Huevos rancheros

This is my own recipe and in fact, I use PAM!

Huevos Rancheros 2 portions
4 eggs
4 tortillas
1 cup Red Salsa
Grated Mozzarella cheese
Smashed refried beans.
Red Salsa.
Put in the mixer 2-4 tomatoes, half onion, salt, one clove of garlic and fresh or dried chilies. To cook the salsa spray some PAM on the frying pam and put the pure to broil there, just until it is hot.
Fry the tortillas in small amount of oil or with PAM. Fry (use oil or PAM) the eggs sunnyside up. Place the tortillas on a plate. Add the beans and then the fried eggs. Pour the salsa over the eggs. Top with grated cheese.
Enjoy!

About me

I almost forget that Wobbly tagged me. Thanks CJ for the remainder :)

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Waitress, yeah, me too!
2. Front desk cashier
3. English teacher (for kids and begginers of course :P)
4. Kickboxing monitor

B) Four movies I would watch over and over
1. Constantine
2. Matrix 1 -2
3. March of the penguins
4. Bleu

C) Four places I have lived
1. Mexico City
2. Cancun and Playa del Carmen
3. Monterrey
4. Veracruz, all cities from Mexico :)

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Animal extreme
2.
3.
4.

E) Four places I have been on holidays:
1. Canada
2. Cuba
3. Bern, Paris
4. Madrid, London

F) Websites visited daily:
1. Weather Channel
2. Hotmail
3. Bloglines
4. Listin Diario

G) Four of my favourite foods/drinks:
1. Tacos
2. Rancheros eggs
3. Tamales
4. Pozole, all mexican dishes, I'm hungry now!!

H) Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Having dinner with Luis :)in Mexico
2. With friends
3. In Mexico
4. A cruiser...

Four people I think will respond, better say I wish to know more!
1. Jen
2. Spark driver
3. Olga
4. Miners,D (I know you don't like but still), R2B,Thomas, Rob, Racheal, Liv, turnip, well all "of you" who read this :P

Blow wind, blow

I could run 12 miles today. It was a windy morning and that definitely help. I also took advantage of the irrigating system and took a shower from time to time. When the wind was blowing I repeated myself many times how nice it felt!! I took of my hat and my head was fresher. (as suggested in RW) I feel like I am getting closer again not moving away!
I recognized this morning that another fact for the failures this last days was the lack of focus. Lately when I head the beach it is hard to run there and that makes me tired. My motivations goes down and getting up from that state steels me lots of energy. This morning avoided the beach. Planned two loops around the hotel (5.5miles) without stopping and then head the beach. Then I went, the temptation to run next to the ocean in a smoother surface is big! Even when it was still hard to run there I was already warm up and stayed there for a mile. Coming back to the road was easier than other days.
The weather reports says wind's sped is 12km/h I'll check it often now!
Luis told me the treadmill at the gym is fixed, I wish!! If it is, my next highest week will be easier. I will stay there as much as possible breathing fresh air, ahhhh!
I can. I will.

As there's still life, there is hope

R2B sent me this quote, enjoy:

People can't understand why a man runs. They don't see any sport in it. Argue it lacks the sight and thrill of body contact. Yet, the conflict is there, more raw and challenging than any man versus man competition. For in running it is man against himself, the cruelest of opponents. The other runners are not the real enemies. His adversary lies within him, in his ability, with brain and heart to master himself and his emotions.

