I would just like to take a moment to direct your attention to a new link under our "Friends" section blog roll. Okay, this is going to sound complicated: *deep breath*, Kendra is Tim's counsin's wife. Does that make her our cousin? I mean, she's my cousin-in-law's wife. That makes us cousins-in-law, right? Okay enough semantics.
Kendra, a personal chef, has ventured into the world of all raw and you all know you've been interested in the raw-revolution ever since Samantha Jones ate raw all night just to get close to "Smith."
Check her out--she offers coaching, recipes, and general advice for anyone who's gone raw or is thinking of going mildly to full-on raw. I happen to know for a fact that Kendra is an incredibly talented chef, and her cooking classes have been met with wild approval.
On a personal note, she has a smoothie recipe that I'm very interested in trying to modify. It involves a blender full of spinach. Please allow me a short diatribe . . . Spinach here is difficult. It is very mealy, big and thick. It's okay cooked. But what about spinach salad? Too bad for me because I love baby spinach salads almost as much as chocolate. Additionally, I NEED to eat spinach. My grandfather suffers from macular degeneration, a genetic eye disease, and I am scared to death of contracting this. But wait, there's something I can do: eat spinach. Kendra's smoothie recipe just may save my eyes. . .
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Forced Rest = Antsy but NORMAL
Tim and I have been plagued this past week by camping, weather, injury and illness and now it has been 5 entire days since I last ran. Usually, in the past, such a lapse would indicate either a mental breakdown or full-on quitting and would result in feelings of guilt, remorse, disgust, and even a tinge of hopelessness. But now, I'm happy to report: I feel none of these things. Perhaps I was right when I thought I was finally able to handle working for a running goal--training. Understand I have not "trained" in almost 10 years. But these 5 days are not even a blip on the radar. I have the long view--a big picture. Something I lacked maturity and normalcy to be able to see before. No worries about how this is going to affect my training, no giving up and resigning myself to sucking, which was always an excuse before. I'm just picking up where I left off and not giving it a second thought. Sweet.
Speaking of the T word, I don't have a marathon plan, so here's my plan: continue building my base through July, maybe even August too. We'll see. Either beginning in August or September, I'm begining the Runner's World verteran marathon plan as it's geared for people who run 1/2 marathons and can start at 13 miles for their long run. That will apply to me at the end of the summer and I have run a few halfers.
Actually, now that I think about it, I'm probably going to need to start in September when I'll have access to a track again. Yep, that makes the most sense. Just try to get distance and base in July and August.
The plan will end round about December/January. Of course, there's no marathon here at that time. Or in any neighboring countries, really. But whatever. If I can't find anything, I'll just run marathon distance that day--hard, take a week off, then start it over with Ultra-specific changes to make it fit, like dropping the speedwork, do long back-to-back long runs here and there, etc etc.
PS--Jess gets here on Tuesday. Wooo Hoooo!
Speaking of the T word, I don't have a marathon plan, so here's my plan: continue building my base through July, maybe even August too. We'll see. Either beginning in August or September, I'm begining the Runner's World verteran marathon plan as it's geared for people who run 1/2 marathons and can start at 13 miles for their long run. That will apply to me at the end of the summer and I have run a few halfers.
Actually, now that I think about it, I'm probably going to need to start in September when I'll have access to a track again. Yep, that makes the most sense. Just try to get distance and base in July and August.
The plan will end round about December/January. Of course, there's no marathon here at that time. Or in any neighboring countries, really. But whatever. If I can't find anything, I'll just run marathon distance that day--hard, take a week off, then start it over with Ultra-specific changes to make it fit, like dropping the speedwork, do long back-to-back long runs here and there, etc etc.
PS--Jess gets here on Tuesday. Wooo Hoooo!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
A Milestone?
Well, the good news is that I have not yet fallen off the treadmill (although I did trip the other day and made a wretched squeaking noise that did boast a few stares), but even better than that I ran my first 2 miles in a row without stopping!! Since I have started reading more about this whole running thing I have come to find out that this is actually a pretty big step, and that the 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc miles are easier to add (any confirmation on this from you ladies?)
