Disclaimer: My RRs are long and this one is no exception. I know that it will sound more like a trip report than a true race report. And I know that I race like a monkey. It's not that I want to make a mockery of running (I have too much respect for our sport for that), it's just that I don't take my own racing seriously enough. I just want to be happy when I race, nothing more... I'm well aware that I'm not very good at it (racing). But because it brings me joy, just like traveling does, I like to write about both when I can. I apologize in advance and I will completely understand if you decide to skip this RR.

INTRO

Last August, I bought two plane tickets to Cancun, Mexico, for my SO and myself, thinking that it would be fun to run the Cancun marathon on December 6th. At the time, I didn't know that I would end up running 2 marathons two weeks apart, one month before the Cancun race. After running NYCM, my second marathon, I had a hard time recovering completely. I felt tired and missed a lot of runs. I also had unusual symptoms, such as dizziness and blurred vision. One week before flying to Mexico, I went for my scheduled appointment with my cardiologist and received the news that what he initially thought was lung damage that had stabilized since my heart surgery 5 years ago, may in fact be something called Eisenmenger's Syndrome and is still progressing. I went home, read about Eisenmenger's Syndrome, and decided that I did not like that condition. So I rebelled by not running at all and I went into manic eating mode. I gained about 10 lbs in a short time. Looking back, now, I'm not very proud of my wallowing in self-pity...

SO and I do not like Cancun much (too commercial and touristy for our taste), but we do love Mexico. Doing a race there still sounded like it would be a fun experience despite my now poor level of fitness. I registered for the half-marathon the day before our arrival, with no hope of doing well, but thinking that maybe it would bring some mojo back into my (running) life. I knew that it would be hot at 4 pm, the start of the race, and that I had barely run an average of 20 mpw in the last 5 weeks, so I would have no speed. But I was hoping that I could still run 13.1 continuous miles despite the recent weight gain and the zero miles in the week prior to the race.

¡Viva México!

We arrived in Cancun on Friday afternoon and went to get our rental car immediately. We do not speak Spanish, despite having travelled to Mexico at least 20 times in the last 30 years. We are stupid. But, thankfully, the people of Mexico are patient, friendly and always welcoming. We managed to find the hotel that was hosting the race expo, after driving only 8 times in front of it and losing only one hour in the process. And yes, we are still together.  Once at the expo, I found out that Active.com had not had time to process my registration and I had to redo the whole thing (but without paying), in Spanish. Almost no one spoke any English there. It was fun! (and I mean it, as I see it as part of an experience. )

As I was leaving with my race bag, bib and shirt, I saw a young man sitting in a wheelchair outside. He had no legs, just his torso. The irony of him standing outside of the race expo struck me. I felt guilt over my worrying about my future running performance decline. I felt petty and like I had been giving myself some sense of importance that was in reality nothing but ridiculous arrogance in the big scheme of things.

We then drove an hour away outside of Cancun to settle in our hotel by the beach, where we would spend the next 4 nights, before leaving for the capital of the Yucatan, Merida, where the real Mexico would be waiting for us.

THE RACE

The Maraton de Cancun is a race that offers prize money in all three distances: the marathon, half-marathon and the 5k as well. Something equivalent to $1400.00, $1200.00 and $1000.00 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places overall. AG prizes are $800.00, $600.00 and $400.00, but the groups are divided this way: 39 and younger, 40-49 and 50-59. Apparently, people older than 59 in Mexico get to lay in a hammock all day and can never run again... It attracts many fast runners from all over Mexico, because of the money ($1400.00 goes a long way in a country where the official minimum wage is $5.00 US, PER DAY...). There were also about 4 or 5 Kenyans registered for the half-marathon, one woman amongst them. There were probably Kenyans in the marathon as well, but I have not looked at the results. Close to 700 participants in the half, many more for the 5k and less for the marathon. 3000 runners in all. About 15 Canadians registered in the half, maybe the same number of Europeans and probably about 15 Americans as well. The rest were all Mexicans. It starts at 4 pm, when the heat of the day is at its highest point. But it gets dark out after about 1 1/2-2 hours, so it cools down a bit.

HABLAS INGLES?

On Saturday, race day, we arrived in Cancun around 2 pm, just before the street closures. We found parking and located the start and finish lines, but could not tell which one was which (because we're so dumb that we did not see the "Entrada" and "Salida" words on the top banners... ). I walked around for about 30 minutes asking "Perdon me, habla ingles? No? Okay... Uh... Donde es el finito?" But I only received puzzled looks. Apparently the word finito is Italian and I'm a fool...

It looked like a big party was in its early preparation stage for later in the evening. There were platforms for shows, street vendors, games for kids, etc... Many local schools were represented by groups of young Mayan kids (12 to 15 years old, maybe) in their uniformly colored running clothes. They would later race the 5k and were busy doing strides, suddenly taking off at the speed of light, like flocks of birds. It was beautiful to see.

