I the past 3 weeks I’ve been bouncing around for work and pleasure. Now with training as a part of my life, I have a good sense of how a pet owner feels when they are planning a trip away from home. How am I going to make sure that this training is taken care of? You can't just hire a sitter for your trainer, you have to take it with you. I was a surprisingly reluctant at first, but then came to my senses and realized I didn't want to flush 12 weeks of training down the toity. So I loaded in the running gear (including my dork-cred fuel belt) on my first trip of the training season....Los Angeles.
LA:
In LA Wednesday-Saturday. I knew I had to get my long run in on the West Coast that Saturday morning. This actually took a degree of sacrifice in relation to Friday night. It's a rare occasion to have all your most fun co-workers and clients in LA on a weekend night with no early call times the next day. Lounging poolside sipping cocktails in the evening at the Viceroy, a cool ocean breeze, great company, light buzz after a lot of hard work and magical shoot days... a tough act to walk away from. But after two wines, I mustered the will power, said my goodbyes and headed back to my room. Saturday early morning I suited up and made my way to the ocean.
I originally started running with my headphones, but it occurred to me that I was missing the chance to overhear local chatter amongst other runners and the crazy murmurings from the colorful characters along Venice beach - all set to the sounds of the Pacific in the background. Way better than music (and frankly, I am so tired of my running mixes).
I ran from Santa Monica past Venice and into Marina Del Rey. About 3/4 through Venice, the running path ends. I decided to run along the beach vs. navigate the back roads. I regretted this decision almost immediately, but continued to run along the shore for 10 more minutes. Stupid pride.
I made it to Marina Del Rey and started my way back. I decided to take a little detour and run along Venice Pier, where I got to see a cool dynamic cross-section of California types. The fishermen, the roller bladers, the casual hollywood-type on his cell, the hottie with the cute dog... The highlight was witnessing close up a surfer tossing his board and jumping off the very high pier. It was rad.
I finished the 2 hour run feeling strong but ready for an ice bath. Psyched that I had the luxury of room service still, I went back to my room and ordered 4 buckets of ice. They didn't understand at first, but after some explaining and a good amount of waiting, I got my nice ice.
Costa Rica:
Running in Central America where you are 10 degrees from the equator requires a different kind of strategy. First off there's the heat. Opening up your door each morning you are greeted with a wall of humidity that insta-thaws you from the AC chills and will have you sweating in seconds. It's like walking into a steaming bowl of pea soup. Not ideal for the girl who has been running in the NE Winter and Spring weather for 3 months. Then there's the safety factor. My friend Irene shared a cautionary tale about a friend of a friend who went to Tamarindo on vacation. He went for a walk on the beach alone one night and wound up disappearing. He's still not found, we saw his "missing" poster at the bank. (shudder). So when I say I needed a "strategy," I really meant "indoor gym."
I found a gym in Tamarindo, rather THE gym. I paid my 2,500 colones ($5) and hopped to it. Buttons in Spanish, distance in km....I made do. My second visit was after a very late night out and many days of surfing. So I was hungover, dehydrated, wounded and bruised. I eaked out a 35 minute run and then stood in front of the fan behind the front desk for 10 minutes in a sad attempt to cool down. A cold shower didn't even help. What did help was a catamaran cruise and some margaritas. I'm looking for ways to integrate this cool-down strategy into all my runs.
The fact of the matter is 5 days of surfing is plenty of physical activity. I'm glad I ran, but I probably didn't have to. On the positive side, you get to read this post and I got to meet some ex-pats at the gym, no natives. The natives of Costa Rica don't need gyms, they live la pura vida, which seems to keep them naturally tan and fit.
LI 1/2 is this weekend, but I still have a few more trips to take before the San Diego 1/2. Florida, LA (again) and Fire Island....I will be packing my training (and my fuel belt) every time.
I made it to Marina Del Rey and started my way back. I decided to take a little detour and run along Venice Pier, where I got to see a cool dynamic cross-section of California types. The fishermen, the roller bladers, the casual hollywood-type on his cell, the hottie with the cute dog... The highlight was witnessing close up a surfer tossing his board and jumping off the very high pier. It was rad.
I finished the 2 hour run feeling strong but ready for an ice bath. Psyched that I had the luxury of room service still, I went back to my room and ordered 4 buckets of ice. They didn't understand at first, but after some explaining and a good amount of waiting, I got my nice ice.
Costa Rica:
Running in Central America where you are 10 degrees from the equator requires a different kind of strategy. First off there's the heat. Opening up your door each morning you are greeted with a wall of humidity that insta-thaws you from the AC chills and will have you sweating in seconds. It's like walking into a steaming bowl of pea soup. Not ideal for the girl who has been running in the NE Winter and Spring weather for 3 months. Then there's the safety factor. My friend Irene shared a cautionary tale about a friend of a friend who went to Tamarindo on vacation. He went for a walk on the beach alone one night and wound up disappearing. He's still not found, we saw his "missing" poster at the bank. (shudder). So when I say I needed a "strategy," I really meant "indoor gym."
I found a gym in Tamarindo, rather THE gym. I paid my 2,500 colones ($5) and hopped to it. Buttons in Spanish, distance in km....I made do. My second visit was after a very late night out and many days of surfing. So I was hungover, dehydrated, wounded and bruised. I eaked out a 35 minute run and then stood in front of the fan behind the front desk for 10 minutes in a sad attempt to cool down. A cold shower didn't even help. What did help was a catamaran cruise and some margaritas. I'm looking for ways to integrate this cool-down strategy into all my runs.
The fact of the matter is 5 days of surfing is plenty of physical activity. I'm glad I ran, but I probably didn't have to. On the positive side, you get to read this post and I got to meet some ex-pats at the gym, no natives. The natives of Costa Rica don't need gyms, they live la pura vida, which seems to keep them naturally tan and fit.
LI 1/2 is this weekend, but I still have a few more trips to take before the San Diego 1/2. Florida, LA (again) and Fire Island....I will be packing my training (and my fuel belt) every time.
No comments:
Post a Comment