Austin weekend

Once again Austin was fantastic. Every time we go there we dream about moving there. Problem is, no jobs. So we are still bound to Mexico City for the near future but will continue to hope that one day we can get there. Friday night was a little later of a night than we are normally used to, so the race Saturday was a joke. I waited until 30 minutes before the start to even get out of bed and made it to the start line just as the gun went off. So much for warming up, eating or even getting my chip. Chris decided to spend his time going to Whataburger to get a burger to soak up the night before's alcohol. It was hilly and my legs hurt from the 9 miles of 400s and 800s I had done the day before, and all I could think about was what I was going to have for lunch. After the race we headed to Hula Hut to enjoy some food outside by the lake and while we were walkin in, I saw a girl that had been marked up for a triathlon that day. I got sad for a bit since I miss them so much, but quickly got over it when I had the chips and salsa in front of me.
That night was the wedding and it went off without a hitch with both bride and groom saying I do. Here are a few pictures below. I will post more, but Chris has them and wont let me upload anything until he approves of what they look like. These were pulled from a friend's website.


Oh and possibly some really good news - On our way home from the airport on Sunday Chris saw a swimming pool! He went by yesterday and it was closed, so I am not getting my hopes up, but it would be great to sneak in at least 2 swims a week and possibly do the triathlon in august.

Hump day post

Last night while I was on the trainer I started watching the celebrity fit club that I had DVRd - don't judge. It was an especially hard workout of whose affects I still felt this morning on my run, so I really needed some mindless crap to get me through the 2 hours. And I find that watching once skinny famous* people who are now fat motivating. Watching a former baywatch chick who now couldnt fit into her red suit keeps me going during those hard-as-hell intervals. But last night I realized something - a couple of these ladies dont weigh much more than I. I realize I have more muscle and it weighs more blah blah, but the fact is, at least two would not qualify for Clydesdale status in a race. I guess this show is so low rent that these were the fattest celebs that VH1 could get to participate. I think one of them had about 10 lbs to lose during the whole show to get to her goal weight. Chris can do that after eating a taco off the street here. There are some funny moments in the show that keep me coming back for more. Like the time Bobby Brown s**t his pants. I can relate. I have come mighty close to that a few times too while doing some long runs.
We leave tomorrow to head back to Texas and eat our weight in queso. I. Cant. Wait. I also have my first run of the season. It is just a 5k and I have very low expectations since I have been sick, but it will be a good way to see where I am fitness wise. And no, we are not flying two hours just so I can run a 5K. We have a friend's wedding in Austin, and I can kill three birds with one stone - running the race, seeing Austin friends, and hitting the wedding. Plus we are staying at the Four Seasons, and I never miss an opportunity to get pampered.
Happy hump day everyone!
*I use both of these terms loosely as some of them were never fit to begin with and very few are above Z list status.

Turns out it was a Virus

So after feeling crappy for a few days, I finally felt back to 100% on Sunday and just in time to get in a 2 hour trainer ride, a good core workout and a lite jog. It was great to feel the pain of the trainer again. Today I am back at it full force on the running front and not a moment too soon because I finally have my first race this weekend in Austin. It is a short one, but I am excited to feel like I might pass out from running so hard once again. I am going to use at least one run this weekend to get my legs to remember how to turnover and go faster than they have in a while. I hope they learn quickly!
The bad news is that Chris has whatever it was that I had and has to suffer through it for the next few days. I am sure he will feel well enough by Thursday to comfort me through the 2 hour plane ride that awaits us.

This past weekend was the NYC half marathon and my brother ran a great race. He PRed by 15 mins - WAY. TO. GO. DUDE.

No, he doesnt normally wear tri gear to running races, but I couldnt find a photo from yesterday, so this just will have to do. I wish I had been there. I am sure the weather was way better than last year's barf fest that I ran. I think it was a smart move to change it from August to March. I already have it on my calendar to run next year with the little bro.

Today's math lesson

(Chris x Rachel) + Another Mexican Cleanse = 1 round of Cipro


I used to think like that since it was much easier to get sick than being disciplined about not eating that big bag of peanut m&ms. After living here and being sick a lot, I am almost changing my tune. Almost.

Chris is actually the only one taking the Cipro. I hate meds, and I hate doctors. I actually haven't been to a GP since I had to visit one in order to be allowed to go to college. That was when I was 18. And the doctor was my pediatrician. He told me I needed to find an adult doctor after he tried to measure me and weigh me and I was too big for the scale and we had to guesstimate my weight and height. I am still looking for that new doctor. I even see my pediatrician, who is now retired, running around the park in Houston sometimes, and I try to get free medical advice. This is not quite as bad as my friend, who also refused to get rid of this same pediatrician, taking her kid into to see our doc and trying to get a 2 for 1. Anyway, this sickness is more than the usual stomach sick. I am also achy and tired and have a sore throat. I am contemplating going to the doctor, but I prob won't. Last time I went (when I was 18) I tested positive for TB, and was told I had to take 9 months of INH. INH is a medicine that when you take you are really not allowed to drink. Not like "don't drink and operate heavy machinery" but really "don't drink because the meds screw with your liver". Did I mention I was going to be a freshman in college? Yeah, doctor visits don't bring back good memories.
So I will continue to self medicate with zicam, sprite, and tea through the weekend. If I'm not back on the treadmill by monday I made a promise to go to the dr. And I might actually keep that promise.

