Final Recap: Spain and Argentina

It has been one week now since I was walking off my final international flight and things haven't exactly slowed down. From the airport in DC, I packed up a rental car and drove straight down to Greensboro, before packing up my real car and starting my trek west. Right now, I'm kicking back in Minneapolis for one more day. But right now I want to at least give my brief impressions on my international travel before going into the nonstop USA road trip fun.

Spain Observations:

• I may be in the minority but Madrid is my favorite city. The charm of Boston with the weather and kindness of the South was pretty hard not to like. Although I'll admit Barcelona is the ideal spot for outdoor lovers.
• Spanish women are gorgeous. Even the "uglier" ones are attractive. And Spanish men are horrible. It just doesn't add up. I'm thinking Spanish women need to be matched with Aussie guys or some place like that.
• The Spanish eating schedule should be adopted everywhere. Big lunch with a small, late dinner makes for an entire population of skinny people (not too many fit people though).
• The "us" mentality in the country maintains a wonderful charm but holds them back globally.

Spain Highlights:

• Both nights of dinner and drinks in Madrid with my Greensboro friend
• Drinks with the bartender in Grenada while watching the US vs. Spain game
• Church service at the Cathedral in Valencia
• Visiting the Sagrada Familia at night with no one around
• Running up the Montjuic in the early Barcelona morning with no one around
• Pimientos Padron (aka perfect drunk food) at 29 Fanegas in Madrid

last night in Spain with Tera (Greensboro) on the left and her roommate Blanca on the right; taken at approx. 3:00am on a weeknight after plenty of vino

Argentina Observations:

• People aren't so concerned with schedules and I didn't mind it one bit.
• Asado is not just amazing food but an idea that underscores the importance of family in Argentina
• They take partying to a better level.
• Efficiency is not a priority in Argentina, for better and worse. People are more laid back but they are also less inclined to fix things, whether big or small.
• San Juan's charm is best summed up in a quote from my sister: "This is a place unlike the US. There is still so much to do here that hasn't been done. To create, to build, and make things better for everyone."

Argentina Highlights:

• Experiencing a day in my sister's shoes and understanding her love for the city
• Asado with my sister's Argentine-family 
• The beautiful countryside and untouched mountains
• Empanadas, clearly

hanging with the sis on my final day in Argentina

Latin America Winding Down

Well my time here in Latin America is almost coming to a close. I’ll have a reflection post in the next few days, along with the past-due final Spain post. But for now, here’s a quick recap of the last few days and some pictures to go along with it.

After my rest day on Thursday afternoon, I got to meet more of my sister’s students and talk to them about random things. I’m telling you, I really work well with the under 18 and 80+ demographic here. Following that, of course my sister and I had to scarf our faces with empanadas. Although nothing compares to the place in San Juan called, oddly enough, Empanadas.



Friday was more hanging out at the University, lunch with my favorite Argentine family, and shopping for a few goodies to bring back.

My last night in San Juan included tons of beef (that I was supposed to cut with a butter knife), goodbyes and photos with the family, and a little vino to boot.







As for my trip leaving Argentina, that’s where things went awry. The mountain pass was closed in the Andes because of the massive snow storm. I had to fork over a few hundred bucks extra to flight out instead. And I lost my book that I was really diving into. So needless to say my final day out of Argentina was a mess.


(leaving the desert and excited to bus through the Andes and send amazing photos... oh wait)

But fortunately I am now safe and sound in Santiago and already falling in love with the place. Last night we went to what could possibly be my favorite small bar in the world and today I accompanied my friend to his soccer game that was set in the foothills of the snowcapped Andes. Yea, this is the life…


(live music, small group of friends in a small bar, all Chileans who speak amazing English, and of course pisco)


(sadly you can only see one of the dozen peaks because of the snow storm in the background)

Busy Busy Days in South America

*was hoping to publish this with photos while in Santiago, Chile but now that I´m stuck in ARG with no idea how I´m getting out, I figured I could at least submit this so you could read about other parts of my visit. Photos to come in a day or two..

Here in Argentina, my sister spends quite a lot of time working. Her daily schedule has her starting University classes at 8:00 (which means waking up much earlier) and not wrapping up her teaching jobs until 9:00pm. Needless to say her free time is limited and her days are tiring. Why do I mention this, you ask? Well, I had the pleasure of spending my Tuesday following her around and spending a day in her shoes.

It began in the cold morning where we waited for a bus to come in the dark of a San Juan morning. Remember, it’s winter here so the days are shorter and the weather dips pretty low because of that whole dessert thing. From there, we made our way to the University where Alyson has two morning classes, one as a student and one as a TA. Fortunately, they were both English classes so my mind didn’t have to be at 100% so early in the morning. And surprisingly, both were interesting, albeit long. They teach English in a more conversational manner here and the students spoke very, even if it was with the same timidity that any non-native student has. We spoke about politics, random USA facts, and accounting. And not surprisingly, they asked how bad the US economy really was because of all the doomsday reporting that goes on in the media.

Following the two multiple-hour, morning classes, it was on to Alyson´s work-related classes. First up, 6th grade students. I won’t give too much detail here but another difference in these classes is the attention and organization. At all levels, students stand up randomly, come and go whenever, and constantly talk amongst friends regardless of what is happening. This was just amplified with 6th graders. 13 is always a bad age so I’ll chalk it up to that but half of those kids were simply not interested in any real schoolwork. I’m still not sure how my sister handles these ones.