Trying to figure things out...

Kids team warming up

YO NO ME SIENTO BIEN.

After an hour of wandering around in the hot sun, we decided to seek shelter from the heat at the mall across the street and ended up at Chili's. SO ordered a beer and, because I was on vacation, I ordered a margarita and thought nothing of it. The one beer turned into 4 and the one margarita turned into 3, and a mojito was added on top, all within one hour (what can I say... We're Canadians...). My SO noticed that something was wrong with me when I said that I wished I were triangle (instead of trilingual) and I pompously announced that every "asshold" should have no more than one car (instead of every "household"). I also had trouble pushing on the floor foot pedal to flush the toilet after I went to pee. It seemed like I had no strength left in me. This made me giggle.  It was going to be an interesting race for me, no doubt.

Fifteen minutes before the start, I lined up in the crowd of runners. There were no corrals. I could not understand a word of what the other runners, and the announcer, were saying. I felt like I was in a foreign land. Oh wait.... I WAS in a foreign land! And I was drunk... They passed balloons to all the runners, which we released just before the start. In good Mexican fashion, the atmosphere was extremely festive. There were two pin-up girls at the start, a huge cake to mark the 30th anniversary of the Cancun marathon, a big honcho general with a bunch of medals on him, much Mexican pride and machismo and smiles all around.... And it was HOT (81*F).

Although I heard no sound that would indicate that the race had started, I was forced into slowly walking behind the mass of runners in front of me. When we got closer to the start line, I heard volunteers yell "Corred! Corred!" I later learned that our time was chipped only at the finish, there was no timing mat at the start. Or if there were, the chip time was not indicated in the results.  I lost precious minutes there. Not that it really mattered... My finish time would end up being atrocious one way or another, chip or no chip...

I'll give you my splits after (which are probably a new record of absurdity for me), but first I must tell you what it was like doing this race (which is what really matters to me anyway):

I started fast (fast for my poor present level of fitness). I tried to pass as many runners as I could in the first mile. After about 10 minutes, we ran in front of a hospital. This reminded me that I had forgotten to take my medication that morning. I thought about what a pain in the butt it would be for my SO if I were to die in Mexico... We also had not taken any medical insurance, because we're cheap and generally are careless. After the second mile, I noticed that my pace had slowed down. And then it hit me hard: I felt nauseated and very unwell overall. I decided that I would turn around at the intersection where all the 5k runners were turning. But when the time came I did not turn, because, drunk or not, I wanted the damned Mexican medal in my collection of international medals.  So I carried on, but slowed down a lot. I told myself that I would run the first half of the course, then walk the rest (I use that mind trick often in my races). But after succeeding in running 8 miles, an ingenious little voice in my head whispered that if I could run the entirety of the race without ever stopping, I would somehow miraculously not die from a premature Eisenmenger death. Guess what: I did not stop once, not even to drink or pee (which is quite an accomplishment in itself, considering all the liquid that was sitting in my bladder) and not even to vomit (though I really felt like it). So Eisenmenger can kiss my growing tush, it looks like I'll be annoying you with my ridiculous RRs for years to come. Sorry.  But yeah... aside from that, I was pretty slow and I certainly did not shine that day....

ASI QUE CREES QUE PUEDEN CORRER, EH? Hahaha...

I finished with an official gun time of 1:49:11, and a Garmin time of 1:47:14 for 13.27 miles, which is slower than most of my regular training runs of that distance when I'm feeling well and am sober. I was 7th in my 40-49 AG, out of 98 women. I was the eldest in that group. Had I been 8 months older, I would have won the 2nd place in the next AG, and $600.00 US (the actual 2nd place winner in that AG finished in 1:53. The 1st place winner finished in 1:43. I usually run the first half of my marathons in 1:42:00...). I finished 26th woman overall on about 300, and out of the 25 women who finished ahead of me, one was Kenyan, one was Japanese and the rest were Mexican. I was first Canadian, ahead of even the men. SHAME ON YOU, CANADIAN MEN!!!

A few things that I will fondly remember about this race:

1) I saw three beautiful Mayan warrior princesses flying with wings on their feet, on their way back to the finish line. One of them was no more than 4'10" tall and must have been half my weight. She finished in 1:27. The Kenyan men won the first four places, but the Mayan women dominated the race on the female side. The Kenyan woman placed 8th overall, with a 1:38 (but in all fairness to her, she was in my AG...)

2) I saw a Mexican dad who spotted his family, wife and kids, at around mile 6. His young sons started running beside him, wearing sandals. They were yelling "Papa! Papa!" and other stuff which I could not comprehend in my drunkenness. They all looked so happy and proud of the dad. It made me smile hugely.

3) I was cheered on loudly by Mexican ladies. "Bravo chica!". "Chica, vamos!" A show of female support and unity. I greatly appreciated.