Whatever the verdict I was pretty proud of myself. I am now on a semi-schedule which unfortunately has to be somewhat flexible because of my hectic life of happy hours and evening events in the big city. What I don't think I realized before is that this whole training thing has to be kinda varied (apparently just grunting out 5K every time I go to the gym is not the best choice), so I have devised a plan to have a long run day (6 slow miles!! fingers crossed), a short run day (2 miles that I now know I can do), and an interval day. This plan is straight from the experts at runnersworld.com (and at my sister's suggestion that I start there). Just for fun I have thrown in a pilates class and a swim day. I know it sounds ambitious (or at least it does to me) but while there is an option for training every day of the week actually getting there is up in the air.
As for the bouncing girls...I have kept my fingers to myself so far and am going to go bra hunting this weekend.....
Whatever the verdict I was pretty proud of myself. I am now on a semi-schedule which unfortunately has to be somewhat flexible because of my hectic life of happy hours and evening events in the big city. What I don't think I realized before is that this whole training thing has to be kinda varied (apparently just grunting out 5K every time I go to the gym is not the best choice), so I have devised a plan to have a long run day (6 slow miles!! fingers crossed), a short run day (2 miles that I now know I can do), and an interval day. This plan is straight from the experts at runnersworld.com (and at my sister's suggestion that I start there). Just for fun I have thrown in a pilates class and a swim day. I know it sounds ambitious (or at least it does to me) but while there is an option for training every day of the week actually getting there is up in the air.
As for the bouncing girls...I have kept my fingers to myself so far and am going to go bra hunting this weekend.....
Monday, June 16, 2008
Homemade Goo or Gu or Goobers or Whatever You Call It
As I increase my mileage, run when I haven't eaten, and other such practices that necessitate caloric intake during a run, I am considering entering the world of homemade energy gel. According to Tim I could even make my own shot blocks in ice trays. But let's first see how this first round of experimentation goes before we try to make something we actually want to congeal (eww) of which I prefer flavors like margarita and cherry that sound difficult to produce.
Here's a couple recipes I'm considering trying:
The PB and Honey one:
--7 parts honey. This is a medium-high glycemic index food, so it’ll give you an instand hit, followed by a sharp come-down in about 30-40 minutes.
--2 parts peanut butter - low GI, so it acts as a buffer to the honey, slowing down it’s burn rate.
--1 part hot water to help mix the other two ingredients.
--2 parts peanut butter - low GI, so it acts as a buffer to the honey, slowing down it’s burn rate.
--1 part hot water to help mix the other two ingredients.
Peanut butter and honey is one of my most favorite food combinations in the whole world, and I can actually get them in my current part of the world which is of upmost importance as I try to do this. I've already come across so many recipes that I have to immediately discard because I don't have access to organic pumpkin seed butter (what the hell is that?) and maltodextrin powder (again, huh?).
Another concoction I'm considering--The Molasses One:
--7 and 1/3 tablespoons of honey
--3/4 teaspoons of blackstrap molasses
--1/10 teaspoons (just shy of 1/8 tsp) of table salt
--3/4 teaspoons of blackstrap molasses
--1/10 teaspoons (just shy of 1/8 tsp) of table salt
I have no idea if we can get molasses here such as what you and I would expect. I know the "blackstrap" variety is reaching. I'd be lucky to get some fruit variation. What we do have is tons and tons of panela. If you don't know what this is, be sure to have a look at Este Ecuador and Tim's entry about Cafe Velez. If you don't have time for that (make time soon, cuz it's a great entry), just understand that panela is a brick of brown sugar direct from cooled sugar cane juice.
I figure this stuff, melted, is probably all molasses is anyway, right? I also have some confidence in this stuff because as this country is painfully lacking anything Cliff, Honey Stinger, Powerbar, Tiger Milk, Larabar, etc etc etc, pure panela is the energy goo of choice here among Ecuadorian runners. I learned this at the starting line of Ultimas Noticias (be sure to read about that below). Dudes were pulling little baggies of crushed-up panela out of their shorts and passing it around. I had a mocha-flavored Cliff Shot in my back pocket and thusly stuck my nose up at the sugar, but maybe they were on to something?
