I barely had time to think yesterday, much less sign up for a race. Work was crazy. All day I had a plan in mind to sign up for this weekend's Mexico City Half Marathon. I finally logged on at 6:18 and saw a note that said the following...
You were told that the signup closed at 18:00 on september 23. At this time we have no numbers left to give out.
Apparently I missed the memo that told me the online signup closed. I literally missed it by 18 minutes. I am still going to go to the packet pickup and see if I can sign up. Signup is still open for the full marathon, so if worse comes to worse I will sign up for that and race home after I run 13.1 miles. The best part about this race? It starts at 9:40! Yes, you read that right, 9:40. A time on sunday when I am normally back asleep after my long run. Ahh, I can barely contain my excitement that I can sleep in on Sunday. I am not sure why there is this random start time, but I dont care. It is freezing here in the mornings so a 7AM start time would require unfashionable arm warmers at the very least. But by 9:40 it is a comfortabale cool climate, perfect for running a half marathon.
Sep 24, 2009
Sep 21, 2009
5Ks are hard
This past weekend Chris and I did a 5K race. It was Chris's first race in Mexico City and first race since the marathon, so he had very low expectations. We decided to do our long run on saturday and use sunday's 5K as a fatigue fighter, and I was fatigued.
Side note: After the long run on saturday we went to a new cupcake place that Chris found online, I had my last bite of sugar and it was delicious. I am really bummed that these were found the day before I stop eating sugar instead of after I am back on the good stuff. Mom, they definitely are just as good as Magnolia.
The race was smaller than some of the others I have done here and they didnt have paced starting, so Chris and I were standing together. Then all of a sudden some guy came over and said the women had to go on the other side. I walked over and realized that the women were all lined up in a single file line while the men were spread out over the rest of the road. Totally not fair! Needless to say the start was a little slow. I was actually surprised at how good my legs felt at the start because in my poor attempt of a warmup they felt like crap. When I hit the first mile I looked at my garmin and saw a time of 6:50 which is pretty fast for me. All I could think was oh s**t, this race is gonna hurt. I didnt look at the watch again after that. Around 3k I had some major breathing issues and I tried to fight through it but my hands started going numb and I was seeing spots. I was really glad that I didnt eat anything that morning because it would have for sure come right up. I am not sure which is worse, asthma problems in 5ks or puking problems in half marathons. Anyway, I stopped to try and regain some normal breathing and used my inhaler again. I am sure the fact that I was tired from saturday's run coupled with the semi fast first mile and the altitude caused me to have this problem. I literally couldnt catch my breath, but after stopping and relaxing for a few minutes I was able to start back up. Because I had stopped I was passing people left and right and even though I was having trouble breathing the legs still felt fresh, which was so frustrating. It is much easier for me to fight through pain in the legs instead of fighting through asthma issues. The last mile was downhill which is always fun, and before I knew it the race was over. I found Chris at the finish line and even though he wasnt feeling good before the race, he had a really good race with sub 7 minute miles and he said he could have kept on going. Awesome for his first race in almost a year with almost no training and running at 7500 feet. I think he is going to kick some ass in his races later in the year.
In my state at the finish I forgot to stop the garmin and we were way too cold to stick around to see results, so i have no clue where I finished or how fast. All I know is that it hurt worse than almost any other 5K I have done, which is always a good sign. Hopefully results will be up soon. I know from all the long distance training I have been doing it probably wasnt close to a PR but it will be nice to have a starting point when I go into some speed training in the next few weeks.
Somewhere between the race finish and this morning I lost my ipod and I have a feeling I threw it away with the finisher's bag. I am not sure I like the new shuffles that Mr Jobs has come out with so I found some refurbished ones on amazon and bought two because I know I am gonna wash or throw away another one soon. Hopefully the blue one I bought will bring me more luck in races than the pink one I just trashed.
Oh and I have made one more exception to my no sugar rule. I am allowed sugar on my birthday (which also is the same day as Kona this year) so i will eat like I raced an ironman. Because really, what is a birthday without cake?
Side note: After the long run on saturday we went to a new cupcake place that Chris found online, I had my last bite of sugar and it was delicious. I am really bummed that these were found the day before I stop eating sugar instead of after I am back on the good stuff. Mom, they definitely are just as good as Magnolia.
