one week 'til game time

• this is it ladies and gentlemen...RACE WEEK
• has 18 weeks really gone by?
• are we am I really prepared? (Jake's SO got this!)
• training has had its ups and downs, of course, but at least we were mostly healthy and able enough to complete each workout in the training plan, namely, the long runs
• so at least we got that
• one fun thing that happened on Friday is that I got a cold
• and it got worse on Saturday
• and a bit worse today
• you know...sore throat, then tons of congestion, stuffy nose, sore back from coughing, blowing the nose, a bit achy, etc...
• now that it's Sunday and not better, I'm banking on rest, tea, Airborne, and an early bedtime to get me healthy for work tomorrow 
• we shall see...I know I've mentioned on this blog before that I seem to be getting sick a lot more often here...and especially on weekends which I'm not a huge fan of...but at least I can usually lay around if I want to/need to
• ANYWAY, let's just be grateful the marathon wasn't TODAY...and be hopeful that we will both be super healthy for the big race

Sa 9.29.12

• despite the pesky cold, we were able to get out a bit on Saturday for lunch at one of our favorite neighborhood cafes/restaurants VoulezBar
• was the first time we tried a meal...mostly we've just gotten their amazing medialunas and coffee
• I got a zucchini and cheese tart with some side greens

envious of this chick's ride

• Jake got a bondiola, which he thought would come in the form of a sandwich, but instead was a couple juicy slabs of beef, mashed sweet potatoes, and mixed greens
• we ended with a couple cafe con leches and of course, medialunas

 

• we continued down Cerviño

• across a plaza/park

• and made our way to a hospital
• last weekend we checked out another hospital...in the midst of trying to decide on where we want to be and which doctor we want to be with when/if anything major happens to our bodies while we're here...good to be prepared, right?
• still need to make a couple phone calls, figure out insurance business, and maybe tour another hospital before making the call...we shall see
• did some resting and cleaning at home, then Jake joined some friends out to watch the big All Blacks (NZ) vs. Pumas (AR) rugby game (AR got KILLED)
• I stayed home to nurse my cold 

Su 9.30.12

• put this down in the record books, folks - JAKE signed us up for a race!
• this one was for a good cause...one of Jake's coworkers had a son who passed away last year of Muscular Dystrophy...so his father organized this race to raise money and awareness for the disease...was very touching to hear him speak at the end
• we were scheduled to run 8 miles today as part of our marathon training, the race was 8k (5miles), so we ran three miles beforehand (basically to the race location) then completed the 8k...

• nice sunny day, nice to walk through the park that we usually run through...got a bit more of a close-up view of a Sunday morning at the park...reminded me of Italy...lots of elderly people strolling along with friends (think hairy, leathery-skinned men with large bellies, shirtless, maybe even shoeless, sitting on a bench discussing the problems of the world), families on bikes, rollerbladers, and our favorite, the free BA Moves aerobics class
• this week, there was this guy with multi-colored dreads leading a group of all ages, in Zumba-style movements (inordinate amount of dance movements involving pelvic thrusts...hilarious)
• I joined in while Jake stood in line for free yogurt cups
• then we walked home
• made some breakfast (note the tissues...grr...)

•  enjoyed some terrace-time and got work done

• October's going to be a busy one...will be starting with 4 new students, 3 of which are only for the month of October, the other is indefinite
• this means that every morning I have something (teaching or Spanish lessons), every afternoon I'll be at Septiembre, and every evening I have classes (except for Friday evenings...phew!)
• trying to stay positive about this, and remember that the money can be saved for a second trip home and other travel adventures...
• better get cracking on the planning now! Happy (almost) October...the best month of the year! ;)

p.s. what do we think of the larger font size? I swear they need something in between "normal" and "large"..."normal" is too small, "large" is too big!

another 3-day weekend

• and we're not complaining
• remembering the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Tucumán
• Friday, September 21st was the first day or Spring - flowers are popping up around the city and on our terrace:

Sa 9.22

• Saturday was our last long run before the marathon...so strange how 12 miles feels "short"
• had great weather (a bit too warm and sunny actually) for a run through the nature reserve...really is a great place to get away from the noisy, dirty city
• the rest of the day involved a rather large recovery meal (of course), tidying up a bit, then gearing up to watch the ND vs. UM football game
• husband got lots of bonus points for not only figuring out a way to stream the game, but also made a helado run at halftime...he's great