So if molasses are (is?) nowhere to be found, I'm considering using panela instead. I would probably also add coffee grounds, or strongly brewed coffee or some other coffee additive, because, well, my name is Erin, and I'm an addict. I also notice that the bod prefers shots and blocks with caffine. Perhaps it's my dependence, or perhaps caffine truly is a performance enhancing drug. Since my system has never been without since I was about 14, I don't think using it is cheating in any way. I'm not adding anything new into my system to help performance. So there.
Anyway, the short of it is, while we have visitors bringing us shots and blocks at varied times, those supplies are always limited, and we use them lots. I can't eat while running, so I need gel. Please, please, talk to your friends and acquaintances and find out if anyone you know has made their own goo before. Get their recipes and post 'em. Go ahead and post it even if it does call for something stupid like organic sunflower dust extract, because, while I cannot get that stuff, hopefully I'm not the only reading this blog. I'll let you know how my little experiement goes, though we just booked ourselves to climb Antisana this weekend (Ecuador's 4th tallest mountain) so my weekend long-run is kinda shot. Maybe I can do it Friday instead. We'll see.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Girl Love
No, no, not that kind of love. I'm talking about girlfriend love. The kind of girlfriend love that made us all weep, laugh, and miss our friends like crazy when we all watched Sex in the City.
{Warning: the following contains spoilers. DO NOT keep reading if you've not yet seen the movie. Then get yourself to the theater, girlfriend!!}
The movie came to Quito last Friday and I finally went last night with a new friend (and weekend running partner, thank goodness) here. And I must tell you, we both boo-hooed the whole time. But so did all the local women, which is a great thing about this story--it bridges cultural gaps. I guess I just didn't realize how much I missed those 4 women, but it all came rushing back. Nadia and I were talking about just what it is that makes this story so special to women of our generation. Personally, I think it became popular right when we were all realizing we had better cherish and take care of our female relationships. Maybe this is a bit far-fetched, but I credit this story with planting in our collective subconcious a reminder to cultivate and keep our best girlfriends, because we need each other.
If we're fortunate and smart in high school, we can emerge with true girlfriends, though most times they don't really become as special to you until later. Our late teens and early 20's, we spend being scared to death of each other, claiming we "get along better" with guys and that's why we have so many guyfriends. By our late 20's, most of us are realizing that no matter how much our man loves us, he will never be able to really understand and feel the things we feel. And now we know that no matter how great our guyfriends are, they will never scream "NO!!! NO!!!!!!!!" at the man who has just left you at the alter. They will never venture out in their pajamas to be with you when you're lonely on New Years. They will never understand when you need to sleep for two days straight, and they will not spoon-feed you breakfast when you finally agree to eat. But women do these things for their best friends because they are women, and that makes all the difference.
So here's to my best girlfriends (I miss you SO much), as well as my girlfriends who I feel like maybe one day I could have this kind of relationship with, and to my girlfriends-to-come because now that I know, I'm looking for you and I'm not going to let you slip by.
{Warning: the following contains spoilers. DO NOT keep reading if you've not yet seen the movie. Then get yourself to the theater, girlfriend!!}
The movie came to Quito last Friday and I finally went last night with a new friend (and weekend running partner, thank goodness) here. And I must tell you, we both boo-hooed the whole time. But so did all the local women, which is a great thing about this story--it bridges cultural gaps. I guess I just didn't realize how much I missed those 4 women, but it all came rushing back. Nadia and I were talking about just what it is that makes this story so special to women of our generation. Personally, I think it became popular right when we were all realizing we had better cherish and take care of our female relationships. Maybe this is a bit far-fetched, but I credit this story with planting in our collective subconcious a reminder to cultivate and keep our best girlfriends, because we need each other.
If we're fortunate and smart in high school, we can emerge with true girlfriends, though most times they don't really become as special to you until later. Our late teens and early 20's, we spend being scared to death of each other, claiming we "get along better" with guys and that's why we have so many guyfriends. By our late 20's, most of us are realizing that no matter how much our man loves us, he will never be able to really understand and feel the things we feel. And now we know that no matter how great our guyfriends are, they will never scream "NO!!! NO!!!!!!!!" at the man who has just left you at the alter. They will never venture out in their pajamas to be with you when you're lonely on New Years. They will never understand when you need to sleep for two days straight, and they will not spoon-feed you breakfast when you finally agree to eat. But women do these things for their best friends because they are women, and that makes all the difference.