Thanks R2B :) This raised my hope enormously this morning while struggling to do the miles. Completed 7. I was supposed to go for more, but didn't wanted to offer the sacrifice of doing the rest under the sun. Not today. It was sunny then, now it is cloudy, grrrrr.
The main idea as going, was that I knew somehow that going slowly I could manage to go the distance. The good news is that the ITB pain did not appear at all, only the normal stiffness on the knee flexors. The bad part again was the breath. I had to catch my breath continuously, despite going slowly. I say it should be this combination of hot and humid air. This latest runs under this conditions are killing me slowly. Well, I hope that is what is happening. Unfortunately the treadmill at the gym are broken so I can't give a try on them to my breath, grrrr, it had to be at this same time! Still I'll give another try tomorrow, the weather conditions say it will be raining which means at least no sun today and tomorrow.
So, as I said I trust the weather conditions are doing this. What else could be? Yesterday afternoon I get into a bathroom where there is no air conditioned and started feeling dizzy just because of breathing normal air!! At least there is no humidity in Mexico city where the marathon will be. In fact it has been very fresh lately, well as usually is during summer. I will just ignore the rest of the facts :P
Thanks to all of you for all the support, believe me it works!!

And there's even more

For the first time I did not complete my run. Instead of 9 they were just 5.7, the reason, well this is what happened, should be here for my records. I hate hate hate to complain, but I want to review and follow every step I make along this narrow gap.
The laborious breathing was the main thing happening during the first miles. I continued anyway with the thinking of improving latter on. Ended the first 3.4 miles ok and started brief speed work. It was only 200m laps. I made them comfortably, but since the first lap a ITB pain appeared. It was not that bad certainly, but this time the usual niggle on the knee move there. Ended with 5 laps and continued to run. The pain was there as the hard breathing. Felt defeated disappointed, frightened, sad. I was questioning myself what I knew that was happened, punishing me for being so stupid. Changing shoes at this stage and ignoring the latest niggles...
I started walking I was going under. When I saw this guy watching up to the trees. Up there, there were about ten parrots making different sounds, life is not that bad I thought. Stopped and made some photos. Turn off my headphones and listened to the sounds of the jungle, lovely. That calmed me down. Thought of going for the rest of the run slowly, but first going home to change shoes again... On the way I made a stop in the bathroom, and just decided that for today I was done.
Now I am thinking that I am not defeated, there is much more to come and I am taking it.
I'll take off tomorrow of running and will go to the gym to do some weights.
On Thursday I will be fine, I'll stick to my usual pair of shoes and that will be it. No more speed work just focused on the marathon. Ending is the goal and I am reaching it.
The thing that worries my now is about this breathing path. I don't think the weight is doing this, I was this same weight before and I wasn't doing it, anyway I'm watching what I eat... And don't forget to start easy the next time...
Wish my moho comes back, I am not enjoying this.

In review...

What does writing this reports are for? Why is blogger so helpful? Well it definitely helps with motivation but at this point I am somehow lost between that and the main reason to write it, record and be able to analyze what I am doing, in a word, to improve.
I was wondering about my first 18 miles run last January and decided to read about it. I wanted to know how I felt those days. I remembered that the last miles were in a very slow motion... It was a surprise to read how good it was, in fact it was marvelous! Tiredness or complaining wasn't the main subjects!! In fact that was an speedy workout. My pace was always under 11 which is AMAZING for me now? What is going on?
Well and that is just to start. Take a look to my weight and well -no surprise- and finally realize about being 142 at that stage and now 150. Ok, this is going backwards then.

I have to mention and take on count more details:

- The weather at the end of September is fresher, in fact those runs started around 8 but I think that it was still too hot!
- Those days I had niggles all around my body, I think as a result of running strong every workout.
- After that 18 miles run in January I had the ITB injury which lead me to go to the doctor and finally found out about the spur.
- Now,the reason to run always slowly is also that I learn that training should be divided in to hard and easy days, half-half. Running long meant hard, then that left me with two easy days and one free to do speed training. (Which I haven't as my records say since about 6 weeks ago, great!)
-About the weight gain, my weight session have decreased enormously since the marathon training started. Those happy days with 142 pounds came along with the kick boxing sessions and a heavier weight program of about 3 hours a week.

Should I say that speed is not my best friend? As a beginner I shouldn't be doing speed sessions but I am someone who needs it desperately. (And still don't do them, preferring to go longer than faster, to avoid leaving my comfort zone and injuries)
Is this the time to go and do a greater effort? Should I concentrate on just ending the training and just put all together and as a magic craft it will happen?
Maybe as my mother says I need a real trainer.

