In early January, I began lacing up my shoes and gradually started to build my mileage (kilometrage?) in preparation.  Since December 2009 was so far away, I decided I needed something sooner to keep me motivated.  I picked up a copy of Runner’s World Mexico edition to see what other races were available.  Based more on the date of the race (over 2 months before the anticipated Cancun marathon) than anything else, I randomly chose to run the Maraton Independencia in Leon, Guanajuato on September 20, 2009.

For previous marathons, I relied on Hal Higdon’s 18 week beginner’s training program.  Having crossed the finish line 6 times using that program, I decided to stick with it.  It’s focused more on slowly increasing mileage with the goal of finishing than on setting new Personal Records (PRs). Considering I had put on 15 pounds in my 3 year hiatus from running, just getting back into shape and crossing the finish line would be good enough.

Little did I know that running in the hot and humid summer months in Playa del Carmen would be such a brutal experience.  I had to wake up at 5am on Saturday mornings, to get my mileage in before the sun rose. Like clockwork, my pace dropped a minute or more once the sun was above the treeline. On my 18 mile training run, I consumed 5 liters (over a gallon) of fluids to stay hydrated.

To make matters worse, when I started researching Leon to make travel arrangements, I realized that the city is located at 6,000 feet elevation.  At elevation, the air is thinner, meaning I would have to work harder to get the oxygen I need to run.  Wow, stupid newbie planning mistake on my part.  Oh well, what could I do?

As the weeks went by, I finally had a brilliant idea.  Instead of worrying about my training conditions, the thin air at 6,000 ft elevation, et cetera, why not just run it for fun?  After all, this was going to be my first international marathon in a new city.  Hey, I could even take a camera with and do some sight-seeing along the way.  Now that sounds like fun!

So, without further ado, here is a bit of a running tour of Leon, Guanajuato.

The race started at 7 A.M. It was in the upper 50s (10C) and dark.

My early race photos did not turn out well due to the low lighting conditions. About 30 minutes into the race, the day was finally beginning.

Marathons attract men and women, all shapes and sizes, and a variety of ages. This guy’s shirt proudly proclaims “Old Guys Rule.” Nice!

Being the 5th largest city in Mexico (population approx. 3 million), Leon has a fairly elaborate bus sytem. Here is one of their bus stops on Lopez Mateos Avenue.

Ah… mountains. Coming from the flatlands of Chicago, mountains have always fascinated me.  Although this race was run in the mountains, the route was mostly flat. Since my training was done on flat terrain, I was really thankful for this.

Leon is a very bike friendly city. They have lanes devoted to bike traffic on many roadways. Very progressive – I’m so  jealous!  I’d ride my bike more often in Playa if I wasn’t so worried about being hit by a car or car door.

Here’s looking at you, kid.  That’s Libby taking a photo of me taking a photo of her. Although she thinks I’m insane for running marathons, she is always there to cheer me on.  Thanks, babe!

This was one of the cooler parts of the race.  I’m not sure if this was an expressway or bypass.

Ah, if city streets were always this serene.

I was a bit worried about the frequency of the water and Gatorade stations.  To my surprise, the aid stations were plentiful – located approximately 1 to 1.5 miles apart.  Excellent job, race planners!

Some of the stations were just tables with people holding out cups.  Others had music and entertainers to keep us going. The announcer at this booth made some comment about me taking photos… I’m glad I amused them!

The course had numerous back-and-forths, which was a nice touch. It’s nice to see the other runners on the course.

There were many spectators who came out to cheer for the runners. I always try  to scream a thank you to the people cheering me on – it’s greatly appreciated!

Too bad this guy wasn’t running the race.  And no, I did not stop at Carl’s Jr for a burger!

Vive Mexico!

One of the more elaborate aid stations.

Uhhh, which way are we going?  Should I follow these guys?  I think they’re lost.

A quick check of the map confirms we are headed in the right direction and only have a few miles to go.

In addition to the aid stations, many families were showing their support by providing water, juices, fruits and candy.

By the way, for any runners who have difficulty drinking out of a cup while running, please note: biting the corner off a baggie and trying to suck the water out of it is a lot more challenging.  Quit your whining! 

I love beer.  Therefore, I couldn’t refuse when someone offered me one just before mile 23. My legs are hurting a bit, so it helps to deaden the pain. Too bad the buzz lasted about 15 seconds.

Woooooo, that beer is going to my head.  How much further?  Ah, just passed the 23 mile mark.  My pace is 10:43?  Wow, maybe I should have left the camera at home and skipped that beer.  Nah!!

The home stretch. I believe I passed 50 people during the last 2 miles.

Ah, victory is mine!  Time was 4 hours, 17 minutes, 12 seconds.  Yes, the time in this photo says 4:17:53, but this race was chipped, so my time started when I crossed the start line and finished when I passed the finish line.  Technology rocks!

Some kids help their mother to the finish line.

Here’s me enjoying my celebratory Victoria (”Victory”) beer.  What a day.