So here's to my best girlfriends (I miss you SO much), as well as my girlfriends who I feel like maybe one day I could have this kind of relationship with, and to my girlfriends-to-come because now that I know, I'm looking for you and I'm not going to let you slip by.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
I've Been Tagged!
I have been tagged by Este Ecuador
1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
Working, smoking cigarettes, and trying to figure out who I was, what I wanted to be, how I was going to get there. I’m so thankful I found some direction along the way.
2. What are 5 non-work things on my to-do list today?
Go shopping for Erin and Timmy and pick up some essentials for them
Run
Walk Quinn
Brush out Quinn’s undercoat. As you can see from the pic below, we have a very furry dog and it's starting to get hot here in Boulder.
Tune up the road bike (Katie’s old bike! Every time I see my yellow and blue Trek I think of you Katie)
3. What snacks do you enjoy?
Baby Bananas
XOXO Raspberry chocolate
Strawberries from our garden
Fire gum
Wine…is that a snack?
4. What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Help my dad retire
Invest in stem cell research
Help out the family
Travel the world
Buy John E a wind turbine ;-)
My sister would probably need a few new bikes
5. Where have you lived?
Evergreen,
6. What jobs have you had?
Accounts Payable for 5 oil and gas companies and a ski company
Barista
International Liaison/Communication Coordinator at the AAC
Full-time Student
Tested functionality for Directional Wells, GIS software development
Tested functionality for online elementary and middle school math courses. HELP is an internet-based, supplementary curriculum designed to remove language barriers from the learning of math skills and math content.
Game Over. I tag Jeny and Amanda!
TahTah's and Stuff
Goals:
I have two major running goals for the summer. The first is the Colorado Relay Race and the second is the Boulder Backroads Half Marathon. I have never been much of a runner but rather have always been more into the strength sports that don’t require much lung capacity, sports like gymnastics and climbing. I also run alone so I have nothing to compare myself to, which also means I have no idea if I am even capable of running these two races. The kicker…..they are a week apart. I am terrified I am going to fail miserably. I am also terrified I am going to let down Relay Race teammates. Oh well… I guess I’ll just keep runnin’.
I went for a run the other day with 4 other girls (my first group run) and we had a discussion on good sports bras vs bad sports bras. While we didn’t come to any conclusions we did discuss 2 major complaints, nipple pain and general bouncing. I think we all agreed that you need as tight of a bra as you can stand to avoid any boob pain. As for your (The Novice) problem with people staring at your melons, I like
Training:
When I first started running longer distances I felt awkward. The only way I can explain it is like repeating the same word over and over again until the word lost its meaning. But the more I get out there the stronger I feel and the meaning is no longer lost to me. Running keeps me sane. I have been mixing in big hikes, long runs, short runs, and weight lifting. You see, I have nothing else to do. I finished school and I’m not working until August. So I have decided to get back in shape and shed my “studying weight”. Sitting in front of the computer for hours and hours on end didn’t agree with my ass. I also wanted a challenge. So I decided to reach outside my usual bag of tricks and test myself. Wish me luck. eek!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
New Week
Exams to grade tonight, but oh well.
My first week clocks out at about 30 miles. Nothing too dazzling about that distance, but the week was affected by the little daily battle in which my immune system engaged to try to keep me well in the face of students and coworkers coughing, hacking, swelling, sniffling, fevering and generally feeling bad. My immunity won. With the help of Immune Defense Emergen-C (LOVE that stuff), of course.
So it was a super easy week characterized by the short loop in Parque Metrolpolitano (an ode to Metropolitano soon-come) and the long loop today. The big loop felt great today so I'll try to stick with that and up this week to increase the mileage a bit. I've got some running partners on tap for this week which always helps, and usually ensures that we can actually do the long loop midweek without having to leave due to the sketchies. I guess until I get my schedule from Whit, I'm just going to work on my base and slowly increase the mileage.
So, happy running this week, all.