After that, it seemed like smooth sailing the rest of the day. We headed over to “The Institute,” for another double-header of classes in what is most easily described as an after-school program for kids to learn English. Got to give it to these Argentine’s – they are committed to having their children learn English. Here is where the kids had plenty of questions and most were more than willing to practice their Spanish. I enjoyed responding to questions such as “Why do Americans dance erotically?” and at the other side of the spectrum – “Why doesn’t Obama pull all the troops out of the war?”

Then as all things, the classes came to an end and I was finally off the hook for my non-vacation, vacation day. But oh wait, there was more. Even though it was already 9:30pm and I was fading fast, Alyson’s friends wanted to get together for dinner. So of course, that meant pushing through and enjoying a little Argentine pizza at 11:00pm. P.S. Pizza chefs here could afford to visit Italy once or twice. Normally I wouldn’t care about staying out so late but the next day I was scheduled to spend a lovely morning and afternoon visiting one of San Juan’s popular spots – Moon Valley.




(Alysons best friends - the Dream Team)

So awake I was at 6:00am to enjoy a three hour drive out to this odd yet beautiful place. Simply put, it’s a huge National Park that feels just like you’re on the moon. Weird rock formations, vast expanses of crater-like valleys, and gorgeous views as far as the eye can see. Here are some photos below:







And that’s all the exciting news to report today. I finally got a rest day after 18+ days of nonstop adventure so I was able to catch up on all that’s happening in the real world. Glad to see that Washington still can’t be normal, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, and my future home of San Diego still has the same lovely weather as always.

Argentina

So I lied, the final Spain post will have to wait. I want to make sure I post the picture with it so that´s TBD. No worries though, I´ve got plenty from South America to report.

After spending an odd, crazy, sleepless 12 hours in the US between my international flights, I arrived in Chile tired and cold. Fortunately, because traveling in South America isn´t as seamless as Europe, I had plenty of time to wait and catch some Zzzzz´s.

Saturday morning was my first taste of my sister´s life. I took a 7 hour bus ride from Santiago to Mendoza, Argentina through the Andes Mountains. On the one hand, it was the most picturesque ride of my life but on the other hand I felt like I was going to die at any moment. Weaving through the icy mountains roads of the Andes while I´m sitting in the front seat of a double decker bus was not exactly the greatest idea for someone who is afraid of heights. Nevertheless, I loved the views and just wish I could have jumped out with a backpack and crampons to climb every mountain we saw.

Upon arriving in Mendoza, I met up with my sister and got my first real taste of Argentine life. Let´s just say it is extremely different from the tourism heavy Europe. We walked around a lot, ate more meat than I wanted (…made me realize why I became a vegetarian), enjoyed wine, chocolate, olives, and plenty of empanadas. You´ll see that there´s a theme to this trip – em.pa.na.das.

After 24 hours in Mendoza, we boarded a bus and headed for San Juan. It´s not glamorous, but any city that sits among dozens of gorgeous mountains is fine with me. I like to call it the Greensboro of Argentina. Not a lot to do but plenty of charm. Not to mention the weather is just like fall so every day reminds me of Thanksgiving in the US.

Since arriving in San Juan we have had quite a busy schedule. Within two hours we were headed for a club on Saturday night. The best way to describe the club is a perfect..err…gross blend of lasers, disco balls, remixed American music, extremely tall drinks, and the loudest speakers I´ve ever stood next to. So naturally, I was right at home. Fast forward a few hours and I´m dead tired from dancing only to find out it´s nearing 6am. Ugh, this Latin-Spanish party thing is nuts.

Fortunately, we were able to sleep in the next day and I woke up just in time for lunch. We went over to the house of the first family that my sister lived with when she moved to Argentina. Chicken, potatoes, tomatoes, vino, and great company. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon in a city that takes their relaxing Sunday afternoons seriously. Literally no one is on the streets and the only noise you hear is coming from families laughing or chatting over an extended lunch. Now this is something they do just right.


(Skyping with the parents)

Moving on to Monday, lo and behold, it´s an Argentine holiday! Well, a San Juan holiday at least. I´m told they have countless holidays per month which makes for a wonderful vacation schedule. So today we got up and traveled to the city center to check out the parade and see what else the bustling San Juan downtown has to offer. Long story short, not much. We watched the little children preparing to march, visited the main attraction to overlook the city, and…well… that was it.





But the best part of the day came right after. My sister is very close with an ex-professor (who is extremely young & intelligent) and her family, so they took me in like I was one of them. Even after eating empanadas together the night before, they rearranged their schedule to have us over again but this time for a real Argentine Asado, which basically translates into an extended lunch with more meat than you can handle. It was pure heaven.



Then, of course, because this family is so nice, they drove us out to the mountains and the lake to check out the natural side of San Juan.