The race was smaller than some of the others I have done here and they didnt have paced starting, so Chris and I were standing together. Then all of a sudden some guy came over and said the women had to go on the other side. I walked over and realized that the women were all lined up in a single file line while the men were spread out over the rest of the road. Totally not fair! Needless to say the start was a little slow. I was actually surprised at how good my legs felt at the start because in my poor attempt of a warmup they felt like crap. When I hit the first mile I looked at my garmin and saw a time of 6:50 which is pretty fast for me. All I could think was oh s**t, this race is gonna hurt. I didnt look at the watch again after that. Around 3k I had some major breathing issues and I tried to fight through it but my hands started going numb and I was seeing spots. I was really glad that I didnt eat anything that morning because it would have for sure come right up. I am not sure which is worse, asthma problems in 5ks or puking problems in half marathons. Anyway, I stopped to try and regain some normal breathing and used my inhaler again. I am sure the fact that I was tired from saturday's run coupled with the semi fast first mile and the altitude caused me to have this problem. I literally couldnt catch my breath, but after stopping and relaxing for a few minutes I was able to start back up. Because I had stopped I was passing people left and right and even though I was having trouble breathing the legs still felt fresh, which was so frustrating. It is much easier for me to fight through pain in the legs instead of fighting through asthma issues. The last mile was downhill which is always fun, and before I knew it the race was over. I found Chris at the finish line and even though he wasnt feeling good before the race, he had a really good race with sub 7 minute miles and he said he could have kept on going. Awesome for his first race in almost a year with almost no training and running at 7500 feet. I think he is going to kick some ass in his races later in the year.
In my state at the finish I forgot to stop the garmin and we were way too cold to stick around to see results, so i have no clue where I finished or how fast. All I know is that it hurt worse than almost any other 5K I have done, which is always a good sign. Hopefully results will be up soon. I know from all the long distance training I have been doing it probably wasnt close to a PR but it will be nice to have a starting point when I go into some speed training in the next few weeks.
Somewhere between the race finish and this morning I lost my ipod and I have a feeling I threw it away with the finisher's bag. I am not sure I like the new shuffles that Mr Jobs has come out with so I found some refurbished ones on amazon and bought two because I know I am gonna wash or throw away another one soon. Hopefully the blue one I bought will bring me more luck in races than the pink one I just trashed.
Oh and I have made one more exception to my no sugar rule. I am allowed sugar on my birthday (which also is the same day as Kona this year) so i will eat like I raced an ironman. Because really, what is a birthday without cake?
Sep 19, 2009
Sin azucar otra vez
It's that time of year again. Time to lock down the eating habits. I have done well with the no cheese, no donuts diet but now I am upping it a notch for the final push. No more sugar. I am hoping this will help me drop a few last lbs before race day and assist in an immodium free race. Of course, I will still eat fruits, but no more cakes, candy, dr. peppers, and donuts. At least not until the race. Of course, there are a few exceptions.
1)I can still have sugar when I run my long runs since pretty much anything other than gummy bears, gummy worms and reeses peanut butter cups come right up in runs over an hour. And added bonus - this may also entice me to run longer.
2) I can have chocolate milk after my long runs. For me, it is the best recovery drink out there. If possible I will use sugar free chocolate, but I am not switching to a soy milk.
3) I can have dessert at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Other than that no sugar until race day. I have a friend who is my inspiration, although she is way more hard core than I am. She is going 52 weeks no sugar, and every time I want to pick up a cupcake, I can remember that she is not caving, so I cant either. Go Michele, I am right there with you for the next few months!
1)I can still have sugar when I run my long runs since pretty much anything other than gummy bears, gummy worms and reeses peanut butter cups come right up in runs over an hour. And added bonus - this may also entice me to run longer.
2) I can have chocolate milk after my long runs. For me, it is the best recovery drink out there. If possible I will use sugar free chocolate, but I am not switching to a soy milk.
3) I can have dessert at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Other than that no sugar until race day. I have a friend who is my inspiration, although she is way more hard core than I am. She is going 52 weeks no sugar, and every time I want to pick up a cupcake, I can remember that she is not caving, so I cant either. Go Michele, I am right there with you for the next few months!
