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.

Workout Report

This week in running brought...

1. I tried out running in the business district after morning classes. It started pouring down rain just as I started running, but I didn't mind that. I did mind jammed sidewalks full of pokey umbrellas. I felt awkward going in and out of the building in my running clothes all dripping wet. But it's better than not running at all, right? Also, I ran my planned circuit in a clockwise direction, whereas the flow of foot traffic is in a counterclockwise direction. I'm going to try it again on Friday, but smarter this time.

Kind of where I run... except the river path is inaccessible from anywhere close by. 

I ran about 3km, which was a little disappointing. My legs felt strong but my cardio sucks. I decided to stick with skipping rope on days I don't run.

2. I did another jump rope circuit, but this time I counted my jumps instead of my time. I like counting things, because it helps me not get bored, it keeps me motivated, and it puts me in a zen-like attitude. When I am in a lot of pain (period cramps, or vaccinations, for example), I count to keep my mind off of the pain. There's probably something in psychology textbooks about this.

Drylands

From middle school through high school I swam every day except Sundays. Two or three times a week after practice we would have additional "drylands" workouts. To a swimmer, this means any physical thing that isn't swimming. 

I like to call my non-running workouts drylands workouts as well. Usually I don't like drylands. I'm not a fan of gyms or weight rooms, cardio stuff is my weakness right now, my arms have always been shrimpy, and who likes planks (not me).

I didn't work this morning, and I didn't feel like running hills, but I really need to whip my cardio into shape. Here's what I did:

1:00 jump rope

15 wall pushups

20 lunges

(repeat all 5x)

This, plus a little stretching, took less than 30 minutes. 

Now, I've seen fancy weighted jump ropes, all different types of cords, wooden handles, foam handles, molded grip handles. I've tried lots of them because I was curious. Is my lack of appearing to jump rope like Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby simply because I had the wrong jump rope?

Deff don't look like that when I skip rope

That question was rhetorical. Obviously it comes down to getting in shape regardless of the tools you have at your disposal. I just happen to have a jump rope that I got from a free event that is the best jump rope I have ever used. 

My high-tech jump rope

The handles are slim and plastic. The cord is a translucent hardish plastic that really stings if you hit yourself with it (ahem). And the handles rotate around the cord without making it all twisted up when you're jumping (that's the most important quality for a jump rope to possess IMO). 

Jump roping kicked my butt today, cardio-wise. I think I have a good amount of muscle because I have to climb a mountain just to get to the metro station, but my cardio and active recovery is pitiful. Here's my resolution to add this into my workouts three times a week!

Do you use jump ropes? Do you like the rope you have?

Life Update! Or, how hills are ruining my life

I moved from Dubai to São Paulo in January 2015. Four months later and I'm feeling more settled in, getting a hang of the language, and am comfortable with my job. Unfortunately though, I haven't exercised with much consistency.

I've run a handful of times, and each time I felt blaaahhh afterwards. Remembering that feeling doesn't help when I'm deciding to stay inside and read or go out and run.

Also, my neighborhood is known as being hip and cool, and pretty crime-free compared to most of São Paulo. Why is that? because IT'S FREAKIN HARD TO RUN HERE! So hard that most robbers are all, 'Damn, I don't wanna run up that hill!' I can't blame them, cuz I don't either. I'm either running knee-pounding downhills with crooked sidewalks that hurt my ankles (and even my knees when I walk a lot), or lung-busting uphills that can compete with the best San Francisco has to offer.

Aw, a beautiful rainbow that, oddly enough, mimics the topography of the neighborhood it is shining on.

I've considered a few options to avoid the hills and find somewhere more 'Alisa Approved.'

1. Walk to a park about 25 minutes away
   Pros: Awesome paths, free exercise machinery, no cars inside the park
   Cons: It takes 25 minutes to get there, and then I will run, and then walk UPHILL back. 1:30+ for a workout is not my idea of convenient.
2. Run downhill to a bike path along the Pinheiros River; take a bus back
   Pros: The sidewalks along this route are mostly wide and flat, pretty river scenery
   Cons: The bus costs money, the river stinks, and the bike path is adjacent to a super noisy highway.
3. Run in a flat business district after I finish teaching morning classes
   Pros: It's flat, and easy to access since I'll already be there
   Cons: It's a business district and is congested with people and traffic. There's also construction in the area. I usually feel devoid of energy after morning classes.

Don't be deceived. Were this facing the other way, you would see sheer cliff.

Option #3 is looking the most attractive at this moment, but that means I'll need to get my life a lot more organized. I'll need to go to bed earlier so I have enough energy after class. I'll need to eat food before I leave for work and pack a post-class snack and a post-run snack. I'll need to stay on top of my laundry so I have clean workout clothes for the days that I need it. Aaand uhhh deodorant. I'll need to pack that.