(Standing where there used to be water two years ago, so sad but still a wonderful view)


(The nicest family in Argentina)

Granada, Sevilla, and a little more Madrid amazingness

Even though I´m writing this from Argentina, I´ll give you my second to last post about Spain.  And I´m also happy to report that I now have a new phone which means pictures! (In my final Spain post I´ll have the only picture I have from Spain with my Greensboro friend and her roommate during my last night)

After failing miserably with my paella adventure, I set off for Grenada to visit the infamous Alhambra.  Excited is definitely an understatement here. I originally hadn´t planned on visiting Grenada but my Madrileno friend convinced me that I should (she´s a history buff) so I snagged one of the final tickets a couple days in advance and set off on an overnight bus. Sidenote: I have a new apprecation for sitting alone and exploring places, realizing that wherever I go and however long I get lost, it´ll all work out.  Back to the bus... I arrived in Grenada early and had plenty of time to explore the city.  Per usual, I chose to forego the bus into the city and walk the few miles since I had time to kill and wanted to explore. After wandering a bit, I found this incredible chuch tucked away in one of the many narrow, hilly streets and couldn´t resist following the dozens of traditionally-dressed families into the venue. I still have no clue what it was but they had two bulls, the most gorgeous and bright dresses I´ve ever seen, and a small car-sized gold icon to Jesus that they processed in with. Definitely one of those moments I wish I had a camera for.  Fast  forward through more wandering and a little lunch, and I´m walking up to the Alhambra to get ready to enter. From 2:00 to 8:00, I could be found exploring the endless gardens, fountains, buildings, and cool things inside the palaces. My favorite was easily the view from the Mirador de Daxaxa, and just thinking about what went on in those rooms back in the day.

Then after the Alhambra, it was dinner outside and bar-selection time for the USA game. Fortunately, I found a small bar with a nice bartender where I could drink my sorrows of the 4-0 loss to Spain. Although I blame the bartender for my current sickness. He took a liking to me and after 4-5 beers, he thought it was a good idea to pour a few different shots for the both of us during the course of the night.  Let´s just say I was a tad wobbly when walking to the bus station at 2:00am.

From Grenada it was off to Sevilla. Here I had the most typical hostel-travel experience with late night bars and hanging out with American friends but in between I was still able to explore and get a taste of the unique Sevillana culture. This city had the most personality out of the 5 I visited. (my favorites list to come in the final Spain wrap up post tomorrow).  The Flamenco, the bold people, and the winding streets were all incredible. But the best part was easily the calamari across the river. I will never eat calamari in the US again. If you ever get to Sevilla go to El Kiosco de las Flores in Triana (it was triple recommended to me so that makes 4 recommendations!).  Best fried and fresh fish I´ve ever had.

So that about does it for my other cities.  I returned to Madrid for my final 36 hours and yet again the city didn´t disappoint. Obviously my friend´s hospitality swayed my judgement of where Madrid ranks but I don´t think I needed that to make it my favorite city.  I love Madrid and I will definitely be back.  We closed out my last night with a couple bottles of wine, queso, lomo, and plenty of good conversation with her roommate, followed by an extremely late night at the Flamenco bar (her roommate is Sevillana and can actually dance unlike the two of us). By far one of my favorite nights of 2011 thusfar. 

And ahora, I´m in a cyber cafe in Santiago, Chile waiting for my bus to Mendoza, Argentina. I can´t wait to see my sister and travel through the beautiful Andes mountains.

See you all tomorrow! I´ll be posting my Spain wrap up with highlights and lowlights and hopefully I´ll have a picture to at least prove I went there. 

The Great Paella Disaster

Ohhhhhh Valencia.  How I love you... how I hate you.  As of now I´m wrapping up my time in Sevilla but I wanted to give you all a little taste of my trip to Valencia. 

On Friday, I decided to stop off in Valencia for a little over 24 hours and see what this beach city had to offer. Also, I knew I needed to have some true Valencia paella before I left Spain.  So after arriving early, catching a morning church service (awesome experience) at the Cathedral, and wandering the streets a bit, I set out for the beach to relax and take a break from a week of walking. 

The initial plan was to chill on the beach, then get some paella for lunch on the beach. Problem with that was the wind and clouds.  After an hour on the sand, my entire body was coated in the tiny grains and I was trying my best to take shelter from the wind by tucking behind a cabana.  Fast forward another hour and I wake up from a nap in the middle of a sandstorm.  No more of that, I´m going back to the central part of the city.

And so begins the quest for paella....

My first stop was at this little outdoor place behind the Cathedral.  It didn´t look too touristy (although what isn´t in Valencia) so I sat down and immediately ordered the paella and a beer. Then ten minutes later I´m still drinking my beer and wondering where the paella is.... DUN DUN DUN. The waiter comes out and tells me that he forgot to inform me that they just ran out of paella and I was 5 minutes too late.  Fine fine, I guess I can wait until dinner....

Fast forward again to dinner time. My friend recommended this great place for paella and casually mentioned it was on the beach.  I, being the idiotic person I am, checked google the night before just to get a sense of the direction. Sadly though, when I searched google and it didn´t pull up a beach restaurant, I didn´t think to second guess my search.  Instead, I assumed google was correct (because really, they rule the world and how could they be wrong?) and set out for this random metro stop in the middle of town which was definitely not touristy.  After asking a few nice old folks and wandering for another hour+, I realized I made a bad bad bad mistake and was now pressed for time because I was hitting peak dinner hours. 

This is about the time I started to walk fast, really fast.  I rushed back to the middle of the historic district and tried to find the nearest non-franchise place.  After a little searching, I found this small spot with a couple different paella options.  But no more than 10 minutes in and right after I ordered a glass of wine, the waitress informs me that they can only serve paella to two people. Huh? This is not looking good.  I downed my glass of wine and got out of there ASAP. 

I was now pushing the limit on my bus departure so here you can picture me almost running through the streets of Valencia asking for paella. In a last resort effort, I saw a spot that had raciones for one annnnnnnnnnd minimum 2 paella orders. As an added bonus, it was right next to this incredible plaza by an old castle. But wait, what happens? Of course, just as I go to order paella, the waiter says the phrase that has haunted me all night. ONLY PAELLA FOR 2.  Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.  ¨But your menu says...¨  Sorry, that menu is only for lunch. 

