Sometimes it just isnt your day

And today I had one of those days. I have been sick almost all week with something like the flu - fever, nausea, and sore throat. But I rested all week, hydrated and all around took care of myself (I actually even took one day off of work I was so sick). So I thought I was ready for the half marathon today, but I was wrong. Last night I just didnt feel like eating, which is rare, so I forced some dinner down and went to bed. This morning I felt a little worse, but again got some food and some pepto and immodium in me and we were on our way. We got to the race site with plenty of time because the race was postponed 30 minutes (chris not happy on losing out on an additional 30 minutes of sleep). We all lined up and I could just tell my body wasnt acting normal. I felt flulike and really wanted to go back to bed. The gun went off and right away I had to pee (this has never happened to me in a race), so I pulled aside and proceeded to pee all over myself (it's ok it was all water) while about 10 cars full of people drove by and honked. Great. After that I felt better for a little while and then it happened, my nausea kicked in. We hit a water stop and they were handing out plastic bags full of water that you had to tear with your teeth. I tore one and for some reason I started to gag, then dry heave. So I slowed waaay down to get my stomach under control. I would speed up and dry heave, then slow down and get better. Around mile 6, after 4 water stops I actually started throwing up. I would be running, drink water, throw up, slow down and walk until I could get moving again. It was a cycle the rest of the way to the finish line. Needless to say I had a PW in the race, but a PR in the copious amounts of vomit that came out of me. At the finish a guy came up to me and started to tell me that I kept passing him and then would walk and he would pass me. He tried to tell me I needed to get into a rhythm. I told him that it was hard to get into a rhythm while throwing up every kilometer. Then I pointed to my shorts and shirt that were saturated from water and barf, and he walked away. I came home, showered and took a nap. I am feeling better on the stomach front, but I got myself so dehydrated that I feel like I ran a marathon, when I actually barely walked a half. Oh well, I am sure I learned something from this race, I just havent figured it out yet. I have two more races in the following two weeks and hopefully I can have a better showing. Here are some pictures from the race - dont worry, noone caught me in the act. At least I dont think they did.
Here I am in a pre-race stretch. I think the only one I actually did. I used to be much more flexible.

I think I was actually laughing at how bad I felt. Not sure.

Here we are right before I left to start.

And here is a photo chris took of the start. It was a huge race as you can tell. I think they said 11,000 people and unfortunately most of them finished before me.

And here are some random pictures from yesterday. My mom has been asking me to take photos of the outside of our apt. So here they are...
Our building

And mom, here is the other side of the street.

And here I am on another trip to get Dr. Pepper. I think every child who grows up in Texas has to love Dr. P.


Good luck to Todd and Scott at Coeur d'Alene and everyone else racing this weekend. And happy father's day to all the dad's out there.

The difference

I have been asked by a lot of people what are the biggest differences about living in Mexico, so I decided to make that list.
1) The language (duh)
2) You cant just drink the tap water, you have to actually buy the huge jugs of water for your water coolers. But they only cost $2USD
3) You have to soak all fruits and vegetables in iodine water for 30 minutes before eating them (huge pain, but thankfully our maid does this for us)
4) You have to pay to use public bathrooms (about 5cents) which has made for some interesting runs when I have forgotten my $$
5) The traffic sucks. It is worse than anywhere I have been. I attribute most of it to the fact that there are no rules and no lanes. Stoplights are just suggestions.
6) I dont drive (see #5). But luckily labor is cheap so we can afford a personal driver
7) You cant hail just any cab on the street or you risk getting kidnapped or robbed, but you can call a reliable one and can get anywhere in the city for just about $6USD
8) Every meal is a risk being from the US. You never really know how your stomach will react until 30 minutes after you eat. Luckily I have been here long enough to have this problem occur less often.
9) The food here is incredible and cheap. A really really expensive meal here will cost about $50USD. Coming from Hawaii this is a treat.
10) The coke is made from real sugar so it tastes way better
11) You cant easily find a good glass of wine. But really good tequila is at every corner store.
12) The fruits and vegetables are always fresh and cheap at the mercados in our neighborhood. And 1/2 liter of fresh squeezed OJ is $1.
13) There is no such thing as a bike commute anymore. If you want to live you do not ride your bike in the city.
14) Triathlon training is reserved for the weekends or not at all. Not only can you not ride a bike, but pools are hard to come by. I am so desperate I am contemplating the 15 meter pool at the hotel.
15) On the weekend you can go 20 minutes away and find some of the most amazing trails and roads to ride on. During the week this commute would be about 2 hours (again #5)
16) Virtually all medicine is prescription free. Cold? no problem, grab a z-pak. E-Choli? (yes a common problem here), cipro is just $10 at the corner farmacia.
17) Labor is CHEAP. This is how we can afford to have all of our furniture custom made, a driver, and my favorite #18
18) I come home to a clean house, all my errands completed, and a home cooked meal every night thanks to our wonderful muchacha.

