Smoking laws in Mexico

Recently the smoking laws have changed in Mexico and instead of being able to smoke anywhere and everywhere they have put some limits on when it is appropriate for one to light a cancer stick in public. My mom and I went to dinner last night and sat right next to the sign that explained these new laws. The law comes down to 10 basic points, and my favorite is number 8. You cant smoke at babies' parties. Really? They can control that? My mom and I were laughing and the waiter came by and asked us what we were laughing at. We told him and he said "yeah, well it will ruin their lungs". Hmmm interesting, because the restaurant we were at had the smoking section and non smoking section separated by a step, and there were kids within a foot of a cigarette, but I didnt bring that up. This is one of those Mexico things you cant really think about



On the running front, I had a good weekend. I ran an easy 9 miles on sunday and had a tempo run yesterday on the tready. They both felt good, and I was able to hit my normal (read sea level) speeds without too much trouble. I also just signed up for a 4 miler in Houston in April that I will be doing on my way to Hawaii for Mexico Spring Break. I cant wait because 1) i get to wear my new silver zoots in a real race and 2) it will be the first race i will do coming off of 5 weeks in a row living in Mexico with no trips to sea level. If I dont get a PR i am going to rethink this whole running thing.

Suelta suelta!

That is what I heard for an hour last night at my second spinning class. My friend and I tried a new place that was half the price of the other place. It was a very interesting experience once again. The class fills up so you have to sign up days in advance and you can not enter the room until the instructor says so. Then when he is ready to start he calls everyone's name in the order you signed up so you can pick your bike. 15 minutes later than we were supposed to, we started class. The instructor was really good and I am actually glad that the class was a bit short, because I dont think I could have gone anymore (I had done 10x800s right before class and combined with my illness from this week i was tired). The hard part about the class was that the instructor walked around the entire time first asking if you were ok and then when you said Si muy bien he would tell you that you needed to crank up the resistance, spin faster and tighten your stomach (maybe that was just what he said when he came to me). Anyway, it is definitely way harder when the instructor can come around and tell you how tired you look and that you need to kick it up a notch. I definitely got my butt kicked. After the run and spinning class i was worked (funny I used to do that all the time with no problem), but it is great to know that I can work hard in this altitude now. Training hard for the running races is back on! Still no full time triathlon training since i have no bike and no pool that i have found yet. But i will keep spinning for now so that i dont get any more rusty than I already am.
And here is a picture after class all sweaty - see how happy I am? My friend wouldnt take the picture during class because she was too embarrased i think, but you can see her sneaking a photo after class in the background.

Sick

I have been sick since Sunday AM, so nothing new to report on the workout front. I woke up Sunday and tried to go to the kitchen for some water. I barely made it without passing out, and it is only 5 steps from my bed. All day I stayed in bed, which allowed me to get completely caught up on Lost. This really was exciting, because A) I made my goal of when I would finish it and B) I was going to have my nights back for more important things like Skype-ing home and running/training. Apparently staying up late watching Lost affected my immune system. 3 days later and I am still having trouble getting dressed in the morning. My days have been going like this. Wake up at 7 and snooze for 30 minutes, take an hour to get dressed because I have to constantly sit down in order not to pass out, take temperature and realize i need some tylenol to reduce the fever, walk to work stopping every minute to sit down, sit in chair all day changing from sweating to freezing and back from the fever, walking home from work feeling a little bit better and getting in bed by 8 to rest. I am hoping that today is the end of it because I have already missed one spinning class and have a friend date tomorrow night for another one. I am relying heavinly on zicam, lots of water and tea and kleenex. People here kiss each other on the cheeks more than they do in hawaii to say hello. Even if they are coming here for a meeting and I have never met them. Shaking hands doesnt happen - it is all about kissing the cheek. Every morning I get at least 15 kisses from everyone in my office. I guess all that kissing has made me sick.
Good news is my mom is coming friday for a week, so she can take care of me and make me feel better by taking me shopping and to really nice meals. Cant wait! With two of us here, there will definitely be some pictures taken that i will post next week.

Back on the wagon! or the bike…

Last night I went to my first spinning class in Mexico City. I am so sad I don’t have any pictures to share of the 30 year old guy in hot pink 1980s running shorts that showed a little too much skin. He was spinning so hard it looked like he was going to fall of the bike. I will be going back with a camera in hand to share the love. Class was in a little hole in the wall place that I walked into and paid my 40pesos ($2.60 – cant beat that!) and got on one of the 25 bikes that were in the room.
I have never seen a spinning bike quite like this one. It didn’t fit the same as the ones I have used in the past, and it had pedals with baskets on it like my mountain bike, but it was a spinning bike none the less. And it hurt. I felt my time off the bike, but I got through it and only had an altitude heart attack once. The class started out with a little Phil Collins Sussudio, moved on to some Juanes and then into some 80s Latin Pop. I was really sad that Ricky and Enrique didn’t make the teacher’s cut, but what are you going to do right?
There were too many people in the class, so the teacher gave up his bike which allowed him to walk around and tell us we weren’t pedaling fast enough or with enough resistance. By the end of class I was tired and felt like I got a good workout, which I haven’t felt in a while.
Spinning on Wed, Thursday and Friday and Pilates Monday, Tuesday and Saturday in the same room. I am totally checking the Pilates class out – maybe Pink shorts guy will come back.