And it was here that I let Valencia beat me. After an odd day in a city that I quickly fell in love with, I sighed and ordered way too many beers with a little jamon iberico.  It may have been the saddest dinner of my life.

But hey, at least I´ll always have the ham! 

(aside from the paella problems, I actually loved Valencia.  Between the gardens, the historic district, the beach, and the high level of pickup soccer, I could have spent all week wandering around there.)

Leaving Valencia

Typing from a Best Buy store in Valencia. Just spent the day here but already fell in love.  Thie architecture, the people, the food.  Sadly I only get 24 hours because at  the last minute (and thanks to a friend), I snagged one of the last tickets to see the Alhambra tomorrow.  I was wavering between going or not because it would cut my other city visits short but I know everyone would yell at me if I didnt so there you have it, Im in.  Theres also this tapas place Ive wanted to try in Granada so win win win.  Now if I can only find a place to watch the US vs. Spain game tomorrow night. 

Ill post more once I get to Sevilla on Sunday but for now its been quite the trip.  Im also wasting away with all this walking so once I get back to the US I will be stuffing my face with an entire pizza.  Ordering 6 or more tapas in one sitting here just doesnt seem ok.

Barcelona

Another quick post for you here...

Today was quite interesting.  After arriving late late late last night via bus from Madrid, I was greeted in Barcelona with a downpour.  What happened to that whole thing about Spanish summers being nice?  No worries though, I found the nearest hostel and tossed my stuff down to go exploring.  The only problem with that was I had no map and I was relying on bus route markers to guide me. Turns out I walked around the unpopular parts of town because all the restaurants were closed by midnight.  Fortunately I found one still serving a few tapas and ate a ton of patatas bravas and the pimientos padron again (love those peppers).

Now, for the bad news. Just like the last post, you get no pictures.  Although this time I have a reason beyond just laziness.  Thanks to the first hostel I chose (I swear it was rated highly), I no longer have my phone (aka camera). I blame the stupid French guys.  Oh well, I will give them props for having the balls to pull it from the socket right next to the place I slept.  I hope my phone has a nice new home now.  And dont worry Mom and Dad, I already took care of it with Verizon and the insurance company.  Ill have a new phone as soon as I land in DC.  Gotta love an excuse to buy the latest version.  Muahahaha

Moving on, Barcelona is great.  I found a new hostel that is smaller, quieter, and has less high school aged dudes. I spent most of the day walking around the ENTIRE city.  So in addition to my smelly feet and awesome farmers tan, I got to see pretty much every important site in the city as well as some other cool things as I explored.  Yes, this time I had a map. 

Highlights...
-the children playing pickup soccer with a water bottle outside Estadio Olympic
-barely understanding a word of Catalan right as I was starting to think in Spanish
-walking up the Montjuic and seeing the dozens upon dozens of runners and cyclists tackling the massive hill. 

Which brings me to the last point, you know where I will be tomorrow morning.  Right alongside those Barcelona triathletes. Yesssss

Day 1: Madrid

I have to go catch a bus so I have to keep this short but yesterday was a perfect start to the trip.

After arriving 3 hours late, I spent most of the day wandering around the city and getting lost over and over and over again.  Popping into little shops and restaurants whenever something looked good.  And after holding out on the lunch timing, I finally stuffed my face with different types of jamon iberico and a couple glasses of crianza.

Then, after getting lost a few more times, I finally made it to my friend's place to drop my stuff.  From there, we hopped around the city having beer, olives, and cockles at a place called Godki, then wine, pimientos pardon, setas come jamon, y salmajero at Fenegas, then from there it was (at midnight on a Monday no less) off to Al Mote - an awesome Flamenco bar where we spent the next 3 and a half hours watching a unique group of locals dance the night away while we sipped on Gin & Tonics.

I'm sure I forgot a few things in between and there is plenty left to tell but last night was the perfect start to a great trip.

Now on to Barcelona...

Summer Plans

I just realized that with so few days left before a summer of adventure and change, I should lay out my summer plans in one spot so folks know what I’ll be doing. So without further ado, here is a breakdown of what could possibly be the greatest summer of my life:

May 29 – Depart to Madrid, Spain where I’ll make stops in Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, and possibly a few other towns along the way (Ronda, Granada, Toledo)

June 8 – Return to DC to do a little laundry and have a couple drinks with friends

June 9 – Depart to Santiago, Chile where I’ll spend most of my time visiting my sister in San Juan, Argentina but also check out Santiago and Valparaiso in Chile, as well as Mendoza and Moon Valley in Argentina.

June 20 – Fly all day long back to Washington, DC without any cell service (muahahaha)

June 21 – Arrive in Greensboro, NC and spend the entire time packing the car and tying us loose ends.

June 22 – Depart Greensboro and make my way out west (via the Midwest and PNW)

June 22/23 – Cincinnati to see my birthplace

June 24-27 – Minneapolis to visit all my relatives and a couple close friends

June 27-30 – Grand Tetons/Yellowstone to…no need to explain this one

June 28-July 3 – Seattle to visit two of my best friends Denny and Katie

July 4 – Portland to run a marathon

July 5 – July 9/10 – Slow drive down the California coast so that I can bike along highway 1 and enjoy all the gorgeous cities in between.

