Running in Paradise

Those of you that know me, Jamie, know that I am a runner. I run because I love the feeling of accomplishment and how I feel when I'm done. Last week I participated in a 5k "race" during a week-long training session held in Mexico.

The race was called "Running in Paradise." The setting was absolutely beautiful as we ran along a level path in the Riviera Maya, overlooking the ocean. It was late morning (well, for me it was late, 8 am). The birds were singing and the sun was bright. It was also RIDICULOUSLY humid and hot. I registered for this run because it was inexpensive, benefited homeless animals, and I had eaten way too much amazing food. Plus, I got a bright orange shirt.

The run organizers handed out the cotton shirts and said everyone should wear it for the run. I'm guessing it was so the could keep track of us and get good pictures. After a "call-to-post," a yoga-enthusiast got up and led us in some static stretches...I guess the don't-static-stretch-before-you-run philosophy hasn't reached Mexico yet. Then we were off!

Since I had run approximately 15 miles over the previous 2 days, I knew the heat and humidity was not going to be fun. Wearing the cotton shirt certainly didn't help! But I did have a pretty good idea of how hard I could push it. Some folks took off at the start, and as I suspected, they crashed and burned in the humidity. I must admit, one of my character flaws is the pleasure I get fro plodding past the folks that are walking because they went out too fast. Now I am a big fan of PLANNED walking, but I'm talking about the folks who totally blow their pacing, especially when they are young and male.

The course was mostly flat with a very slight uphill, including two "topes" (speed bumps) and a very large ramp (from the ground level to the first floor of the resort, 18 steps) that we had to run over twice. The course passed under the start line and went out about a half a mile further before the final turnaround so I got to see the soon-to-be winner running at a very nice clip. He was from Ireland and clearly handled the humidity just fine. All of a sudden I had a lady on a bicycle leading me. Since there were only a few of us, we would get bicycle escorts at certain points to make sure we didn't go off course. I got to pretend this was a real race and I was following the lead escort! She kept wanting to make conversation. I was actually able to talk a bit so I must not have been running as hard as I thought. Having the bicycle definitely made me run faster to try to catch her. Then she left to escort someone else and I "sprinted" to the finish.

I was the first female and second overall (Full disclosure: I think there were 5 girls and 2 guys total) with a time of 26:55, well off my PR, especially since my Garmin was dead-on at 3.1 miles, and I'm usually over in a race. Considering the conditions, I was pretty pleased. I grabbed a bottle of water, went to my room, changed into a bathing suit, and swam laps in the very long (about 175 yds) salt water pool. Overall a good training day!

Who else wants to do a Run in Paradise??