Sep 17, 2009
Training and stuff
I know I have been slacking again on the blog postings, so hopefully I havent driven off all two readers that I have (Hi huk, hi mom!). After the travels last week I came home and all I wanted to do was sleep, but I did make it out on sunday for an 11 mile run. I ran into Chris part way through and he said it was so crowded it had taken him an hour to get through 4 miles because he had to run around all the people. Apparently people were celebrating early for independence day. I showed him some other more remote trails and we finished the run and went home to watch movies and eat the rest of the day. We got half a day tuesday off and yesterday off for the Independence day. Tuesday night at midnight is El Grito. Everyone lines the streets, zocalo, bars and restaurants and shouts Vive Mexico. This is what the zocalo looked like.
Since I am not 22 anymore and no longer like to brave mardi gras size crowds, I opted to stay home and eat some of Chris's fajitas instead.
This sunday is a 15K race that I am hoping to do. I am also hoping to get Chris to do it as well since he does have a half marathon in the not so distant future. It will be his first race since retiring from running almost a year ago. Also, I am debating about running the vegas half instead of the full. I am really trying to work on my speed and that just doesnt come with training for a full marathon. There are a few marathons early in 2010 that I would like to do, so if I dont run the full in vegas I will be doing one in February or March. It is still up in the air, but my brother is getting really fast and I dont want him to smoke me in the turkey trot.
Since I am not 22 anymore and no longer like to brave mardi gras size crowds, I opted to stay home and eat some of Chris's fajitas instead.
This sunday is a 15K race that I am hoping to do. I am also hoping to get Chris to do it as well since he does have a half marathon in the not so distant future. It will be his first race since retiring from running almost a year ago. Also, I am debating about running the vegas half instead of the full. I am really trying to work on my speed and that just doesnt come with training for a full marathon. There are a few marathons early in 2010 that I would like to do, so if I dont run the full in vegas I will be doing one in February or March. It is still up in the air, but my brother is getting really fast and I dont want him to smoke me in the turkey trot.
Sep 9, 2009
Photos from the Yucatan
This post has a whole buncha fotos. Mostly for my mom who is constantly telling me to upload pictures when I travel, so this post is for you, mom. I am halfway through my whirlwind tour with three hotels under my belt and a light show at the ruins and two more hotels to go before I can go back home on Saturday. I am missing my peeps (or peep) at home, but am getting 12 hours of sleep a night here with no dogs crowding the bed, so things arent all bad. Last night I had the pleasure of welcoming in 1 tarantula and 1 HUGE millipede to my room, and tonight I am covering the door openings with towels so I dont get any more unwanted guests. Although at breakfast today I was told by the resident manager that the Haciendas are haunted and the one I am in tonight has been frequented by a little girl ghost. Every since the Shining I cant deal with little girl ghosts. The resident manager is also a part time shaman and told me if she comes in to tell her to leave and she will. I hope he is right becasue every 30 minutes or so I am utteringgo away hoping to keep my little Shining friend out of my room for the night.
Here are lots of photos from the first half of the trip. The Haciendas are in tiny pueblos in the Yucatan where we are running up in the high 90s so my runs have been brutal to say the least. Good thing there is lots of new things to see and keep my mind of the heat.
These are photos of my hotel from last night. It was amazing, and is the only one of our properties down here with a consecrated Catholic Church.
Outside tub in the room that also doubles as a post run ice bath. It is only about 70 degrees but feels so good after running on the hot roads.
Some photos from today's run:
My road out of town
Here is the friendly cow that may be tonight's dinner hangin outside of the hotel with his turkey friends.
They love the churches in Mexico
This seems to be the local hangout with video games and all
This is one of the town's schools. All the kids were outside playing soccer.
There are thousands of stray dogs running around and I want to take them all home with me, but these two little guys stole my heart.
Good night from Mexico!
Here are lots of photos from the first half of the trip. The Haciendas are in tiny pueblos in the Yucatan where we are running up in the high 90s so my runs have been brutal to say the least. Good thing there is lots of new things to see and keep my mind of the heat.
These are photos of my hotel from last night. It was amazing, and is the only one of our properties down here with a consecrated Catholic Church.
Outside tub in the room that also doubles as a post run ice bath. It is only about 70 degrees but feels so good after running on the hot roads.
Some photos from today's run:
My road out of town
Here is the friendly cow that may be tonight's dinner hangin outside of the hotel with his turkey friends.