4) I smelled fried foods, saw boats and flocks of green parrots and heard latina (o?) dance music and cheers in Spanish (which is also like beautiful music to my ears).

5) Strangely, though I ran poorly, I managed to pass people in the end. I wasn't really excited when I was passing women (because I was definitely not in a competitive mood), but I was all "eh, eh, eh..." when I was passing men (because I am ALWAYS in that mood. Female dominance! )

6) The last stretch before the finish line was on a poorly lit and deserted street (remember that it was pitch black by the time I finished) and to help the runners see better, spectators and volunteers had lined up on both sides of the road, with glow-in-the-dark sticks that they were waving. It was surreal, magical and wonderful. I knew I was finally coming home, just a few hundred meters away, and it was like entering some kind of running heaven. I didn't care about the finish time (good thing too or I would have been extremely unhappy...), I only cared about having reached my destination.

I crossed the finish line all alone and no longer drunk (but still looking it). I guess I sweated all the alcohol off... I think I was smiling because I was thinking about how good things have been for me for a very long time. It's normal to have some obstacles thrown at us once in a while and I still consider myself incredibly lucky. Plus, if I can enjoy racing while feeling sick, I'm sure I can handle pretty much anything.

La policia municipal was very interested in the little choreography put on by two young Coca-Cola girls wearing very short shorts.

What you've all been waiting to see (and I had not looked at it myself until now ):

Mile 1: 7:28

Mile 2: 7:48

Mile 3: 8:05

Mile 4: 7:58

Mile 5: 8:03

Mile 6: 8:01

Mile 7: 8:02

Mile 8: 8:05

Mile 9: 8:05

Mile 10: 8:10

Mile 11: 8:21

Mile 12: 8:30

Mile 13: 8:27

.27: 2:07

TOTAL: 1:47:14

I leave you with some pictures of our road trip, after we left the hotel near Cancun.

December 12th is a very important day for Mexicans. It is the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. In her honor, many Mexicans undertake some type of pilgrimage, or penance, where they run, a torch in one hand, for many days leading to the 12th of December. We were fortunate to see many of them on the roads. They would run day and night.

A hair salon that also sells furniture. How convenient!

A medical clinic. Dr Sini looks like the kind of doctor I'd like to have.

Spooky cemetery in the small fishing village of Chicxulub.

The busy streets of Merida, late at night.

My one picture of my SO (actually, I just wanted a picture of the Mexican 7-Eleven)

Two things I'm really good at: drinking margaritas and planning itineraries.

Poc Chuc (Yucatecan pork)

Turkey in three types of sauce (verde, mole and something else spicy). It was delicious!

The restaurant, called Chaya. Located in Merida, a city of about 1 million people on the Gulf Coast.

A beach in Progreso, on the Gulf of Mexico. It is filled with fishing boats and restaurants where the beer is $2 and they will keep bringing you amazing botanas, for free, as long as you drink... I also had a 60 minute massage there for $20. Best of all, almost no ingles speaking tourists there. 

One of the many nativity scenes we saw in Merida. To our surprise, baby Jesus was never there, which prompted my SO to declare that he had been kidnapped by the Mexican drug cartel. A very tasteless joke, I agree. But it made me laugh each time he said it.

And I have many more, but it's taking me forever to export them and I'm tired, so I will leave you now. You are spared.  Thanks for reading if you have made it so far.

All I can say is "Three marge and a mojito and still a 1:47!!" Hell ya! Sounds like a fun trip, Lily, even if Cancun is a big tourist trap. A 10 lb, weight gain? Judging by your pictures, I don't believe you. I hope you are feeling good, or at least better than you were.

Fun report as always. Have not had a chance to google the condition you have, but I sincerely hope everything works out well for you. Most importantly, well done to convince yourself to run the half rather than full. A pretty damn impressive time & placing for running drunk & unmedicated in 81 degree heat. Always setting new challenges for yourself! And what was that woman doing wearing tights in those temps?

An enjoyable read as always. Congrats on the race and finish.

I have never run under the influence but another lifetime ago beer and baseball was the rule not the exception. Fun times.

Good stuff!  The weight gain agrees with you, maybe you have stumbled upon something there. It certainly would not hurt anything to run with it for awhile. Hopefully everything works out for you, I like having you around.

impressive running in that heat with all that alcohol churning!  Super impressed chica! Congrats on another great race.

Holy tequila batman.  Even drunk, you are still better than most.   I am no shrinking violet when it comes to a good margarita and I just can't imagine doing this.  I'd want a medal for making it back to my hotel room.   You know how to do things up right, that's for sure.  Thanks for sharing you adventures.  Love the pictures and I covet that running top.

Interesting RR as always, great pictures, and congrats !! I went to Cancun once and thought it was fun, truly a relaxing place. That was in the early 90's though pre-hurricane and hope to get back.