My first week clocks out at about 30 miles. Nothing too dazzling about that distance, but the week was affected by the little daily battle in which my immune system engaged to try to keep me well in the face of students and coworkers coughing, hacking, swelling, sniffling, fevering and generally feeling bad. My immunity won. With the help of Immune Defense Emergen-C (LOVE that stuff), of course.
So it was a super easy week characterized by the short loop in Parque Metrolpolitano (an ode to Metropolitano soon-come) and the long loop today. The big loop felt great today so I'll try to stick with that and up this week to increase the mileage a bit. I've got some running partners on tap for this week which always helps, and usually ensures that we can actually do the long loop midweek without having to leave due to the sketchies. I guess until I get my schedule from Whit, I'm just going to work on my base and slowly increase the mileage.
So, happy running this week, all.
Friday, June 6, 2008
If you stop moving the treadmill will kick you off...
And no one wants to be that dumbass at the gym
So after a bit of encouragement from my sis, I have decided to jump on board with this whole blog thing. A small disclaimer first; I have always admired anyone who can slip on the sneaks and go; someone who gets that euphoric high while putting the miles behind them. As for myself, well the title says it all....
Three weeks ago (and only because my decrease in rent made it affordable) I joined a gym here in DC, and since then I have been going about 3 days a week to try and mold my body into some kind of shape (preferable one that is not as round). I decided on running as my main event because I can actually feel it working...when the sweat rolls down my back I know I have accomplished something. The couple of things I forgot to consider were:
1. I have huge breasts and running kinda hurts the girls (and the said sweaty back) as well as draws uninvited stares from the mens (any advice on places to find sports bras?)
2. I have knee problems (IT band issues I think?).
3. My lungs do not want to cooperate.
Determined to not make excuses, I have/am learned/learning how to overcome these issues, and luckily enough I chose a gym that is on my route home from work so the guilt of walking by without going in is enough to keep my attendance fairly high.
So that is where I am at....going to the gym, jumping on the treadmill, putting one foot in front of the other, wondering how long I have to do this before it becomes something I enjoy.
Any advice for this novice is welcome! My goal? I would love to be able to run a 5K in 30 minutes by the end of the summer. I am doing it in around 40 right now.
So after a bit of encouragement from my sis, I have decided to jump on board with this whole blog thing. A small disclaimer first; I have always admired anyone who can slip on the sneaks and go; someone who gets that euphoric high while putting the miles behind them. As for myself, well the title says it all....
Three weeks ago (and only because my decrease in rent made it affordable) I joined a gym here in DC, and since then I have been going about 3 days a week to try and mold my body into some kind of shape (preferable one that is not as round). I decided on running as my main event because I can actually feel it working...when the sweat rolls down my back I know I have accomplished something. The couple of things I forgot to consider were:
1. I have huge breasts and running kinda hurts the girls (and the said sweaty back) as well as draws uninvited stares from the mens (any advice on places to find sports bras?)
2. I have knee problems (IT band issues I think?).
3. My lungs do not want to cooperate.
Determined to not make excuses, I have/am learned/learning how to overcome these issues, and luckily enough I chose a gym that is on my route home from work so the guilt of walking by without going in is enough to keep my attendance fairly high.
So that is where I am at....going to the gym, jumping on the treadmill, putting one foot in front of the other, wondering how long I have to do this before it becomes something I enjoy.
Any advice for this novice is welcome! My goal? I would love to be able to run a 5K in 30 minutes by the end of the summer. I am doing it in around 40 right now.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The Recurrence
I took a short run today for the first time since Sunday. I needed one day to nurse an old injury (more on that momentarily) and the second day I came down with a terrible sore throat, so I laid on the couch watching sappy girlie movies. Better today, and tomorrow I'm staying home. But I figured exercise stimulates the immune system, right? And now that I'm officially working toward something, I don't want to take off more time than necessary. The run felt great, by the way.