Last night was Vandy's first game in the NCAA tourny and they didnt fail to disappoint. After all these years I have been cheering for them, I should learn they never pull through. At least I didnt get my bracket in on time. Because I think it is bad karma to bet against them, I would have had them advancing to at least the final 4, immediately putting me at a large disadvantage in the bracket standings.

Puente

This was another long weekend for us in Mexico City. For normal people that means going out of town or an extra day to hit up the bars, but for me it means an extra day of p90x, bike, run without work to cause me to have to get up extra early. Saturday I had a treadmill session that killed me and sunday was my long run. I went out a little later than normal and it was HOT. Almost record high. I used to be able to run in this weather, but a year after moving from Hawaii and I am out of heat shape. Becuase I failed to get up early, I not only got to run in the heat, but I got to run around the gay pride parade. About a week and a half ago the Mexican government legalized gay marriage. Throw that in with gay pride week and a long weekend and you have one hell of a party. It looked much more fun than the running that I was doing. I did manage to get a few shots from the start of the party and then again on my second loop of more people lining the streets. It did make for some interesting people watching and helped me get through the run. I didnt realize how dehydrated I was until I got about 2 blocks from home and called Chris almost crying to tell him to please make me a cup of gatorade. And like a champ he had it there for me when I got home. I normally would bring money with me, but I thought that I was only running about 7 miles that really turned into 12.

Some of the best dressed that I saw:



Here are some guys line dancing. Not sure what song it was, but they were doing the macarena.


On the way back I got to tread through this to finish off the last 3 miles:


If I had been smart and brought money with me I would have hopped on one of these to get me home.

And totally unrelated to the parade was this. Last week a car ran into the Diana statue and the police were all over trying to find out who did it. They were going to prosecute until they found out it was a drunk cop who did the hit and run. Now they have just quietly let it go and have not bothered to fix the statue yet.


Yesterday was a 4 hour trainer ride while I watched more crap on tv. Gotta love that DVR. Then after a HORRIBLE night sleep (dogs and construction starting at 4AM) I could barely make it through 2 miles this morning before thinking I might barf. I hate getting up early to realize it would have been more beneficial to sleep more. I guess I can finish the run tonight! Happy Tuesday everyone!

Race that never was

I got up early saturday AM to do a little run/packet pickup combo and when I got there I was told that no, my online signup hadnt gone through. One problem in Mexico is that you dont get email confirmations on most of the events so you have to show up and hope. No problem I thought, I will just sign up now. Guess what, no space. Really? These things NEVER sell out! I was pretty bummed as it was going to be the first race for the season, but I decided I would run over early in the morning and run on the sidewalk for a mile or so of the race before I headed out to finish my long run. BIG MISTAKE. I now know why the race sold out. It was Dia de la Familia and full families were out and about doing the event. And noone was running. There were full Mexican families of 15 walking side by side and taking up the entire street. I first saw the trotters at about mile 2 and realized there was no way that I was going to get any kind of running in, so I didnt even bother. It would have been great if I had the dogs in tow because they would have had a blast cleaning up the food the little kids were dropping. I ended up going the opposite way and got in my longest run since the half marathon of about 10 miles.
This week is back to the P90x and upping the mileage. I should finish the week off with about 50 miles which will be the most so far this year. And now my first race will be in two weeks, before I head back home to Texas to try and get a 5k PR.

Random thoughts I had during my treadhell morning:
I stopped drinking wine for Lent and all of a sudden I get migrains so bad I can barely sleep. Coincidence? I think not. It seems I need wine to get rid of the stress that cause my migrains. I will never give up alcohol again.
I watch way too much reality TV. Last night I was watching 16 and pregnant and realized I have to cut myself off. This may be what I give up for Lent next year. Although if I am on a trainer any TV that can get me through is approved.
Chris just decided to start his own company and I am starting to wonder if it is too soon to think about my own retirement.
5 lbs goes on a HELL of a lot faster than it comes off. And my reality tv watching is not helping my fat ass.
If Lost wasnt in its final season I would not be watching it. Seriously - WTF? There are more theories about what is going on here than there were with the finale of the Sopranos.

Just because I haven't written

doesn't mean I am not training. Running is getting back to normal and I have been starting to up my weekly mileage. My "long" runs still arent that long, but they will be soon. P90X was put on hold for two weeks - I was traveling all last week and this week I have been having serious migraine issues. I think it is all stress related. I have not had one this bad since highschool when I was applying to university, but all of a sudden sunday night I started getting them again. They wake me up around 2AM and I cant go back to sleep. So needless to say I am too tired after work to do anything. But at least I am keeping up with the running right? I didnt have one last night, so I got a decent amount of sleep, and will plan to get back on the strength wagon.
This weekend is the first race in DF. It was supposed to be a 10K, but the race I was originally going to do moved locations to a place a little too far for me. So I am doing the one that is in the original location but now just a 5K. If I run there and back I will get in a long run with a little tempo sandwiched in.
On to more important news - we are still keeping up with the no alcohol Lent. Although I aint gonna lie - it totally sucks. My family brought me 3 bottles of my favorite wine when they were here and they are just sitting staring at me ready to be opened. Only like 30 more days though. The hardest part is yet to come. We have a wedding back in Austin in a few weeks. A sober wedding - that will be a first.