All in all, I think the race was a huge success.  The weather was perfect, the course was nice (and flat), and the race was very well organized. I’m a bit confused why my GPS watch said that I ran 26.52 miles, but it doesn’t really matter.

It’s about 8 weeks until the Cancun marathon, and I’ve really started to kick my training into high gear.  I can’t wait!!

You can view all the pictures from the race in the album Leon Marathon 2009.

John and I headed to the beach yesterday to join the hordes.

We had a wonderful time at the beach despite the crowds. The sand was soft, the sun was shining, the sky a brilliant blue, and the water a refreshing aquamarine. Aaaah!

To top off our Easter day, we feasted on tacos al pastor and chicken alambre. What a great day!

Customer: How much is this one?
Employee: $30 pesos.
Customer: And, this one?
Employee: $30 pesos.
Customer: [Looking very confused and distrusting] And how about this one, is it also $30 pesos?
Employee: Yes, $30 pesos.

Normally, the peso exchange rate is 10 pesos per dollar, but lately, the peso has been weakened, and it’s been around 13.4 to the dollar for a few weeks now.  That’s an additional 33% discount if you are paying in good ole USD.

We decided to take advantage of this special and max out with the limit of 8.  This is what our $18 USD worth of beer looks like:

The reason for the sale will forever be a mystery to us.  I was hoping that Walmart would restock the shelves with a wider selection of imported beers.  Alas, Libby was back today and reported that the shelves are fully restocked with the same ole beer selection that they were practically giving away yesterday. Total bummer!

I miss the great selection of microbrews back in the US.  However, I guess this bounty will hold me over until I’m back stateside for the holidays at the end of the month. Salud!

Three years later, and we’re still inching our way towards reaching our goals. Our Spanish is meager, allowing us to order food delivery over the phone, but often foiling our attempts to speak with our Chiapan cleaning lady. We now understand how so many Latinos in the U.S. can get by without speaking much English. We rely on our network of expat friends and English-speaking Mexican professionals more than we’d like to admit.

Culture? As any Mexican would say ‘Playa has no culture!’. Well, that’s partially true. We have no museums, no theatre, no art galleries. But that’s not what we came here for. We still struggle to understand the whys and hows of life in Mexico. But we’ve already learned so much. Like that Mayan women are not unfriendly but extremely shy and intimidated by foreigners. And that in a business transaction (anything from buying a mango to getting internet service to purchasing real estate), one should never EVER expect it to go smoothly or fairly or timely. And that living in the here and now is a good thing. Cuz when aggravation over a mango purchase hangs in your future, it’s just not worth thinking about!

We never did figure out what we want to do with the rest of our lives. But that’s okay because we’re living in the here and now. John is doing software development for U.S. clients. I’m doing website development and search engine optimization (a new skill I acquired in Mexico). And we both have invested much of our time into our labor of love, a Playa del Carmen website called In The Roo. Roo is short for Quintana Roo, the name of our state, in case you were wondering. I hope to spend even more time on In The Roo in the future, combining my two loves — travel and technology.

We’ve had our share of ups and downs in Playa del Carmen. We miss Chicago terribly. Living in a Mexican beach town isn’t all about drinking tequila and lazing on the beach. But for now, life is good in Playa. We don’t know how long we’ll be here. We’re just living one day at a time.

After reading about the celebration at Xcaret, Libby and I were looking forward to attending this year’s event. We invited other locals to partake in the festivities with us. Unfortunately, Libby did not feel well and had to cancel at the last moment, but our friends Susie and Marissa and I went and had a great time.

Plenty of marigolds were used to decorate the park. It was a nice touch, it actually gave me the feeling of the fall season – something we don’t really experience here.

There were various events and performances throughout the park. This was a Mexican acapella group doing a routine.

There were candles all over the park. This central structure was available for visitors to light a candle in memory of their departed.

One of the most popular sites at Xcaret is the Mayan cemetery. Although it is normally filled with colorful tombs, and is a site to see on it’s own, during the Day of the Dead festival, the tombs are accentuated with marigolds, food and drinks for the departed.

It is believed that during the festival of Day of the Dead, it is easier for the souls of the departed to visit the living. Therefore, graves and altars are provided with offerings for the souls as they return. Typically, for children, the gifts are generally toys, for the adults, tequila or cerveza. However, we have seen a variety of gifts, including Big Macs and plates of enchiladas, in the past.

The marigolds are thought to attract the souls of the dead to the offerings. Candles are used to light the way for the visting souls.

There were various face painting stations located throughout the park, and we took the opportunity to have our faces painted.

The symbol of the skull, or calaca, for the Day of the Dead is quite common. According to Wikipedia, the skulls are “depicted as joyous rather than mournful figures”.

We finished the day off by seeing the 2nd half of the Xcaret music and dance performance. For anyone visiting Xcaret in the future, this is a must-see performance. This was the 2nd time I got to see only the 2nd half… some day I hope to see it in it’s entirety.

All in all, it was a nice place to see and experience some of the traditions for myself.

If you enjoyed this post, you may want to check out the more detailed report I posted on our In The Roo forum.