So yes, we have to give up the every day swimming and biking and the free water, but there are definitely some bonuses that we have quickly gotten used to. The first day we were here Chris felt bad leaving his dirty dishes in the sink, but fast forward 4 days and his response to anything being left out is that Virginia will clean it up tomorrow. I keep reminding him that once we go back to the US, this person who cleans and cooks will be me. I have created a monster, and I think i am screwed.

Race 1

Today was my first race in Mexico and I was not let down. They know how to throw races here! Yesterday we went to Costco and purchased a new cappuccino machine (Chris's new favorite toy), so I could start race morning out right. We got to the race site with tons of people and lots of activity going on. I actually feel bad for the people who live in Polanco because I know the music must have woken them up at 7AM today. After our run yesterday I was instructed more than once to not race today. Coach gave me an order of not letting my heart rate over 135 since I have a 21K trail race next weekend. I finally convinced him to let me race the first K and last K (but I actually ended up racing the first mile and last mile since I dont work well with Ks). They ended up being two of the fastest miles I have run in a 10K before (6:45 and 6:56) so I can tell that this training has been paying off. However, this meant that I was really slowing down the rest of the way to keep my heart rate down. I actually had to walk up the hills, but that was fine, because I was having a blast. I really dont have too much of a race report other than the first mile really hurt because the legs were so heavy from the run yesterday, but by the last mile I had shaken out any residual tiredness and felt great. The rest of the way was a game with the HRM on not letting the HR up too high. But as far as the event goes, it was top notch. For anyone ever in Mexico City, definitely run a race here. Here is the breakdown:

The good:
The race was 100 pesos ($7USD) and we got a super nice running hat and really nice shirt that is actually more like a soccer shirt
There were K markers at every kilometer and people calling out times
The weather was amazing
They had two water spray machines (although it wasnt that hot)
The 5K course was totally different from the 10K course so you werent dodging slow runners at the finish
They were handing out free TACOS at the 7K mark! I didnt have any but I was tempted because they smelled soooo good.
There were more spectators along the entire course than there were in the Honolulu Marathon
The race was so organized, I felt like I was running a big event like the NYC Marathon. When you finish, you walk through a line and get a bag with water, powerade, granola, an apple and an orange. Then you move down the line and get your medal, then you walk a little further and get your official time - all very organized.
All around the race were tents set up where you could buy any sort of running shoes or equipment imaginable. And for cheap. The running shoes here are about $30USD for any brand you can think of (except zoots). I havent done it yet because I am skeptical, but I have been told by many people that they are legit (not knockoffs). So that means they are stolen, but when you can buy a pair of newtons for $30 I am not going to complain.

The bad:
There were lots of hills (this Houston girl doesnt like going uphill)
The race was actually about 6.5miles
At the water stops, the water was on one side and the powerade was on the other, so if you were on the wrong side of the road you were SOL.

I cant wait for the next one! Chris was so impressed that he might actually come out of retirement and sign up for the next one! Here are some photos that my awesome coffee maker/cheerleader/supporter took.
At the start -I am trying to down a double americano and a bottle of NUUN in about 15 minutes.

Here is a dog wearing the shirts we were given. I thought it was a joke, but he actually raced, number and all. His chip was pinned to his collar. I may race my dogs in the next one.

And he beat me...

Here I am in the finish chute

I dont normally look that happy when I race.

Here I am happy to be headed home to a good breakfast

And just to show you how random our city is, here is a life-size rhino on the street. With a xylophone. And people playing it.

After the race we went to get some breakfast on the way home and at the grocery store I found something I have been looking for since I moved, and was told it didnt exist. Dr. Pepper. I only was allowed to buy a couple, but I was so happy I almost cried. It is pretty much the only sugar that I really crave and I am not sure how this is going to affect my training, but right now as I drink one watching Chris play guitar hero, I dont really care.

Race time!

