Running in Guadalajara

Running in Guadalajara


July 4th 2010
By: Gina Roman

While millions of Americans rant and rave about Independence Day in the U. S., Mexicans celebrate the fact that it is another weekend. Have you ever heard someone say that life in Mexico is always a fiesta? That is one of the reasons among others why many people love it here because of its exquisite cuisine,its breath taking landscapes, and because it is so full of life and bright colors. Especially Guadalajara, which holds one of the best climates throughout Mexico and it is fairly safe considering the fact that it is the second largest city here; it gets a bit flooded during the rainy season which turns the roads into a disaster but not to worry because there is a simple and easy solution, you can buy a boat. Now, don’t panic, look at it from a positive perspective you can get a good arm workout when moving those paddles back and forth.
Never mind on the good workout because a lot of people here don’t like to work out. Being a health and fitness advisor on the side, (I mostly do it as a hobby) I hear all kinds of excuses from my clients or just people in general about not being able to get in shape. One of them is that there is always something to celebrate. Most of the times they are so predictable, they end up saying exactly what I had thought because I pull many of those lame and tedious excuses myself. I sit there listening to every single word they say “Oh Gina, but I exercise on a regular basis, but I just got on the new diet, but I do a two hour power walk almost every day, oh, but I go to the gym regularly.” Many times I hesitate whether or not to ask them what they eat because I know what their answer will be. They eat the entire refrigerator every day! What many people don’t understand is that it is not about what we eat, it is about how much we eat. Seriously, think about quantity,. dieting is not a good idea, people have always been confused as to getting on a diet and leading a healthy diet, I see skeptical eyes every time they ask what I do to stay in shape “I’ve never gone on a single diet in my life I tell them,” but they don’t buy it.
Speaking of festivities and liveliness, I’ve always found it difficulty here to stay focused and disciplined on the weekends because something always pulls me away from my weekly goals as far as my workouts. Every weekend I think that nothing will happen but someone always calls to invite me to a bar, to someone’s birthday celebration, or to have dinner. For example last night I had a friend and her boyfriend over for dinner, I gave them a ride back to their place because it was kind of late plus it was raining so by the time I went to bed it was much later than expected so this morning I had such a hard time waking up and getting myself out of bed.
When I was finally able to get myself together I went to pick up my mom, we went to la via recreativa, recreational Sunday where all the main roads and streets in Guadalajara are closed from 8am to 2pm for runners, cyclists, skaters, walkers or families to spend quality time by playing games or doing different recreational activities. I wasn’t in the mood to go on an intensive run so I walked for about 15 minutes and then I had a lazy run with my mother for another 35 minutes. I didn’t even break a sweat and now I’m feeling the guilt trip because yesterday I ate everything I could get my hands on but it’s ok, I am entitled to do that every once in a while because most of the times I kick my butt at the gym.
One of the biggest distractions to stay in shape is FOOD! Sometimes when people invite me over for dinner, I am over indulged with all these Mexican goodies, pozole, tacos, tortas, tamales, enchiladas, mole carne ‘asada, beans made with lard, fried rice. They say, “mija comete otro tamalito, estas muy flaquita y palida, te vas a romper” have another tamalito, you’re so skinny and pale, you’re going to break.”
Before I couldn’t handle so much insistence and I always gave in to the pressure even against my will because the fact of someone getting offended makes me nervous and I don’t like hurting peoples’ feelings. When it comes to situations like this Mexicans can get very sensitive because they’re givers, they love to share but they hate it when they are rejected, they take it very personal. I’ve learned to handle that and explain to people without making them feel rejected, I tell them that I am in the health area and that is why it is important for me to watch what I stick in my mouth so they have taken it better that they even ask me for tips and advice. That’s how I’ve gotten a few clients here and there. Life in Mexico can be very tempting and it will throw you off track as many times as you let it but it really boils down to us, we are the first individual we have to fight against and control it is really up to us to control our hungry monster within
I recall those long weeks and months in college when I used to switch to nun mode without a problem especially when I was competing. I didn’t have a single drop of alcohol in months. As much as I loved drinking and partying I didn’t do it because I loved running so I learned to sacrifice some things after I was almost kicked out of the cross country and track teams. The first semester at university when I started competing I was a non tiring partying animal that I ended up being the bad influence of the team, I’d always talk my teammates into partying out the night before and topping it off with a disgustingly heavy and greasy meal at three or four in the morning the day before we competed. One day my coach couldn’t put up with it anymore because I wasn’t performing the way I should have, she said, “Yoryet, look, I know you’re young and you want to have fun and I won’t tell you what to do because you’re old enough to make your own decisions but you need to decide, you can either keep on partying and eat as much junk as you want but you are out of them team or you can put all those habits aside and stop bad influencing your teammates and give it your best shot, it’s your call.” At that moment I felt as if someone had dumped a cold bucket of water on me. Right then and there I decided that I could still do both, party as hard as I could when I was off season and put that on hold when I competed but I had to prioritize immediately. From thereon I stopped pulling all nighters and I trained like a mad man on season. There were many nights when I was all frustrated and bitter because I wasn’t partying out “enough” but I told myself that I had chosen that temporary road which gave me a sense of accomplishment as time went by.
Even though now partying is not a big issue because I am a lot older, I still come across small obstacles from time to time. I’ve managed to run a couple of marathons, I’ve worked as a fitness trainer on and off for a while, I’m at the gym at six in the morning (sometimes I wish there were 24 hour fitness centers or at least open at 5 in the morning) and I still do my regular Sunday runs which I enjoy for the most part because even running in Mexico is such a huge celebration as in the U. S. it is so plain and boring. When I run a 21k or a 42.1k I feel as if I were at a concert because they play loud music, they let multi-colored balloons into the air, there are so many people on their front porch so hyped up, feeling the adrenaline, whistling, cheering and giving out water, slices of orange, candy and different things to keep runners hydrated and energized. One of my favorite things is that at the end of each race every single runner gets a medal. That is an awesome way to get motivated.



FCC Invitational - Women's Overall
http://www.proracegroup.com/fcc02/women.html

DyeStatCal - California High School track on DyeStat
http://www.dyestatcal.com/results/xc2002/020914fresnoinvitationalcomcollege.htm

FCC Invitational - Women's Team
http://www.proracegroup.com/fcc02/womteam.html

DirectAthletics | ARC 4-Way Women's 800m Run
http://www.directathletics.com/results/track/592_20864.html?athlete_hnd=94635

DirectAthletics | ARC 4-Way Women's 1500m Run
http://www.directathletics.com/results/track/592_20865.html?athlete_hnd=70330

DirectAthletics | Northern California Championships

http://www.directathletics.com/results/xc/210.html