Back to that old injury thing. I have two recurring injuries. The one that currently plagues me is one that first popped up my freshmen year of high school. I had taken three solid months off after cross country to heal a stress fracture and was starting back in track in the spring. After the first hard workout--BOOM--my ass hurt. Not muscle hurt. It had nothing to do with that. It wasn't connective tissue either. I've since had tendinitis and think that could not have been it. Our resident physical therapist and weight lifting teacher diagnosed a bruised or inflamed bursa sack. I used ice massage for a couple weeks and then it was gone. For years. Until now. It's back and it's a real pain in--well, literally, it's a pain in my ass. Right below it actually. And it seems people really only get bursitis in knees, shoulders and elbows. Not their butts. Does anyone who may have stumbled upon my ramblings, or have any of my fellow "chicks" any experience with this? I can pin-point the exact spot, and ice does seem to help. It's right where my left leg connects to my butt in one specific point. Could Dave Sheehan have been right all those years ago? Or might it be something else? Thankfully, it's only a little nagging thing that bothers after huge alpine days or after running 9 miles on the road when I've only been running 5 on dirt.
My other recurring injury pops up after huge alpine days and I think it's why I dislike "hiking" so much---why I can run twice the distance I can hike and not hurt nearly as much as I would after hiking. It's recurring patella tendinitis. In both my knees. Ugh. This one popped up in college, when I ran cross country at UNCG. It has bothered me ever since. But seriously, only after huge days in the mountains when I've had to hike down just as much and as steeply as I've gone up, and after downhill long races such as the Moab Half Marathon. Downhill kills!! But I love climbing mountains. There is a serious dilemma here because when I climb a mountain, I have to take at least three days off from running. What to do? What to do? Wish there was a way to do both. Do I keep climbing and just take the hit in training? Guess so. For now anyway.
Back to that old injury thing. I have two recurring injuries. The one that currently plagues me is one that first popped up my freshmen year of high school. I had taken three solid months off after cross country to heal a stress fracture and was starting back in track in the spring. After the first hard workout--BOOM--my ass hurt. Not muscle hurt. It had nothing to do with that. It wasn't connective tissue either. I've since had tendinitis and think that could not have been it. Our resident physical therapist and weight lifting teacher diagnosed a bruised or inflamed bursa sack. I used ice massage for a couple weeks and then it was gone. For years. Until now. It's back and it's a real pain in--well, literally, it's a pain in my ass. Right below it actually. And it seems people really only get bursitis in knees, shoulders and elbows. Not their butts. Does anyone who may have stumbled upon my ramblings, or have any of my fellow "chicks" any experience with this? I can pin-point the exact spot, and ice does seem to help. It's right where my left leg connects to my butt in one specific point. Could Dave Sheehan have been right all those years ago? Or might it be something else? Thankfully, it's only a little nagging thing that bothers after huge alpine days or after running 9 miles on the road when I've only been running 5 on dirt.
My other recurring injury pops up after huge alpine days and I think it's why I dislike "hiking" so much---why I can run twice the distance I can hike and not hurt nearly as much as I would after hiking. It's recurring patella tendinitis. In both my knees. Ugh. This one popped up in college, when I ran cross country at UNCG. It has bothered me ever since. But seriously, only after huge days in the mountains when I've had to hike down just as much and as steeply as I've gone up, and after downhill long races such as the Moab Half Marathon. Downhill kills!! But I love climbing mountains. There is a serious dilemma here because when I climb a mountain, I have to take at least three days off from running. What to do? What to do? Wish there was a way to do both. Do I keep climbing and just take the hit in training? Guess so. For now anyway.
Monday, June 2, 2008
The Shorts--and Enthusiastic Ecuadorians
What a fun race! More on that later. I know you're dying to hear about the shorts:After the shorts trial last week (see below), I decided they were going to be fine as is. I also couldn't keep the key pocket if I got rid of the liners. So they were allowed to stay. I'm happy to report that I didn't even notice the cotton, and there wasn't even any chaffing! Perhaps they got it right back in 1986, and never shoulda changed. These may even become regulars in my gear repertoire (especially considering I only brought two pairs to Quito to use for the next year and a half). Cotton means immediate post-run removal is necessary, but they're quite comfy for long distances.