After being here 5 months and racing only in the US, I finally have my first race this weekend! I will be sporting a lululemon outfit and zoots and racing under the name Rachel Ross. Since I am in Mexico I had to sign up with two last names and apparently my mother’s maiden name is what comes up last. So after 33 years of using my dad’s last name, my mom’s maiden name now gets some props. Sorry Dad! I am sure noone will mistake me for the other Rachel Ross who lives in Hawaii and runs twice as fast and is twice as tall as I. It is just a 10K, and my coach told me not to race it since I have one of my big races next weekend (21K trail race), but I dont know if I will be able to contain myself. It will be interesting to see what racing at altitude is like. I was supposed to have two other races previously, but one was cancelled because of the swine flu and one was skipped because of rain and cold.
On saturday we are headed up to run in the mountain trails again outside the city (supposedly we are hitting 13,000 feet this weekend) for a 21K run. If I survive the run without dying from oxygen depletion, I am going to treat myself to some more quesadillas. And then some beer. Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

In need of mental help

After my run saturday I went home and looked at my times. I ran a solid 7:30 pace and it felt easy, so why cant I do this in a race? I went home to look at my race times and I realized that my 5K and 10K split in the marathon were faster than my 5K and 10K splits in the half marathon and almost even with a couple of 5Ks and 10Ks I have run recently. And one of my Olympic Triathlons, my 10K had a clocked in at a 6:50 pace, so what is my problem? I know I am never going to be a super fast runner, but I obviously can run faster than I have been and everything I can see points to a mental block in running races. I started to think back to when I was doing competition by myself, and other than Triathlons and running, my most recent solo competition was swimming. I rarely lost a race. Granted the competition was not too steep, but there were some college swimmers recruited out of our clubs so it wasn’t all bad. Part of the reason I always won was genetics. I have a torso that goes on forever, a wingspan of someone a half foot taller than me, feet and hands that rival the size of some ex boyfriends and legs that are as big around as they are long (hence the fact that I will never be a fast runner). Plus my mom was a swimmer and threw me in the pool before I could walk, and to this day I dont want to get out of the water when I get in. The other reason (other than training) that I rarely lost, is that every time I stepped on the starting block I knew there was noone else who had a chance of beating me. I remember this feeling even when I was much younger. No matter how far behind I was at the last turn, I had the confidence that I could always make up the distance.

Now when I race in a running event I never have the confidence that I am going to do well. I actually just hope to finish the race (even in the really short ones). I look at my training times and know I can go much faster than I am going but every time I race I freak out and pull back thinking I will never be able to finish, then at the finish I have so much left in the tank that I sprint past everyone and could keep going. I need to remember that confidence I had in the pool, and know that I can do better. Even though I am not a natural runner, I have worked hard and trained hard and have proven that my times can be much much better. So my goal for races these next two sundays is to go to the starting line with that same confidence I used to have regardless of the outcome of the race.
Here I am about to race, monkey arms in the air. I never was able to manage goggles on swim team, they always fell off when I dove in.

Bonus photo my mom found. Clearly I am ready to kick ass in the relay. I have no clue what I am looking at, but I am pretty sure I still make that same face today.

On my way to lunch today.

This gun was pointed straight at me. I am not sure they really have gun safety classes here.

Sunday Run-Day

I find it amazing that a city of 27 million people can shut down its largest street every Sunday from 7-2 to cars so that bikers, runners, walkers, roller bladers, etc can use it without worrying about dodging the crazy drivers. There are a lot of things I love about the city, but this has to be one of my favorite things. If a city this large can do it, I don’t see why other smaller cities cant follow their lead. I try and get out every sunday for at least a little while to enjoy the weather and my surroundings. This sunday I set out for a 12 mile run, but as I started to head towards the center of town, I noticed these K markers

So I decided to follow the path. I had no idea really where they would lead me, but since there were tons of people I figured I would just follow their lead. After about 10K I was totally lost and was noticing that there were fewer and fewer people running and that almost everyone was on two wheels. This was a mercado I spotted when I realized I was lost.

Good news was that I had $100 pesos in my pocket and every Sunday the city has tents with free water and gatorade, free first aid, and free bike rentals and mechanics.


I kept going and did a little cheer when I got to my neighborhood and noticed this sign...

23K (plus the 3 or 4 it took me to get to the start) and I felt great. Granted I stopped every few miles for pictures and to fuel up.
After the run we went to have some beer, tortilla soup, and chilaquiles and then a well deserved nap. Our furniture arrives friday (hopefully) so anyone who wants to come enjoy the sunday run-day here has a free place to stay.
More pics from the run...
I was tempted but I had to save the $100 pesos in case I needed to flag down a cab.

Some buildings on Reforma. These streets are usually packed with cars. The traffic here is far worse than any other city I have ever been in, and it is so nice when the roads are closed.


Here is one of the streets on the way to the Zocalo in Centro Historico. Lots of people lining the streets, not all were running that day.

Bellas Artes

Here is what the streets look like when they are closed to cars. Very peaceful

Statue (I cant remember the name)

Two pictures of the largest mercado I have seen yet. I wanted to walk in and eat, but I held off.