Back on Track After My Wedding

Things got really crazy during the first half of 2017 — I moved into my own apartment, I got married, my mom visited me for a month, I got my Brazilian residence visa finally, I was working, doing an internship, and planning a wedding all at the same time. Since those things are over now, and I'm only working a few hours per week, I've been able to work out almost daily!

After a week of training, I was surprised at how fast I could jump back into a 5k after almost no running for the past four months (I do walk 5-10k per day though, just in my normal commuting... and live on the 4th floor of a building with no elevator... welcome to São Paulo). The downside of getting back into shape is feeling like I am out of shape and comparing myself with when I was running 8k on a daily basis. The upside of getting back into shape is watching how fast I make improvements.

For example, I did this 9-minute body weight workout from the NY Times. The first time I did it, I had to take long breaks between each set, and I was totally winded. The second time I did it, just a week and a few runs later, I could do the whole thing on 1' intervals of rest between sets and I did 20' of yoga as well. I love watching my body respond quickly to discipline.

I was feeling so inspired and full of health that I decided to sign up for the São Paulo Venus 15k. I was debating between the 10k and the 15k, because while I know I can run a 10k with inconsistent training, a 15k will take some disciplined work. A friend convinced me to choose the longer distance because "you've already conquered a 10k", and I decided she was right. So between now and September 3, I need to be running consistently, listening to my body, figure out how to keep my blood sugar levels up for that long of a distance, and keep up all around good health/strong runner habits.

Race Schedule 2016

Because I have a nice gym sitting right next door, waiting for me to get buff, I am going to plan my 2016 race schedule. Or at least make a wish list. Lots of people say that one of the biggest motivations to keep running is to sign up for races. Have something to look forward to, y'know?

March
10k - Circuito das Estações: Outono

April
1/2 - Meia Maratona Internacional de São Paulo

July
10k - Circuito das Estações: Inverno

September
10k - Troféu Independência do Brasil
10k - Circuito das Estações: Primavera

October
1/2 - Meia Maratona de Sampa

December
10k Circuito das Estações: Verão

A photo posted by O2CorreBrasil (@o2correbrasil) on Nov 30, 2015 at 8:57am PST

There are a few other runs I might be interested in:

• The São Silvestre is a 15k race that happens on the last day of the year. It's a very famous race in São Paulo because it is old. But because it's so famous, it's televised, and thus doesn't start until 9am. It's too hot and too late for me! 
• A Star Wars run happens in November. It's 7k, I think to try to cut down on the amount of participants. I don't really like fun runs though. If I'm running and paying to run, I want to run fast.
• I really want Nike to host a 10k or 1/2 in São Paulo. I've only heard positive things about the way they organize races, and my experience at We Run DXB was awesome.

Meia Maratona de Sampa

I am not a sell-out.

I haven't run in over a month because:

• My plan of taking a bus to a flatter area and running there really sucked. I tried it three times and hit a bunch of road blocks that included: literal road blocks as the path is still under construction, the bus only coming 2-3 times per hour so I spent more time at the bus stop than actually running, and heavy traffic really didn't make things better. A 30 minute run turned into a 1.5 hour ordeal that included breathing noxious car fumes the whole time. Awesome right?
• It's summer! Even running in the early morning left me with a splitting headache from exposure to the sun and heat.
• I got lazy and then sick and then a little depressed.

I have been eyeing a very chic looking gym that is literally across the street from where I live. I'm attracted to its architecture, its proximity to my house (because I don't have a car and live in a hilly area, this is key), its air conditioning, and its hours. A lot of gyms around here have surprisingly inconvenient hours, and some don't even open on Sundays at all. So yesterday I saw that this chic gym was extending a Black Friday sale, and with the sale, its prices became about the same as all the other gyms, and you know, it's just so close.... I took the plunge and bought a six-month gym membership. First time ever!

I know that buying a gym membership goes against my minimalist exercise mindset ("You can do bodyweight stuff! At home! For free!"). But honestly, I did try to find something that worked for me and I wasn't able to. My physical health, and more noticeably, my mental health suffered. I'm not being a sell-out. It's just that good health is higher on the list of importance than minimalism principles.

I'm giddy about it. My membership includes all the classes that I want, and they have classes throughout the whole day (exciting because I usually teach classes when gyms are giving classes). Today I was just happy to run on a treadmill.

Okay. I know so many "real runners" hate treadmills. And yeah, the scenery is kind of dull on a treadmill... but I'm going to listen to audiobooks, podcasts, and nab a machine that faces the aerobics room instead of the spinning room (n00b mistake that I made today). The endorphin high is worth it.

