Cross the Zero Line

Yes, I know, this says 2007, and Nov. 25th. Just imagine it says 2008 and 23. Okay? I couldn't rip anything current--it's all video.

I would post pictures as well, but they're all on Tim's computer. So you'll just have to check Este Ecuador for what I'm sure will be a gut-grabbingly hilarious photo-journalistic spread from Tim who carried the camera during the race. His antics kept my attention off how painful the whole enterprise of running more than 6 miles actually is.

But really, like every racing experience I've had here in Quito, I was not disappointed as far as seeing some of the damnedest things you would NEVER see in a race in the States and I am so glad Tim took the camera to document so we would not forget: dude with the sponge on his butt, and old dude dressed all in white and a knit cap who growled "gracias por aplausa" to himself whenever someone cheered him on, and bags of water and plastic gatorade cups, or dudes sponsored by the sausage company, and dude wearing SHORT white shorts (and he was sweating lots), and giggly spectators, and renegade motivational speakers sprinting through the racers, and random bottles of water offered from lone spectators, and group aerobics warm-ups at the starting line, and pacer balloons, and the general sense of camaraderie and fun that characterize races here.

While we had a blast and the course was pretty easy, I couldn't help but thinking that a 1/2 marathon is the farthest I've raced so far. I've done a few of these, but nothing longer. And these things are not what I would call "easy." I am really going to have to be on my game if I want to pursue my goals.

I thought I gave myself a new knee injury Sunday. The back of my knee felt like it was about to be a serious problem. But now, on rest day #2, everything is good. I'm still a bit more sore in that calf than anywhere else. But overall, I'm feeling good and ready to go for a stretchy, easy, happy jog tomorrow. After which time I will begin my training plan. Seriously!

It's Like Dre Said... (yeah, you know)

The very next day, after my last post, election day, I came down with a horrific cold. Quick-style. Knocked me on my ass it did. So training is put on hold for one week, I guess. I'm trying to run today, but it keeps raining. Running in the rain is fine when I'm healthy. Not so fine when I'm sick and need to walk a lot of it.

I swear, Dre, must have been talkin' 'bout little ole me. And wow, was he right.

"Hard to hold a candle, in the cold November rain..."

That's why I'm picking November to begin a training program. November here brings the beginning of what was, last year, an excruciatingly long rainy season. It's not supposed to be that way. We are supposed to have a rainy November, relatively dry December and January, with rain increasing until April when it should be at it's wettest, steadily decreasing until June, when we supposedly enjoy a long dryish season until the next November. Last year, it began raining in November, and it didn't stop until the end of June. We had dry week or few days here and there, but there was never another "dry" season and the country suffered for it. Our old neighborhood had daily landslides and the coast was a total mess. Who knows what this year will bring, but at least this time I'm prepared and know what to expect.

To start the mood off right, I'm beginning "training." Where before I was base building, now I'll be throwing in actual workouts. I'll have a plan, a path. Something I've not had in almost 10 years. If I have a plan, the rain can't get me down, right? I won't be able to say that I'm exhausted and depressed by the rain. I'll still have to go out there and get it done.

For the next two weeks I'm going to throw in fartlek runs twice a week--probably two rest days a week to start off as I'm having some knee difficulty and want to see how it goes. Two weeks in, I'm beginning the following training plan from Runners World: a modified "Rookie Plan."
Why Rookie? Why modified? Rookie because of various complications and goings here and there resulting in unplanned days off, my mileage doesn't get much higher than 5-6 miles in any given day, and I'm probably averaging only about 5 miles a day. Modified because I can and want to do more than what this plan calls for. For example, instead of cross training, that will turn into a run day. My ladders will be longer, tempos will incorporate the new to me and oh-so compelling "step-down" approach (run increasingly faster miles rather than the same pace throughout--amazing!), longer distance runs, and, oh, yeah, we're running a half marathon in the very beginning of my "training."

On the 23rd, Tim and I will be racing to the center of the Earth. Doesn't that sound cool? The 1/2 marathon begins a bit north of our house and continues straight on to the monument that sits at a supposed 0 degrees latitude. The monument was a couple hundred meters off, but oh the accuracy of the triangles and pendulum clocks used by the French in the 1700s!

Forget that there is no marathon or anything closely resembling a marathon anywhere near me till June. I've not yet figured out what to do with a marathon training plan that incorporates a tapering period and, you know, a marathon. But we'll just see how it goes and deal with that all in good time. I'm also not sure what to do about our two week vacation for Christmas during which we plan a no-holds-barred assault on the surrounding mountains (no running). Again, I'll deal with that when the time comes.

Obsessive Obsessions

Let's just say that running is not one of them lately. But that doesn't mean I'm not doing it. It just means running isn't consuming every waking thought and therefore, I'm not writing about it.

Thankfully, one obsession will either blissfully or mournfully fall away tomorrow night. Thank God. I'm not even in a swing state being bombarded with ads and calls and knocks at the door and I'm tired of this. I can only imagine how my Stateside cohorts must feel.

The other obsession--and I mean, all consuming thing I'm dreaming about every night and getting anxiety back knots over--is where we'll be next year and what we have to do to get there. It's possible we could Skype interview with some school and go straight there. Or we could spend a crap-ton of money and go to a hiring fair for the possibility of having a super cool opportunity, like a school in the middle of a ski resort in the Swiss Alps. It's a tough decision but we're currently slowly taking steps to get set up for a job fair, supposing we'll see what happens in between.

This is an all-consuming obsession because we have very specific requirements in order to be happy sane people. Plus, we need to stay at our next school for at least three years so we don't look like flakes. My requirements: less rain than what we've experienced here. That could equal Boone climate, so consider me not especially picky, but it does rule out maybe Scotland and Rio, Brazil though we will consider both. My other requirements: the ability to run on trails after school (meaning almost walking accessible so this can be done on an afternoonly basis), the ability to ski at least a couple times during the season (I haven't skied in almost two years and it's kinda eating me up). I also need the school to be in a better environment and by that I simply mean that I should not have to waste 20 minutes of class time hunting down technology equipment I've signed up for. My next classroom needs tech built in.
How hard is it to find all this together in one place?
Not especially difficult.
How hard is it to find this altogether in one place that needs us both?
A bit more tricky. Okay, quite a bit more tricky because no one ever leaves the type of school and place we're looking for.

So one can see why I'd rather obsess about this than about running. It's an exciting time, but whoa is it stressful too. Thankfully, I have running, which helps me deal with it all at least a bit more productively than what I'd be doing without.