July 10ish – SAN DIEGO

July 23-30 – Fly back to North Carolina for a weeklong family (+MN relatives) vacation at the beach

So there you have it.  My epic summer with as much camping, lounging, drinking, running, sightseeing, eating, hiking, biking, socializing, and all around adventuring as possible.  Let's just hope this poster isn't exactly 100% true:

Kinetic Half Triathlon

I feel like I should preface this race report with a little insight into my triathlon struggles. I enjoy triathlons. I enjoy training for them. But I don’t enjoy keeping a schedule and adhering to every little detail of some sort of plan. It’s just not my style. If I want to go for a long run, I will. If I want to skip training and stuff my face with cookies, I will. Also, if I did follow a training schedule, I couldn’t play in my soccer games every week, I couldn’t randomly play a game of softball or volleyball, and I couldn’t spontaneously decide that certain nights are better suited for happy hours and friends.

So with that said, here’s my slacker race report:

I woke up bright and early to head out to Lake Anna for what could possibly be a disaster. I knew there was a time in my head that I probably would be near just because I had leg strength and speed stored up from keeping active, but I also knew that with absolutely no consistent training this year, I was just out there to have some fun. No watch, no expectations, just good old 5+ hours of stupid fun.

Swim…
Goal: Don’t drown and don’t get a bad wetsuit hickey
Actual: 34:34

This was one of the big reasons I decided not to wear a watch. Sure, I spent a solid amount of the offseason hitting the weight room but when it came to actual pool hours with long swims, those were few and far between. I knew it would be brutal and I was prepared to relax as much as possible.

Right when I hit the water, boom, water fills my right goggle-eye-thingy and I attempt to tread water while fixing it. No luck. Ohh well, this just means I’m swimming the entire leg while breathing left. No biggie. The only two things I actually remember from the swim are – 1. I felt like I was going slooooooooooooooooow and 2. I knew I was zig-zagging the whole time because there were multiple points when I looked up and couldn’t even see another racer. Don’t judge me though, those orange buoys were so hard to see in the early morning fog/rain.

I had no idea what time I swam upon exiting because they didn’t have a clock but I knew it wasn’t incredible. Note to self: next time don’t be slow.

P.S. I failed on the no wetsuit hickey goal. Not cool wetsuit, not cool.

Bike…
Goal: Ride as fast as possible and save nothing in the tank for the run
Actual: 2:38:57

The bike was what it was – a long course that was mostly flat and fast, with a couple small hills and deceptive inclines. I tried to keep the speed above 22-23 mph whenever I wasn’t on a hill and just ate whenever I felt like it. A few times I could feel the bonk setting in and I’d pop a little Powerbar gel but the rest was uneventful. I pretty much just lose my mind out there and get extremely bored. Then I think of something really stupid and repeat it over and over and over again. Last year it was Miley Cyrus’ Party in the USA. This year, it was the awesome Subway commercial where the lady steals the guy’s sandwich. Try quoting that for 3 hours.

 Best. Race. Photo. Ever. (I told you I was bored)

Nothing else that was too noteworthy happened on the bike except for the large quantity of DC Tri members (yea, that’s right, I’m leaving so I can call your sh*t out) drafting off each other for huge sections of the bike. Hope yall enjoyed that free speed.

Run…
Goal: Beat my worst full marathon time
Actual: 1:56:32

This was quite the fun part in the worst way possible. After getting off the bike, I spent most of transition chatting up the race announcer who was conveniently walking around transition calling out each racer and providing an update on their performance. I was in no rush so in between him screaming into the mic, we talked about his past races and how much he loved the half Ironman distance. His PR is 4:11, yeeesh. After we exchanged phone numbers and planned a brunch date for the following day, I decided it was time to hit the old dusty trail and get my lazy a$$ out on the run course.

Now here is where I know I did something stupid. I put two pairs of shoes in transition and decided to make a gametime decision on which one I would wear. The first pair was my training pair that I had run hundreds of miles with. The second was my racing flats that I had run one mile with. Naturally, I chose the brand new pair because I thought saving the weight would help in the long run. The good – it did. The bad – the shoes caused shooting pain in my shins and I had to walk roughly 2-3 of the first 5 miles.

Around mile 7 I finally got rid of the shin splints and could start running a bit faster. I still had to run the whole race on the dirt path beside the road but at least I wasn’t wincing with each step. This was also the time where I realized I was going to bonk hard without some salty goodness. Fortunately, within 10 minutes I was at an aid station that was stocked with Chex Mix. Two handfuls later, I was running faster and smiling wider. Yummmm.

The rest of the run went by like clockwork. I finally started running somewhere around 7:30’s or 7:45’s on the final loop to make up for all that walking and I had a little gas left to sprint past two guys at the final stretch. After grabbing a coke and pizza immediately after crossing the finish line, I realized I came in somewhere around 5:15/5:16 but it wasn’t until today that I checked and got a 5:14:41.

Overall, it was nice to be back swimming, biking and running. I think my current short term future caused me to care a little less than I would have liked but I’m hoping that once I move to San Diego, I’ll catch the bug all over again. For now though, I’m just running, lifting, and enjoying my last couple weeks in DC.

I’ll be back soon triathlons, but not yet.

Ain't No Party Like a West Coast Party

As of July 2011, I’ll be taking my talents to SoCal and betraying my East Coast loyalties for a little while. But first, let’s rewind.

In three weeks, I’m moving on from my amazing job in DC to venture out into the unknown (kind of). After a wonderful three years with some great people, I’ll be A. traveling, and B. moving to San Diego.

There are plenty of reasons why so if you really want to know them in detail feel free to ask but I’ll just list some here to give you an understanding of the background: timing, adventure, change, sun, risk, beaches, foolishness, youth, sports, and did I mention sun?