Su 9.23

• joined some friends on a day trip to La Plata (~1hour outside of BA)
• visited the cathedral:

started construction in 1884 and finished in 1999
looks WAY better with the added towers

• even caught a bit of mass

• and did the elevator tour up one of the towers for some great views

• find it quite amusing how easily you can find a place to purchase hot water in Argentina...for mate of course

• on the plaza outside of the church was an event with a few players from the All Black New Zealand rugby team...quick stop to check it out

• we then headed over toward the zoo and found these fun animals chilling outside: 

• poor things
• then we decided to check out the Museo de Ciencias Naturales

• saw lots of cool bones, including dinosaur bones

• and whale jaw bones....among MANY others

• we grabbed a quick snack (pancho, burger, and caramelized peanuts) before driving back to the city
• that night we met a friend and coworker of mine out for drinks and appetizers at T.G.I.Fridays with her husband
• Happy Birthday Johann!
• here is us with our fancy drinks :)

M 9.24

• slept in, then ran a few errands
• check out these cottony trees in the park near our house (crazy!)

• had to grab some groceries, and check out the difference between exported and local mustard...crazy!

 

• later that afternoon I made granola for the first time
• recipe said to put it in the oven on low for 75 minutes...mine got quite crispy (a tiny burnt) after 45 minutes...still tastes great though!  excited to make it again

nothing like fresh homemade granola on top of organic yogurt...yum! 

• had to fit in a late night run...
• and that was basically our weekend...hope you all enjoyed yours!

straight from the farm

• the eggs we purchase here often come adorned with feathers, chicken poop, or even blood smears...?

• at least we're reminded of where they came from

Día del Maestro - Teachers Day, 20 miles #2, BAUM

• September 11th is Teachers Day in Argentina
• of course a strange date for us Americans to be 'celebrating', but spent much of the day remembering as well... 
• we didn't have school so I enjoyed sleeping in, attending a yoga class, window shopping, studying Spanish at a cafe, getting a manicure, and assembling fajitas for dinner...relaxing but busy day
• the following day at school is typically when the students sort of celebrate it for you...the only gift I wanted from my students was for them to behave well for ONE day, and you can probably guess what ACTUALLY happened
• I did get some nice gifts though...chocolates and flowers from the husband, earrings from one school, a phone holder and chocolate from the other, and from the students: lotion, soap, scarf, t-shirt, earrings, bracelet, and chocolates...very sweet and very different from the deli sandwich we received in Chicago for Teacher Appreciation Week (still appreciative Chicago...it was delicious ;)
• our Sports Day (aka P.E.) got changed to Thursday due to our day off on Tuesday
• the P.E. teachers planned sort of a big Olympics for the kids...students 1st-7th grade were divided into teams and did a series of relays to win 1st-4th place
• everyone got a trophy...fun was had by all
• we had 20 miler #2 on Saturday
• for most, this would be plenty to have in the plans for a short weekend
• but there was a food event on Saturday, so clearly we I had to go
• the plan was to go to bed early Friday, run early Saturday to not only make the return trip to the BA Underground Market, but also to beat the heat (high of 78! good grief!)
• poor husband got home from work on Friday night at 11pm!!! and on top of that, had a terrible cold
• I couldn't be a horrible wife and force him out of bed too early, so we sort of compromised...got up at a decent time, ran the darn 3 hours, then went to the BA Underground Market with some friends
• ate some delicious brisket and tres leches cake...washed it down with some great brew, and maybe had some frozen yogurt with strawberries and oreos before leaving...maybe
• it was so good, we had no time for that photo-snapping nonsense
• came home with a few goodies too: homemade granola, coffee-infused chocolates, and goat cheese...mmm
• went out to dinner with these friends later in the evening...great, affordable Armenian place, Sarkis...we will be back
• and Sunday was sleeping, eating, cleaning, family skyping...
• 3 weeks 'til race day....here we go!
• p.s. congrats to the Badgers and Irish for their victories this weekend! 
• wish  I could be in South Bend this coming weekend for the Michigan game...this season is looking quite bright!