When I lived in Dubai I ran on a treadmill. It had a good oceanfront view. Running on a treadmill for a year gave me the self-confidence that I needed to run outside. It also was there for me when I felt like doing 10 minutes of sprints and calling it a day. It's great when you have a BM 25 minutes into your run (don't tell me that doesn't happen to you). It's good for trying elaborate running sets that you see online but in no way are going to remember without a detailed post-it note.

So, I'm pro-treadmill. What are your favorite treadmill workouts, blogs, or other resources to keep things interesting?

Race Report: Run the Night 5k

So, I realize that a race report from May 30 is a little delayed. But I was waiting for official photos to appear online and they never did, and then I promptly forgot about my blog. And running.

My boyfriend and I trained for the Run the Night 5K in São Paulo. This was my second registered race, and Silas's first. He normally never runs at all. I was glad he did it with me.

The course was held at the University of São Paulo, mostly alongside the Pinheiros River. We didn't see much of the river since it was night, however. We finished the 5k in about 40 minutes. As you can see in the photos, I'm a lot taller than Silas, and it's more leg height than torso height. So, we make uneven running partners, but we stuck together. 

Afterwards there was a band, acrobats, and lots of families with kids hanging out. It was fun, but we were hungry and decided to walk back home.

It was a good experience for my first 5k run, and even more fun that I had a buddy.

Motivation for Run the Night 5k

I finally sat down and registered for the Run the Night 5k happening here in São Paulo at the end of May. I waited to register because my boyfriend said that he wanted to run it too, but I wasn't sure about his/our commitment levels.

Uhm well now that it's purchased, we don't really have a choice to not commit. This is only my second registered race, but I learned a lesson just now: MONEY MAKES ME EXERCISE.

I'm not a gym person. I don't want to have an ongoing commitment with a trainer or coach. But a fun road race where my mantras will once again be DON'T STOP RUNNING and YOU PAID FOR THIS...That'll motivate me to workout today.

I will surely be much slower than I was in October/November last year when I was regularly running, and running at a fast clip. And my running partner has much shorter legs than I do.

But it's okay. This looks like it will be a really fun race.

And, I've got my sights set on a 15k in September...

Hiking Pedra Grande in São Paulo

I used to live in Tucson, Arizona, which is completely surrounded by mountains and trails and wilderness parks and NATURE. It's very easy to escape the demands of civilization and renew your perspective on all of life's worries. Some people feel this with the ocean... I'm definitely a mountain gal.

Now I live in one of the world's biggest urban centers, and I don't have a car. I really crave escaping the city on a nearly daily basis, so I decided to see what I can do using the methods (and budget) I have available.

There are wilderness areas sprinkled around the outside of São Paulo, but there is a lack of accurate information available about them online. No surprise there, if you've ever been outside North America or Western Europe. The best you can do in this situation is to start the journey without having all of the answers. Adventure!

In the Parque Estadual da Cantareira, there is a small mountain called Pedra Grande. This is NOT the Pedra Grande in Atibaia. This is much closer to São Paulo and much less remote.



I searched for directions on how to get there using the public transport options on Google Maps. As of April 2015, Google is incorrect. It lists several bus lines that simply do not exist and/or do not go anywhere near the park. My boyfriend and I spent a very frustrating half-hour grilling bus station attendants about this before we decided to take a taxi. We figured out how to take a bus back, and now we know for next time.

DIRECTIONS
Go to Metro Parada Inglesa (blue line) and take bus 2020-10 to the very last stop on Rua do Horto. It stops right in front of a city park, and then it turns around to go back to the metro station. Continue walking north, uphill, on Rua do Horto until you reach the entrance to Parque Estadual da Cantareira. It's 10-15 minutes of walking from the bust stop, and it's in a nice neighborhood.

HOURS
Open weekends and holidays, 8am-5pm
We got there around 9:30am on a holiday, and it was busy!

PRICE
R$14 for most people, R$7 for students and seniors.

After we got in the park, Silas and I decided to go straight for the Pedra Grande. The trail there is paved or semi-paved the whole way. There were lots of trail runners, but we just power walked. I can't even call it hiking really, because the hills in my neighborhood are much steeper.

We couldn't hear the city. It was awesome.

Here's looking south from the tallest point in the park, on top of Pedra Grande.

There are several side trails that are not paved, including one that leads to a monkey colony (supposedly). Here's a nice topographical map of the whole park which shows the main trail but not the side ones. We stuck to the clearly marked and giant-spider-free trail and continued further north into the park. At the end of this main trail is a pond and picnic area.

We fed the fish and then headed back to the entrance. 

From the entrance to the top of Pedra Grande and back is 9.6km. The lake is about 3 more kilometers added on to the total hike, so a total of 13km, give or take. Getting to the metro and back, and wandering around looking for the bus gave us 7+km. Our morning outing was over 20km.

It felt awesome to get into the jungle and out of the cementscape that is São Paulo. Deff going back here again.