Seriously though, it’s a move that I’m making with both excitement and a heavy heart. While I expect to be back in DC later, I can’t help but be sad to leave so many of my close friends here.

Also, before I take off to San Diego and attempt to find stable employment, I’ll be doing a bit of traveling. Why traveling? Well, this is more of a ‘why not’ situation. There are tons of places I want to visit and what better time than now. This means that for a couple months, my updates will turn into a bit of a traveling journal. Don’t worry though, they’ll remain sports-related posts because while I’ll be traveling to Spain, Portugal, Argentina, and Chile, I’ll be training for a marathon.

In short, this summer will be one hell of an adventure.

While I don’t intend to plan everything down to the day/hour, here is a rough sketch of my summer plans. 11 days traveling solo and running (literally) around Spain/Portugal – likely city stops include Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Lisbon, and possibly a few small towns. 10 days in Chile and Argentina visiting my sister and enjoying as much ceviche and beef as possible. Then I’m back stateside for a slow drive west. Stops along the way will include quite a few national parks but also all or some of the following cities: Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Fargo, Billings, Missoula, Seattle, Portland (July 4th marathon), San Francisco, LA.

So stay tuned for updates and let me know if you have any good running/biking/swimming routes or locations in any of these cities. I’m open to it all! Oh, and for those who have friends or colleagues in San Diego, there’s that little detail of finding a job that I could use help with.

Easter Weekend

This past weekend was another one of those that just comes together nicely. It’s no secret that I love hanging out at home and I’m frequently homesick; and four months was way too long to go without visiting Greensboro. So with an added day off for the Easter holiday, I rented a car and headed down south to visit the family.

(Home. And no, I have no clue why there is a gray line at the bottom of some of these photos)

My youngest brother, who is actually bigger than me, was back from college for the weekend so when I arrived on Thursday night, they were pleasantly surprised to see me walk through the door (oh yea, it was a surprise).

While I had grand intentions to eat healthy and run a lot, those hopes were quickly dashed when I ate about 20-30 cookies within the first 24 hours of being home. Yes, I know, I have a problem. Fortunately, between a brief run and plenty of yard work on Saturday, I did enough physical activity to warrant another set of 20-30 cookies. Oops.

(whoops, little too much tongue action in this one)


(my Dad with his gross beard he's growing out for some company challenge)

As for the rest of the trip, it was spent reminiscing, playing/watching sports, and looking at old photos. Some of which were too good not to post. Also, these will prove once and for all that I was taught from a young age to always make a face in pictures.

(big pimpin with little bro)


(best outfit ever?)


(me on the right)

To conclude the weekend, I spent Easter Sunday being active in DC and finally getting some normal training in. I managed to squeeze in some interval training on the bike and then I mustered up the courage to test my foot again. Four miles, decent pace, minimal soreness/weakness in my foot. I’ll call that a success. Albeit, my heart rate and lungs were on fire after not running for three-ish months.

(post run = perfect time for more pseudo-cookies)

Stay tuned for more posts this week. I might even find the time to do a whole week of training AND announce some of those secret races I mentioned earlier. Might.

What a day. What a weekend.

This past weekend was my Doctor-approved date to start running again. Which, surprisingly, I actually listened to. Coincidentally, it aligned with the first day of BC alumni soccer season and meant I’d get to test out my ankle on my nemesis – field turf. Fortunately for me though, all signs show that the bone is fully healed and aside from a little weakness in that area, it felt good running around. Even more so, it felt good to be playing again. I’m paying for it today with a bunch of cleat marks and bruises all over my legs but if you ask me, there’s no better feeling. Heck, it’s even better than a runner’s high.

Then, as an added bonus, today was the best day of the year for all those Bostonians out there. Marathon Monday is like Christmas in Boston and while most years I regret not being up there, this year was even worse. A few of my friends were toeing the line for the first time and each of them killed it. Most notably, fellow coworker and speedster Michael (friend who qualified at Marine Corp Marathon in blistering fashion) ran a nasty 2:53:54. If that’s not motivation to chase my own personal BQ speed, then I don’t know what is.

Moral of the story, all signs are pointing forward. Soccer is ramping up, I’m back to hitting the roads and chasing the Boston dream (already signed up for another secret race today), and my first tri of the season is less than a month away.

April Update

Quick little life/training update here:

Foot: I have to be cautious with what I say here because I know my parents will worry if I don’t say I’m 100% but the good news is that I’m almost back to full health. I’ve done a couple (very) short run bursts to test it out and all signs point to go. The only thing stopping me now is my paranoia. Occasionally when I’m rolling my foot around in a chair or in bed, I feel some weakness where the broken bone was and I worry that it isn’t fully healed. The doc said there would still be some soreness but because I don’t feel the sharp pain when running it means that the bone is healing properly. Long story short, I’m going easy until Sunday – first BC soccer game of the season.

Training: Surprisingly, I’ve been keeping up with all my bike and swim training. Just this past weekend I did a monster 5500m swim session (well, monster for me since I haven’t done anything that far) and logged around 90 miles on the bike in two days.

Miscellaneous: Squeezed in between my training and eating schedules (oh, P.S. I quit vegetarianism so I could eat a true Cuban meal with my brother and Uncle), I’ve managed to enjoy quite a bit of time as a DC tourist. It’s no secret I’m a sucker for museums in the city and what better way to strengthen a weak foot than with some low impact slow walking around exhibits. And yes, I realize that sounds incredibly lame, but I swear I’m pretty cool.

