We stayed in mazatlan all last week for rehearsals and a performance of "plump jack." I ran every day on the malecon, usually joined by liz, katrina, and/or megan. for or better or for worse, having them with me made me run easier and a bit slower, and I'd like to think that helped me be 100% rested for sunday.
The rest of the orchestra went home, north to culiacan on saurday morning. Slava and I went to the bus station to get a ticket to Escuinapa, and we were directed out of the terminal to some semi-crappy bus on the street, which was headed to escuinapa and about 10 other villages. The bus was scheduled to leave "ahorita."
We left at 1:30, and immediately knew this bus was a mistake! We stopped to pick up or drop off people randomly, about every 100 meters or so, for about 1 1/2 hours. Finally we were free from the mazatlan metro area and the rest of the trip took about another hour. Escuinapa is only 1 hour form mazatlan but it took over 2 hours to get there! To make matters worse, I had a terrible caffeine headache and growing bus-sckness with every stop and go. I felt terrible by the time we arrived to escuinapa, signed up for the race, and got a hotel room. Slava went hunting for some iced tea and a snack, and i crached on the bed for about 3 hours. I woke up with an even stronger headache and the urge to puke, but i forced myself up and out of the hotel. We found a seedy pizza place with no a/c and a menu which included spaghetti. Slava tried to order 3 different pizzas, but the 4th one, with mushrooms, was accepted. Apparently the other options he wanted (other veggies, checken) weren't available because usually no one orders them. I ordered spegetti.
While we were waiting for the pizza, i was feeling worse and worse. I knew i had to drink some coffee for the caffeine withdrawl. the only coffee avaiable in the 5 mile radius was, luckily, at the pizza place. They had those instant freeze-dried crystals, and I accepted. With enough milk and sugar, it tasted fine (although strange with my pasta). I could barely choke down much food, but i managed to drink the coffee and we staggered back towards the hotel.
I bought a strawberry popsicle on the side of the road and suggested we "hang out" in the churchyard and try to talk to the kenyans who were in town for the run. These kenyans were super nice, and proved to be amazing runners as well. They have all placed in or won marathons in Boston, Chicago, Berlin, Mazatlan, etc, and are all close to the world records in various events. Paul Tergat, the world record holder in the marathon, with a time of 2:04:55, is a friend of theirs! And those guys' personal best marathon times are in the 2:06 range. Wow.
Ok ok, we chatted for a while and the coffee was taking effect. I was feeling more human... oh caffeine, I love you!! We went to the hotel at about 10pm, but i couldn't really sleep. I woke up at least 3 times, always dreaming that I had missed the race. Finally the 5am alarm went off and I started my morning like any other early run. I ate some carbs (2 tortillas) and sipped gatorade. I used the toilet at many times as i could, and the time approached to elave the hotel for my race, "Medio Maraton las Cabras" (Half Marathon of the goats). Read on for the full report!
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