All that motivated my run today, I wanted to see how fast I could go. I wanted to know if I am still capable of running under 11 min/mile. (!!!)
I AM. In fact it was all the time closer to 10 and sometimes around 9. Sigh.
This thinking are about the marathon time of course. I have to, I want to do it under 5 hours. I haven't lost the main focused on finishing, but now I am wondering how much should I effort now and then. Have I done enough effort? What and when do the effort should appear?

The weather and conditions there will hopefully make a difference as there the mornings are pretty fresh, anyway ending running at noon sounds hot anywhere...

Well more than enough today. Tomorrow it will be another day another chance to improve!
I will continue and pay more attention on performance, pace and RPE.
Tomorrow 10 miles and speed work.

18 miles report

Started preparing for it from yesterday eating more complex carbs. Eating them was hard, this days I haven't been that hungry. Somehow I was forcing myself to ingest which seem to be lots of food.
Set the alarm 4:40, woke up at 5:00 mmmm. Pre-training meal was an orange juice and oatmeal. No problem at all to digest it, as I started running over the next five minutes after the last spoon.
The starting. How bad it was!! The problem was breathing, the air was so damped that it was hard to take some oxygen from it. Anyway I wasn't alarmed, there were many miles ahead to solve the problem, to get use to it, -I thought- and it was like that. Over the third mile I started breathing normally.
Today I used the shoes I am planning to use on the marathon day but I felt them so inflexible compared to the new ones that maybe I should give it a second thought, I'm on the right time.
As the first miles included some walking laps I pushed to end the first hour on time and could make it.
Training has given me the experience to know that during the run there are many ups and downs, so any time that a down was on, I was just waiting for the up to come knowing it was coming, that it was just about to happen, no matter what. Should be that now, my positive side is more confident and trust more to tell myself go on, instead of "walk". If my body was about to walk, my mind was saying go on, you don't need it and was fine. Just a slow motion step was done and then I was just there running again. Walking in fact was painful compared to running. Also while walking I could feel the hot even more.
Other positive thinking was that finishing was close and after that it was going to take me only a few minutes to feel again like if nothing had happened, like if it was someone else doing that effort. Imagine the shower and my fresh room and I was about to win that price. The effort seemed to be something ephemeral from that moment in the close future. That made me able to enjoy again my running.
The heat started over the 12 mile but it was just only for about 10 minutes, then some clouds came on time to give me some shadow, wonderful, thanks mother nature :)
Ended 15 miles on time. Three hours already. Two stops in the restroom included.
Went to the gym and recharged my back pack with cold water and poured two glasses on my head, how nice it was! Made me feel like the next three mile to be done were going to be fine, my mind was positive and clear.
Pace decreased some but I was still running over miles 16 and 17.
When started the 18th mile I was happy and smiling. Knowing that I could make a last effort and made it. Increased again the speed, but first I looked for my favorite songs. How they helped me!! Then I realized the sun was over me, but I was not feeling it. It was something happening outside of me. Inside I was just fine and focused on my running, wanting to try if I could do more...
Ended with a positive mind state. How nice is running, it gives you the nicest time to enjoy yourself, the only thing to be done is to go on no matter what is going on around.

And I say enjoy!

The training at the moment:

Friday, 3 mile recovery run.(treadmill)
Now I understand the sense of the recovery word. How it helps! I started making this recovery runs since I knew about my vacations to add some more miles because of the one that were not going to be done. But now making them is giving me the chance to feel how good it is and how it speeds up the recovery. And the bike is just there staring at me, but now I am running 5 days a week, better load and I am feeling good!!

Sunday, 5 easy miles. Weight training.
My weeks start on Sunday. This week I am planning to go back to my complete program including the weights, the plyometrics, abs and the yoga sessions. Inserted the weights in the middle of the run. The second session with 2.5 miles to go was easier than the first one. My body missed the weights so it felt good to work my legs and back.