Cherry Blossom season...aka 'Tourists Get in the Way of Training Season'




Museums!!!

Biding Time

Updates, updates, updates.

After 5 full days of being sick last week, I’m finally back to my normal self and training again. I still can’t run for another couple weeks (doctors orders) but I’m getting to the pool and doing some low intensity riding whenever I can. Perfect excuse to hit the gym more and log the long hours less.

But seriously, I’ve been good and doing as much as possible. With soccer season (oh, and tri season) coming up, I need to make sure I don’t have any silly little injuries that could keep me from going hard.

The good news with my non-running schedule? I finally took the time to learn how to flip turn. Yes, I recognize how bad it is that I didn’t already know how to do flip turns but come on. I did water polo, not legit swimming. I never needed to know how. Finally though, thanks to some nagging/teasing from friends, I was taught how to effectively do a flip turn and save myself from daily embarrassment in the fast lane at the pool. I still have terrible technique and probably get made fun of for that but at least now I look less like a newbie.

That said, I have some travel plans to visit my long lost sister in Argentina on the horizon as well as a couple destination races that might be in the works. Until then, I’m counting down the days until I can step back on the soccer field.

100 Miles Until DC United

Today = Sneezing + Coughing + Sniffling + Dead Tired. All the result of a long, fun weekend here in DC.

It all started on Friday when the weather was supposed to hit 75 degrees. Work had been fairly hectic most of the week but as 3:00 rolled around, I had wrapped up most of my tasks and the staff was getting rowdy around the TV thanks to the drama of March Madness. After yelling nonsense about a couple games, a few staffers took off for the Waterfront to enjoy the last few hours of sunlight. For those not from DC, the Waterfront is the go-to yuppie spot when spring time rolls around. And of course, $2 Coronas with a view is enough to get me anywhere.

Initially, I only intended to have a few of these guys and get to bed early for my planned 100 miler on Saturday, but I’m terrible with peer pressure and 2-3 beers turned into… well… more than 2 or 3. Not good news for that whole long ride thing.

Before I knew it, it was Saturday morning and I was up early. After 30 minutes of questioning and an hour of convincing, I was out the door with minimal supplies and a new cycling route to try out. Originally, I was supposed to start with the DC Tri crew and continue farther once they turned around at mile 25 but my late start meant I was riding solo and on a time crunch. I was headed for Sugarloaf Mountain – a baby mountain in DC that provided plenty of elevation. Honestly, within 30 miles I was already cursing this foolish idea. I wasn’t training for anything this long and a ride with a nonstop headwind was not how I wanted to spend my Saturday. But thanks to a little Powerbar gel (with caffeine), I sucked it up and handled my business. I got lost. I made a new route. I passed gorgeous farms. And I bonked like crazy.

This is what happens when I’m not in IM training and I just do things without planning. I didn’t pack enough food to last me the whole ride and sugar became my enemy during the final hour. The only thing that got me through it was my schedule. I needed to get home for….

DC United!!! Saturday night was the home opener and I was heading to the game with a few Boston College alums in honor of Charlie Davies’ first game back. Our seats were insane (9 rows up behind the bench) and Charlie gave us a little shout out when he was our BC shirts. DC United started this season off right with a big win and Charlie scored two goals in his comeback.

Sunday was another busy day from the get-go. Brunch in the morning, matinee movie (Limitless, which I enjoyed), National Gallery of Art (they rearranged their galleries, not cool), then back home. Once I was home, I knew I was in trouble because after 6 miles of walking and my poor planning on Saturday, my immune system was shutting down fast. I spent the rest of the day watching basketball and popping Vitamin C tablets.

Which brings me to today – I’m sick. Not a fun feeling at all but it was worth it because of the highlights from the weekend:

Century ride with 4500 ft. of climbing
DC United (seemingly) returning to MLS glory
Walking around DC in shorts
Crappy beer with good company

Short Break from Running

For once in my brief training life, I did something smart. That’s right, kudos to me. This past weekend, I was planning on tackling a quick little duathlon to wet my palette for the upcoming tri season. Instead, I decided it would be too much of a risk to put in a couple fast 5Ks so I sucked it up and opted out.

Rewind two weeks. I was back to running and feeling healthy after attempting to nurse my 2010 aches and pains back to 100%. After 6 weeks of no road work, I stepped back outside and slowly picked up my training. 4 miles here, 6 miles there, 9 miles one time, and a couple speed days. No big deal. Then I tried to go out and put in 14 and that’s where things went wrong. Honestly, I have no clue how or why but for some reason my foot felt like a bunch of tiny little bones were cracked all over. Putting pressure on it hurt and walking to bars that night felt terrible.

So now, after a couple weeks in the pool and on the bike, I’m trying to do the right thing and let myself heal. This might mean I have to cancel a couple of secret road races I had planned but I’m going to try this patience thing out and see if it sticks. If not, oh well. It was a solid effort.

But seriously, I’m enjoying my time back in the pool and on the saddle. For now…

Long Rides and Stolen Rides

So this weekend was a fairly eventful, uneventful weekend. After two days of working at home (did I mention I absolutely despise working from home) because we are moving offices, I woke up Saturday morning well-rested and with no plans. Naturally, I decided that I had two options – lie in bed for another hour and think about all the things I could be doing, or get outside and go for a bike ride. Surprisingly, Option #2 won.