Vamos! Vamos! Dale! Dale!

• rest days on Friday AND Saturday before the half?! OK!
• we spent Saturday running some errands (Jake insisted ;)
• which included heading back to Chacaritas to get some organic goodies...
• ...then went over to Full City for coffee beans and a little pick me up:

• here a few shots around the Chacaritas neighborhood...

• we were up Sunday morning bright and early for the BA Half Marathon!

start line before bag check

can you tell who the sponsors were?

beautiful morning!

• I discovered my favorite thing about races in BA: fully-equipped, mostly clean port-a-pots!  Check out that tower of TP!

• see that bag in the right hand of the guy in the yellow?  It's his mate (tea) carrying case...can't go anywhere without mate!

• we did NOT check our mate gourd and leaves

a few notes about the race...

• start was NUTS for about the first 1-2 miles...also, I think there were two start lines? all of the sudden, we saw a swarm of runners joining us from the right...we converged and things got a bit crazy
• like always, as the race went on, the crowd thinned out for the most part
• within the first mile, the band of my watch broke (note: it actually broke about a month ago...I've just been taping it together with athletic tape...only way to replace the plastic band of an expensive Garmin Forerunner 110 watch is to mail it in and pay $50 to get a refurbished one in return...boo)

p.s. final time according to my watch

• so I proceeded to unstick and unwind the tape, then rewind it around the two pieces...it worked, until the last mile, when it broke again, so I just decided to hold it, no MacGyver action going on with a mile to go!
• also around the first mile I saw two Argentineans bump into each other and do the formal "one-kiss-on-the cheek" greeting WHILE running the race...so funny "Hola! Come estás? Todo bien? Sí gracias!"
• we also saw a women chatting on her phone while running...luckily we passed her...ha ha ha
• Jake said he had to use the bathroom within the first few miles...he's lucky that he's a boy because he could've just peed on a tree like most men (or into an electric box in a park, like we saw one guy doing), but he miraculously held it the whole way...didn't end up being a problem, thank goodness
• some of my favorites were the Beatles band and the tango dancers on stage near the obelisk along the widest avenue in the world, Avenida 9 de Julio
• nearing the end of 9 de Julio, and as it turned onto a highway, we had an interesting view of one of the poorer areas in the city center, Villa 31, a shantytown between Retiro train station and the river...the sun was still making its way up over the most basic of brick structures...peoples' laundry hanging on the lines of most rooftops...a view one does not usually get when on the other side of the train station
• Jake suggested during the race that instead of doing destination marathons (as previously discussed) we should do destination HALF marathons instead.  I said ok.
• there were 2 food stations along the way, handing out bananas and oranges...don't think we've seen that for half marathons (yes I always notice the food)
• post-race photo-op...not a PR for us, but I think we achieved our goal of running a strong training run at a consistent pace...we had perfect weather and really can't complain (I kinda wish our full was only a half! eek...)

• on our walk to catch the bus home, Jake couldn't help but snap a few graffiti shots...I think these graffiti pix really do need their own album

in the tunnel near the park where we often run

• after a quick nap and shower, we joined a friend from work, her husband and their friends at the Fiesta de Las Colectividades Día del Inmigrante 
• aka an outdoor fair with booths representing different countries selling foods and products well-known in that culture
• got some amazing arepas from Venezuela, good tacos from Mexico, 

• and here's Johanna purchasing a yummy coconut dessert and tropical mixed drink from Brazil

• the girls separated from the boys for a bit...I think we ate more than they did!
• here's Jake with his Ecuadorian tropical mixed drink (I thought it was our race recovery smoothie, until I tasted it and got slammed with alcohol!)

• there were also many music and dance performances
• below are traditional Peruvian dancers...very fun to watch

• here is Johanna's husband Jonathan telling a story...while enjoying German beer and empandas from Panama

• poster at the entrance...this event was held next to the Immigration Office, so I was a little hesitant to attend, due to my strong dislike for that place...but it ended up being a great time...

• ...and when we got home, I re-taped my watch, then stitched it together...I really hope it lasts me until October 7th!