Monday 10 long run + plyometrics.
I'm still playing games with food. I had for dinner last night arrachera, ignoring my own thoughts telling that it was not good for a run the day after, but I paid the price this morning. Over the fifth mile I was exhausted. Made walking breaks and it was when I started asking myself what was going on this morning. Soon came to my mind the steak... Well at least this is just a training and will work as a warning to myself to avoid all the food that is waiting for me when I'm in Mexico, the days before the marathon. Fortunately they will be about only two. So still I made the miles, grrr it was hard, but as long as I decided to go for them understanding what was causing me the problems I felt better and slow but reach the distance.
I will make a review to my nutrition notes and books to start the carbs load from now. They are a key for success to my long runs ahead.
Talking about long runs, in fact there is only 3 more of them 18, 14 and 20 before the marathon. I've made 18 before but I bet this will be much better now. The day is getting close!!

I like to wish you to enjoy your races, training runs and the fun runs. Seems like it is me who has lost some of it. I remember last year, running yes, but all the time watching around the landscape the palm trees, the sky the waves breaking on the sand... Now on my mind is the distance. To complete it. The marathon etc. In fact I even stopped going to the beach. Sometimes it is the dogs around it, others the sand that is too uneven, the thing is that I will try to move my mind in that way.

I feel good :D

Made it. I just don't know how but made it and feel great just like if it was any run. I am not with the usual high. It was somehow easy... Is this becoming in something I am finally getting used to??
I wanted to run 14 miles if the morning was lucky, and if everything was ok, try to reach 16.
From the beginning planned to do six laps around the hotel. Each one is 2.6 miles, if each of them were done in 30 minutes that will give me 15 miles.
Thinking it that way from the beginning made it easier, instead on being focused on 16 I had to do only 6.
I added some miles at the beach each lap, what gave me more distance. Around mile 10 I realized I was going greatly on time. That gave me a boost and this kept happening over and over. The truth is that I walked but that helped me to recover and as I was going back to run. I could develop some good pace!
The hardest moments were under the sun, but could overcome them.
I think speed was improved as I am wearing new shoes, if that help!! I bought them specially for the last long runs. At the end my feet were some stiff but I think it should be because they are NEW.
This was a good run, I feel like I am almost where I was before holidays. I could complete a 16 mile long run and just added 10 minutes compared to the same distance 2 weeks ago.
My legs were fine, the breathing was some hard, fitness will come back before the marathon. Bring it on!!
Oh yeah, the spur... The orthotics are working perfectly!! They were made specially for me and seem to be working very well.
I have to use them in both feet. They only have like a ball in the center and that is what avoids the pain on the heel, is perfect. I don't like to use it on the foot that is fine, but it could produce some imbalance. In the other foot I don't even realize that ball is there.

45 days to goooo!!!

OMG, I just realized about this, but no panic, I just know somehow I will make it.... Despite lack of decent training from last two weeks.
This week I made like this:
Saturday morning, before leaving Spain, I made a hard 3 mile run :O
Sunday afternoon went for 4 miles and ended with 5 feeling good.
Monday afternoon tried to do 8 miles and ended with only 7.3 with lots of walking included. Still no panic, I fell like now I have to go for the distance and I will be back on shape. The only bad part is that this long "walks" grrr take for ever. In fact it was in total about a mile that I walked. Over the 5th mile I felt soooo hungry, incredible hungry and had a gel, but it wasn´t by chance enough and made a stop at home and devored a banana and a peanut butter sandwich, I know it sounds nasty, but it was like that. I headed the road again and for the first moments felt better, but about 15 minutes latter I was dizzy. Now I know this was because I had too much carbs at the time, that made it harder to end and also time was running out my girl was waiting for me and it was already almost 8pm. Time 1hr 30 min.
Tomorrow I will try again. A long run must be done. I will go for 14 trying to reach 16, let´s see how it goes. Today lots of water and carb loading. Wish me luck :D