I threw on some gear, packed my bike for a longer ride, and wandered around the apartment a bit thinking I forgot to pack something. Then, baby bro informed me that my road/commuter bike was gone. Assuming I just forgot it somewhere or he was confused, I dismissed the thought but double checked just to make sure. Nope, he was right – gone. This was weird. Yes, I probably should have expected this to happen at some point because I’m way too trustworthy/lazy when it comes to this particular bike, but I keep it out of sight from the street so it would take a clever or familiar thief to get his or her hands on it.

To paint a picture – we have a basement apartment with a little cove before entering. You can’t see the bike from the sidewalk so unless you’re trying to break into the apartment, you would have no reason to be down there if you didn’t already know a bike was around the corner.

Anyway, long story short, my bike is gone and I’m just annoyed because now it’s more of a hassle to make those quick trips to friends’ houses and random museums. Fear not though. There are two conveniently placed Craigslist ads that (actually) could be my bike. I’ll keep you all posted on whether they turn out to be the thieves.

Back to the ride. After I realized my bike was stolen and noticed the first of the two shady Craiglist ads, I knew I needed to get out and put in some serious work to forget about the news. So I headed straight for the 75 mile ride I used to do for Ironman training. Here are a few images to give you an idea of what I was blessed to look at for a few hours. Farms, orchards, vineyards, and more farms….all in the winter.







When I got home, I spent a little time sleuthing on the computer and then darted straight for the grocery store. I wish I could tell you I made some lovely sweet potato, spinach, and [insert another healthy item] meal but let’s be real, that’s crazy talk. Of course I went straight for my favorite junk items. Coke, check. Pizza, check. Cookies, check. Beer, check. All four of my food groups, check.

Overtrained...oh wait...that's not it

Over the past couple weeks, I’ve read a few too many blogs about the idea of a coach. Blogs about the importance of a coach. Blogs about self-coaching. Blogs about training smart and knowing your plan.

Rewind one year. I was religiously following the Ironman training plan and filled in my schedule with all the required sessions. Granted, I moved things around more often than most but I still made sure I hit everything I needed to. And it worked. Thanks to my mix of self-coaching and mildly smart training, I enjoyed a successful first IM in Idaho.

But now, one year later, I’ve come a very long way from that method. Last week I did a 13 mile run, a 10 mile run, a short speed workout, one trainer session with my bike, and one very short swim workout because I just got bored. And until a couple hours before those workouts, I had no clue what I would do. So what’s the point?

I train poorly, and it works for me. I love those long days outside hitting it hard but I also love skipping workouts whenever I want to. It suits me. Because let’s be honest, everyone knows I’m the worst planner in the world and I would lose my mind if I always had my nights/mornings/days planned out for me.

Ultimately, I’ll get it done or just suffer tremendously when I slack off. It’s an exciting prospect, right?! But hey, I can guarantee that it’ll always be fun and interesting.

Racing, 2011 Style

What happens when you post on your blog but no one is around to read it?

Muahahaha, we’ll find out.

It’s official, I have finally (well, technically a couple weeks ago) signed up for my first real race of the year. On Saturday, May 14th, I’ll be toeing the line at my first half Ironman in over 18 months. The Kinetic Half Triathlon will take place at Lake Anna State Park, VA, just a quick drive from Washington, DC. Convenience, check!

Another little bonus is that there are plenty of DC Tri Club members racing so there will be extra incentive to go hard and not embarrass myself. No promises though. Remember, it has been 18 months.

Whatever happens, I’m pumped to get back out there and have a bit of a normal race schedule for once. Yes, that’s right, I have a few other races scheduled but I won’t talk about those just yet.

2011 Adventures

With a new year comes a new round of posts.  I can’t promise I’ll be more consistent because all too often I intentionally neglect this blog, but I will throw things up every now and then.  Some will be random thoughts and others will be exciting events.  The one thing I can promise you all is that there are plenty more adventures planned for 2011.

2010 was more of a learning year for me.  Train hard, test myself and seeing how far I could go.  This year will be my time to hone those skills and push it even further.  I no longer have the intention of just finishing events.  Now, I don’t expect to place in my age group each time, but that will be the goal depending on the race.  In addition, I’m hoping to increase the race schedule as well as the travel schedule to get in a few more exciting races throughout the year. 

2011 is slated to be an exciting year no matter what happens and I promise to record as much as possible here on the blog so that I can keep friends and followers up to date.  Until then, here are some of the things you can expect me to talk about in the coming months:

1. Cooking much much more than I used to.  Training can sometimes get me into the habit of choosing what is easy instead of taking the time to make a healthy meal.  Simple fact: I love cooking.
   
2. Reading plenty of books to get my mind working and off the grind of training.  Hopefully my lazy television watching will decrease as the reading increases.
   
3. Travel for racing and travel for pleasure.  As much as I enjoy a convenient race season, I know that combining new places with new races is part of the excitement in triathlons.  So hopefully I’ll be able to throw a few races on the calendar that are outside the mid-Atlantic.  And of course I’ll take a break from training every now and then for non-triathlon vacations.  North Carolina beaches, Orlando, San Diego, and Las Vegas, just to name a few.
   
4. Last but not least, adventure.  Triathlons have opened a new door and now I’m busting through it as much as possible.  While I’ll be focusing on a consistent training schedule and preparing for races, I won’t lose touch with my desire to get out and try some new things.  It’ll probably hinder my full training potential but since I’m not really looking to go pro (yet…), I don’t really care.  So expect to see a few posts about climbing a (top secret for now) large mountain, training and (possibly) racing in the trail scene instead of the roads, major travel plans, and a few other exciting outdoor hobbies.