I am officially a believer...

I have always drank the recommended dosage of water every day plus replenished everything I lost during a workout. And I am always conscience of when my pee is too dark and drink even more. But I was not prepared for how much I needed to drink in Mexico. For the past month I have been having excruciating back pains and have been blaming the hard beds here, but when I spent a weekend on the plush bed at the W and I was still unable to sleep more than an hour at a time because the pain wakes me up, I figured it might be something else. Yes, I have not seen my chiropractor in a month and I have not been cross training like I am used to, but this was so bad I could barely stand it. I started to worry that it might not be my back after all, but something else, like my kidneys. I am a complete hypochondriac, and have been watching Lost too much, so the first thing I think is that I have a back tumor like Benjamin Linus.
Fast forward to Sunday. I read an article that says that being dehydrated can make the effects of altitude worse. And I have noticed that my pee is a little dark, but I drink water all the time. So yesterday I did a test. I drank my body weight in water. Well not really, but I drank 7 liters. I was chugging all day long. If it were gasoline it would have powered a car from Waikiki to the north shore and back. And what did I notice? My run yesterday was so easy. I didnt ever have trouble breathing and no bloody noses. I was shocked. And the best side effect was that I slept like a baby with no back pains and my back is 90% better. I am not sure if that means it was my kidneys that were making it hurt (i have had some kidney issues in the past where they have shut down) or if it was just dehydrated muscles, but I am a believer now. WATER...It's not just for hangovers anymore.

A little excessive I know

This is the photo taken today from my apt. This is not all of the pairs of running shoes that I own, but it is most of them - at least the ones I cant live without until the official move happens in May. I didnt really realize how many I had because back in Hawaii i have a bench that houses and hides me from the truth. I obviously have issues, but this is a much better issue than excessive smoking right? I have a problem with buying the newest shoe as well as not wanting to give any up.
I know that this year I am not doing triathlons, but I still have to run in my zoots. They make me go fast. Yes I am sure 99% of it is mental, but who cares. I go faster with my zoots. I do not have a race for a while. I am hoping to do one in Houston in April, and I might even venture and do one in Mexico City in the next few weeks, although that will most likely result in a PW. But at least I will get to wear my new silver zoots.


They look like spaceshoes and I love every inch of them! There is a 1K loop around Chapultepec Park. I may go out there early on Sunday and race myself in a 10K just so I can wear them.
And a Lost update - I am on season 4 and only have 10 episodes left and can they please tell me WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??? All I can think of is how mad I am at myself for actually getting hooked on this show. I know exactly how Charlie felt when he couldnt get his heroine fix in season 1.

Bosque de Chapultepec

This was a beautiful weekend in Mexico. I spent the weekend at the W in Polanco and walked around yesterday looking for apartments. Around 3 I went to a comida with a new friend and we ended up drinking margaritas until about 11. Of course after that I went home and watched some Lost. I got through 2 episodes before I fell asleep. I woke up this AM and went running on Reforma all the way to Chapultepec park. I got lost on all the trails and saw tons of people and dogs. It was a great run. But It was slow - slow like every old lady on the trail blew by me. This altitude is still getting to me, but I did make the 9 miles. My biggest problem is really being able to go fast enough to feel a burn in my legs. I get out of breath and feel like I am going to pass out way before my legs hurt. I constantly feel like I have smoked a pack of Marlboro reds right before working out. Hopefully it will end soon.
On the way back to my apartment, I stopped by to see Felipe Cervantes come into the city.

This 26 year old has just completed an 18,000 K trek from Tierra del Fuego (southern tip of south america) all the way to Mexico City to get society involved with taking care of the earth, and to promote healthy lives. There were tons of people out watching him finish and there was a huge fiesta in the street with a lot of bands playing. It was amazing to see and he has accomplished something I could never imagine being able to do.
After that I went grocery shopping where I bought what could possibly be the largest papaya that I have ever seen. I think it is going to take me a few days to finish it, but it looks delicious.

Since I gave sugar up (again) for Lent, I am stuffing myself with fruit. I probably should have given up Lost, but I dont know what I would do with my spare time. Tuesday I am hitting up a spin class with my new friend from last night. She assures me i will be able to follow the teacher's spanish, and it will be good to get back on a bike even if it is just for an hour. I cant believe I am going to say this, but I cant wait for my bikes to get to Mexico City!