London 10km
As I said before I could participate in a 10km race in London, I was so lucky.
First I have a friend who received my bib number after hardly trying to contact the organizators. I didn´t read the complete instructions on their web page and the overseas participants had to be suscribed since june to be able to received the packages. Lucky me.
I was there with my family but Luis my husband is not use to be in big cities and prefered to wait for me in the hotel with Abril. It was a shame but at the same time I know how hard is to be with my 8 year old girl only walking around just to ¨maybe¨ watching me pass.
So there I was going to Picadilly Circus station to reach the Waterloo. It was very easy to find, thounds of runners were there. London was under an unexpected heat wave, can you beleive it? Looks like heat follows me. It was the sun who was burning but at least you can breath there the air was not damped as it is here. It took, me about 25 minutes to cross the starting line and I could see from the other side of the street that after me still were coming thousands of participants. It was nice to be next to so many runners, for moments they help you to go faster, and other times when they pass you I could feel that the only person to be defeated is yourself, nobody else.

Of course I wasn´t in my best shape, but form last year 10km in Mexico city my time improved for about 12 minutes!!! Last year was 1hr 15 min and now 1 hr 3min. There wasn´t a chip to record times, but I checked my time with my heart rate monitor. Garmin batteries were off. I think I left it turned on the last time I used it and I turned on until the last moment when on my way to the race... And I wanted to see the nice 10km map in London...
The improvement included some walking that I hated but also forgot about it when saw my time. I wish I can do it better next time.

The experience helped me to learn that starting too fast will be a key for the marathon race, is not the same to know than to have the experience.
If you want to have fun watching my photos from the race on the web check here my bib number was 21942. This photos are terrible, but good to see reality... How fat I am!!! And my legs were the tannest from all the race :D

I´m in a public internet, service at home is not working grrrrr. That´s why I couldn´t comment in you blogs, but thanks for being here you are great part of my motivation.

Wonderful vacations :D

I'm finally back! This were some great vacations full of experiences, emotions, visiting, learning, food, museums, shopping, walking and even some running!!
We were in Spain with our nice friends Mary Carmen and Antonio, who took us to see around their home town Murcia and then Madrid surroundings. Also we visited London and there I was able to participate in a 10km race (more about this latter).
Being with local people in Spain, made us look in a different way the country, but also made us share some of their habits like going to bed as late as 2am :O.

Going on vacations seem to be even more tired than the marathon training. Incredible, but my supposed to be good fitness level didn't helped at all for all the walking I had to make and that I am not use to. Definitely, walking is not the same as running. At the end of every day my legs were tired and stiff. I was wondering if this was going to affect my training a lot, but what could I do? As the cautious that I always am, (coward) preferred not to run since I was still using A LOT my legs. Hope I can go back running normally soon.
As my friends saw my limping they took me to a podiatrist who made special orthotics for my feet and seem to be working very good with the spur. How nice to be able to visit someone like him often... Well someday.
Share with you some photos, I took about 700 but I am only just in a few that my daughter kindly took. Luis is not a photographer.

In a short resume I will say that I made three easy runs and a 10km race the first week, but didn't run at all the second. I was too tired and felt that it was just too much. Five days with out running was strange, but I was so busy that hardly remembered about it. It was my body who felt it, my mind was quiet.
Saturday morning at the hotel where we were staying went to the treadmill and made a short 4 km who seem that never going to end...
Today I ran 5 miles and felt very good. Running made me feel at home, the hotel is in fact a wonderful place to run. When running in Spain and London I was thinking about how different life is in cities and that maybe for me living in a city will take me apart from running... Still I want to think this is only a feeling and that I would combine it as most people do it. The thing is that the landscape and scenery I have here makes it definitely easier. It was very nice to go back and run, it was like being me again, I love this place to run.