house watching the game with the dogs. Probably going crazy and making the dogs Mexico fans. I am not happy thinking about it. We played pretty crappy on defence and had a bad call. But no excuses, we lost. Now right outside my window that was peaceful just two hours ago is going crazy with all the fans lining the street. The street is closed, police are out in full force and fans are getting drunk. Here are some pictures.




These are taken in the same position as the one down below. What a change a couple hours and winning home team can make. Apparently this happens every time Mexico wins, but since they have been so bad lately I havent had to deal with it too much. I hope this doesnt become a common occurrance. And seriously, who are these people? dont they have to get back to work??? And are they going to go back to work wearing this?

Go USA!

I know, I know. I have been totally neglecting my blog, but there really hasnt been much to say. My life is still pretty much work, train, eat, sleep with an occasional tv show or book thrown in. BUT today is a big day in Mexico, and definintely worth blogging about. For the non-soccer fans out there, USA plays Mexico in a World Cup qualifier. The city will shut down at 2:30 so everyone can watch the game. Our office has brought in three huge tvs and put them in the cafeteria and everyone will be in there for the entire 90+ minutes. Here is the invitation sent to all employees:

This didnt happen in Hawaii. The office didnt shut down so everyone could watch UH play football, but soccer here is a way of life, and no one bats an eye to leave work to watch something as important as this.
I tried to get tickets to go watch, but unless I wanted to give away a month's rent, it wasnt going to happen. I have been warned by several people that I should pretend to cheer for my temporary country if I wanted to get out of the dining room alive, but Im not scared. I am even wearing my USA soccer jersey to watch. It compounds the excitement because if Mexico loses they probably wont get to play in the 2010 world cup, so I am expecting to see lots of tears at 4PM today. Here is a picture taken with my crackberry of the Angel statue outisde our office. It is already closed in preparation for the game and there will either be a huge fiesta after the game or a lot of pissed off people.

I will be updating with more photos taken during and after the game.

Two out of three

Tonight I did my first trainer ride since leaving Hawaii. We got our bikes in the shipment and they were completely messed up so we took them to the triathlon store here and they gave all four bikes servicios completos for $15 each. A bargain. But after 10 minutes on the bike I realized I have forgotten how to use the damn thing. I almost fell off (hard to believe I know), I forgot to clip out when getting up to get more water, and I missed getting my foot in my shoe so I whacked my shin and have a nice little bruise and bump. I am hoping to improve enough so that one day I can get back on the streets without hurting myself too badly.
Here I am so happy to be on a bike again.

Big news in the D.F. The mayor of the city is a huge biker and has planned to zone biking lanes in the city as well as having bike rentals scattered around. He is modeling it after some of the European cities with the same system. He is starting small with some of the more central locations by the end of the year, and luckily our colonia is one that is getting this first. I really cant wait. Currently the main street of the city is closed off sundays for bikers, runners, etc and there are free bike rentals and free bike maintenance, but this is a huge step. Mexico City is one of the most polluted cities in the world and I am glad to see that they are trying to clean it up a little at a time. Oh, and Monday they removed all of the old ass polluting buses for more eco friendly versions, but they forgot to make them handicap accessible. One step at a time here.
Now that the running and biking have been somewhat figured out I have to find a pool before I can really start triathlons again next year. I cant wait!

Slacking

I have been a total slacker on updating the blog, but there is a good reason. I have been sick. Again. It has been a monthly occurance in Mexico that we lose 5 lbs from being sick. If you are careful about what you eat, then you usually are fine. But if you are like we are and eat anything and everything you see, then you can pretty much guarantee a once a month weightloss program. And Chris and I were sick all last week, so there wasnt much new to report other than my once skinny boyfriend is slowly becoming see-through. I knew on Wednesday when I had an easy 3 mile run that I could barely get through because my stomach hurt that I was doomed. I couldnt run again until Saturday. I had an easy 6 mile run saturday and a 16 mile run with the last 6 at 10K pace on sunday. Both of them were hard and slow and there was no 10K pace on sunday. There might have even been some walking. I dont mind, I was just happy to get through it after not having eaten anything for three days. During the run I actually stopped mid way to get some fresh mango from a stret vendor. You would think I would learn my lesson from eating random food, but I figured if I was already sick, what harm could it do. Plus I needed the nutrition. I think I am well today. I ate lunch and still feel ok. Although I took some extra strength (read mexico strength) immodium and pepto this Am, so you never know if I am really ok. I have a three mile run tonight that i am praying is easier than last week's. Here is Chris on Saturday at the market eating a quesadilla. He got really sick again last night and I think this may be the reason. Nothing a little tequila cant cure.