They love the churches in Mexico
This seems to be the local hangout with video games and all
This is one of the town's schools. All the kids were outside playing soccer.
There are thousands of stray dogs running around and I want to take them all home with me, but these two little guys stole my heart.
Good night from Mexico!
Sep 8, 2009
Traveling
Last weekend was sort of a blur. Not much more was done other than eating and sleeping and running. Saturday Chris had to work so I ran to pick up my packet for the race and there and back made an easy 5.5 mile run. After that I decided to be a nice girlfriend and went to Krispy Kreme to get him some donuts. I am pretty impressed that I didnt even have one bite, though it was damn close when I was actually in the store. I ran home with a 1/2 docena in my hands and quickly made a smoothie to curb the craving. The rest of the day I rested, but was feeling really tight in my hips. It could have been the fact that one of our dogs has taken to sleeping on my back at night. Anyway, sunday came and I woke up barely able to walk. I stretched and rolled, but I was still super tight. I was (and still am) a little worried that it is the start of another IT problem. I got to the race and found my spot in the start. The races here are VERY strict about starting and put people in line based on their most recent 10K time, which make the starts very smooth. Anyway, the race was two loops, one being an 11+ mile loop and the other being a 5ish mile loop. I started planning on doing the full 2 loops, but after a few miles realized that the leg was more important than the race and decided on doing an easy-ish first loop. I called Chris and told him my plan and I met him at the finish. I am actually glad I did that since about 98% of the people only did one loop and the people on the second loop were spread out with about 2 minutes between each one making it a really confusing and boring second part.
Once I decided to take it a little easier, I ended up walking up the hills since this is usually where I have most of my problems with my IT band. But I had a good effort on the flats and downhills. My chip messed up, but the garmin gave me an average pace of 8:45, which I am happy with.
Now I am in the Yucatan traveling for work and staying at these amazing hotels solo. I will be posting pictures tonight. I saw my first spider since moving to hawaii and also my first scorpion. I tried to convince Chris to come, but he has to work. So instead of soaking up sun by the pool I went for a run last night, and also did some yoga. I think I would have had more fun lounging by the pool with Chris.
Once I decided to take it a little easier, I ended up walking up the hills since this is usually where I have most of my problems with my IT band. But I had a good effort on the flats and downhills. My chip messed up, but the garmin gave me an average pace of 8:45, which I am happy with.
Now I am in the Yucatan traveling for work and staying at these amazing hotels solo. I will be posting pictures tonight. I saw my first spider since moving to hawaii and also my first scorpion. I tried to convince Chris to come, but he has to work. So instead of soaking up sun by the pool I went for a run last night, and also did some yoga. I think I would have had more fun lounging by the pool with Chris.
Sep 3, 2009
Another week down
Almost right on schedule I got a little sick again here. Nothing major, just sick enough to remind me that it is not ok to eat anything I want. I think I had lettuce that was washed in tap water. I knew it when I was eating it because you could smell it. But I thought eh, I'm gonna gamble. Well I did, and I lost. I also lost about 2 kilos. I have no idea how many lbs that is and I am too lazy to look it up. I do know that if my weight were in drugs I lost enough to put me in jail for a very long time. I guess I am watching too much Weeds, that or reading too many Mexican newspapers. Last weekend we had a comida with some friends who like to drink. True to their word, lots of wine was consumed, and lots of American Idol was played. But, I didnt crack, not a single donut hit my mouth. It was fun and we stayed out way too late which made for a rough sunday morning. But since they are just about our only friends, we have to try and keep up so they dont ditch us.
Marathon training is in full swing and I am enjoying it so far, although I havent hit the long mileage yet, but this weekend is a 16 miler and I am hoping to finish. I am also hoping to put a little tempo run in the middle of it with a race here in the city that I just found out about today.
And just to prove that it isnt all fun and comidas around here, this is a picture of Chris last friday night. We didnt move from here until we went to bed at 10.
Marathon training is in full swing and I am enjoying it so far, although I havent hit the long mileage yet, but this weekend is a 16 miler and I am hoping to finish. I am also hoping to put a little tempo run in the middle of it with a race here in the city that I just found out about today.
And just to prove that it isnt all fun and comidas around here, this is a picture of Chris last friday night. We didnt move from here until we went to bed at 10.
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