I am going to discuss running here in Cuernavaca which is quite a challenge.
First of all the elevation is about a mile up, quite a bit higher than Seattle and Wisconsin hahahha. Also, streets are the only place to run as Cuernavaca is a big city. And there are a lot of hills, which are my greatest running mental challenge. Another really big challenge for me, that has has always been a challenge is the heat. It wears me out. When I had Spanish every morning from 8 to 11 I could not run in the mornings when it is cooler but now that I have Spanish only two days of the week from 8 to 11 I have realized that my best time to run is either around 7 AM after drinking a cup of coffee and using the bathroom. Or it is after waking up at 7 or so and eating a small breakfast and then running at 9 or 10. My legs feel so much fresher and I can run in the shade and the sidewalks have not soaked in all of the day's eat yet.
The first week I was here I didn't run at all. Then I just did 30 minutes on the first day and discovered how big the hills really are here. I gradually increased to running 4 or 5 times a week for about 35 to 45 minutes. I did a few longer-ish runs of 65 minutes. Then I decided that I was going to run the Rock n' Roll half marathon in Seattle on June 25th. I am going to keep running 5 to 6 days a week for 30 to 45 minutes until the beginning of April when I have more of a daily plan of what my mileage is going to be.
Besides the physical conditions of running in Cuernavaca, there are some other difficult things. It is not very common to see someone running in the streets for exercise. I have seen a few other people, all men do this on a few occasions, but never women and not white foreign women such as myself. So I stick out like a sore thumb even more so than if I was just walking down the street without running. I get a lot of comments from people as I am running and darting around cars and food stalls and stores and people. These comments range from Buenos Dias to Guera (white girl) to other things that I don't understand or make me a little afraid. Sometimes it is discouraging and I don't want to go out and run just because I want to be alone in my own running world without having to deal with people saying things. But that has been my privilege in the past to be able to do this and I am realizing what it is like for many people who do not have the privilege of leisurely runs in the woods.
I am also thinking about joining a gym for a month when I have to run for longer amounts of time so that I can run to the gym, run there on the treadmill, and run home. This is what I have found really helps me break up long runs especially when I have to do them by myself.
I usually run by myself too but there are luckily a few people here who do run and sometimes we plan runs together. One of my professors, Antonio Ortega is a runner and a few of us have run with him some Saturday mornings. I love doing this because I have company and I am really missing that about being at school and on the team. It is just hard to motivate myself and it is not as fun sometimes because I don't have someone to talk to and help the time pass.
A week from this Friday we are going to our urban homestays until the second week of May and I am really excited for a change of scenery and people and to live with a family. I will also have some new places to run when I move which I am also looking forward to.