The Race: Actual Running Stuff
I felt much better than I thought I would. In fact, I feel quite happy that while my pace was not quick, it was definitely consistent, and I felt pretty strong. After only running about 5 miles maybe twice a week up to this point, I was pretty nervous about jumping into a 9 miler, because something happens to me during a race: I get serious, no matter how not-seriously I intended to take it. So I put a great deal of importance on knowing what pace I can begin and respectably finish in. I also know that no matter what, if I run a race, I'm going to run it as hard as my current shape will allow. So I was silently nervous, wondering how much today would hurt. But I'm quite pleased: I wanted to keep it steady. I did. All 3 of my 5k's were the same with maybe 30 seconds variance between them. My official time was 1:30:57 and I'm alright with that because I know I could not have run faster yesterday. My place in my age group was 120 out of 344, though I don't really care about that at this point. I feel good about how it went, and I feel better physically today than I expected. Time to push the envelope.
The Race: Cultural Learnings
Our first real beginning-to-end road race overseas taught us many things. First of all, don't expect pins for your numbers. If the start of the race is near a little tienda, the shop keeper may have stocked up and you can buy them. But there are no tables at the start with boxes of pins. We saw everything from scotch-taped bibs (don't know how that worked out for the poor guy--really? Scotch tape?) to home-sewn numbers on t-shirts. When the tienda wouldn't change our $10 for some pins, some nice person bought them for Tim. Good karma coming your way, kind racing soul.
Another shocker was the start. Over 10,000 people starting all together on 2 lanes of road. Yikes. And there's not a whole lot of regard for personal space here. Double yikes. After watching the shoving in the front, we waited till a good portion of the crowd moved on before jumping in line. Turns out, it was a good place to get in. We passed a lot of people but also ran with the same people and weren't really passed that much.
Maybe not so shocking, sports here are much more male-dominated than in the States. I mean sports in general are male-dominated, but to give you an idea of the vastness of the amount of men vs. women: there were 344 women in my age-group. There were 2127 in Tim's. That said, it was inspiring to see as many women as there were out there doing it in this machisitic country.
Another fun part of this race was how enthusiastically excited Ecuadorians are for anything out of the routine, including a big road-race through the city. There were tons of people lining the streets THE WHOLE RACE. That might happen for the Boston Marathon, but in the States, even for the 2nd biggest road-race in the country, you're still looking at some solitary time. What's cute as well is that people bring bags of water and Gatorade from home and hold it out for the runners. While I'm not about to take that from someone for fear of tap-water and dirty hands, I find it incredibly endearing that people do this.
The enthusiasm carries over to the runners too. Everyone was so excited! And talking to each other, yelling, and generally just being happy to be there. NO ONE stands around at the start, eyes averted, checking each other out for gear, who needs to eat a sandwich, who looks competitive, etc. which generally characterizes the starts at races I've experienced before. So refreshing!
Aid stations--wow. Plastic bags of water. And three super small stations with plastic cups of Gatorade. So not only do you have to rip open the bag with your teeth, you have to worry about who has handled your bag (yuck) and then you have to navigate the streets. Wet plastic bags are slippery!
Lastly, like most good races 10k and above, there was a goody bag at the end. Now, usually, in the States, your goody bag will contain Cliff Bars, or whoever else has sponsored your race, maybe some fruit, maybe some chips, yogurt, a bagel, cookies---good post-race snacks, as well as coupons, stickers and newsletters. Our goody bags contained a bottle of water, an apple, a little spiral "light cookbook" which contains, I kid-you not, a recipe for hot dog salad, and a bottle of squeeze ketchup. Thanks guys!
Lastly, like most good races 10k and above, there was a goody bag at the end. Now, usually, in the States, your goody bag will contain Cliff Bars, or whoever else has sponsored your race, maybe some fruit, maybe some chips, yogurt, a bagel, cookies---good post-race snacks, as well as coupons, stickers and newsletters. Our goody bags contained a bottle of water, an apple, a little spiral "light cookbook" which contains, I kid-you not, a recipe for hot dog salad, and a bottle of squeeze ketchup. Thanks guys!
I would like to offer a huge thanks to our school for providing free uniforms, information and transportation, as well as a place to keep our warm clothes and possessions safe during the run.
Also a special thanks to Mabel, Ligia, Gladys and Enrique who were placed very strategically throughout the run with concentrated Gatorade. You were such a welcome surprise and I needed you right where you were.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in general debauchery on our roof with gringos and Ecuadorians alike. Overall, it was an incredible day!
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