La Carrera de Miguel

This morning I woke up earlier than normal and got ready for the 10k in Palermo, La Carrera de Miguel. I ate some cereal, stretched out, and then headed in with the other runners to the park. The forecast had called for rain but I was happy to find that it was a warm sunny day without a cloud in the sky. I've been really lucky in that every race I've run in has had excellent weather.

The race has been put on in Bariloche and Buenos Aires for the last five years in memory of Miguel Sanchez, an Argentine runner who disappeared and was murdered under the last military dictatorship. So it's not much of a surprise that there's a political undertone to this race. Yet I still wasn't expecting the band of protesters by the starting line. They weren't doing anything bad, but had signs and were singing songs with their drums. I was kind of put off to it, thinking that they were using his death as an excuse to complain about the current government.

In any case, it wasn't really about the race. I picked up my free shirt, dropped off my valuables, and got ready for the race towards the front of the line. Slowly the lane packed in and the clock ticked down to zero. The route took us to parts of the city I hadn't seen yet. We started north going past the horse track and up to the Palermo Golf Club. Here in this area of the city I found more parks and ponds that I had never even seen before. The skyline of Belgrano was visible, and it seemed like a really laid back part of the city.

There was only one water station for this race at the half way mark. This was a free race put on by the city, but it's still a lack of judgment. Even if it's a free race there has to be some water available or people are going to pass out. We double around and began the second part of the race heading back to the starting line. By this point I was getting into a stride and my pace increased. My legs were a little bit tired but my lungs felt fine. Training had paid of after all.

This race lacked cheering crowds but even by the finish line people waited around anxiously. I ran hard the last kilometer or two and finally came in at a smooth 46 minutes and 22 seconds. It's the best time I've had in a race yet and blows away the 1 hour time from the Nike 10k in October. Though to be fair, I hadn't run for two months before that race.

Here another bad call occurred by the event staff. As you passed the finish line you could grab a bottle of water or Gatorade, but once you walked past a certain point you couldn't go back. I only had one bottle of Gatorade while some people had three. I quickly downed the entire thing and wanted another, but was denied anything else. Long tables were filled with hundreds of bottles but the staff refused to give the other runners nor I anything to drink.

Keep in mind we just ran a race. I think it would only be decent to give us a bottle of water so we don't pass out, but apparently they were sticklers for the rules that don't really exist. I stood around for a while hoping they would finally feel bad and just throw a bottle over, but they never did. I grabbed my things and headed home, picking up a victory beer along the way. It's more fun to run with some friends, but I had to make due here. There are more races coming up next month. Maybe I'll look into them.

The Nike 10k in Buenos Aires

Courtesy of La Nacion

Yesterday was the Nike 10k race that took place in various cities throughout the world. Last year some of my friends ran it in Quito the day after we arrived in the country, braving the high altitude. I hadn't run in 2 months since getting to Buenos Aires, but I really wanted to run in this race. I tried signing up online, but the registration was already complete for 15,000 runners. So I just went to run anyway, and all I missed out on was the t-shirt (too bad) and the medal. I kept track of my time however, and finished just about in 1 hour exactly.

Not too bad considering the time off. The first 10k I ran was in Cuenca, but I had already been running before that race, and finished at about 1 hour 7 minutes. So I improved because of the altitude perhaps, though I have been out of training. The race was nice and flat, though it did get difficult at one point when I had a burst of energy and then immediately crashed after that. With no marks of the kilometers, it was hard to know when to expect the last kilometer, and I got psyched out several times. There was a lack of water for the most part, and the first time I got some I had to stop and change direction, dodging traffic, then mostly spill the warm water on myself.

The mist tunnel towards the end was a nice change of pace, but with such a beautiful day it wasn't even necessary. It was a sea of red shirts but I was in a white and black shirt, with an orange long sleeve tee wrapped around my head to prevent burning. I must have looked pretty silly, but some people chose to dress up strangely anyway.

As I neared the finish line I was about to vomit but luckily crossed and then stopped, composing myself. A concert started by the finish line and Puerto Madero was packed. My body hurts now, but it was good to get running again, even if only for an hour.