Corriendo en Mexico

Just home from a great vacation!  Took a week off and the Loving Man and I, (plus the 2 perros) went down to our favorite home away from home - our little beach casita in Puerto Lobos.

The town of Lobos is very small and very rustic. Basically, it is a Mexican fishing village.  No electricity, no fresh water.  A place where the Sonoran desert meets the Sea of Cortez.  As simple and beautiful as it gets.  We have a little house made of rock and a solar plant that powers it.  We truck in water to our holding tank so we have fresh water showers.  Peaceful and relaxing.

But not a vacation from running!  My Monday - Saturday schedule was 4, 3, rest, 5, 3 and a 10. Due to a little Hurricane named Julio, I was able to run under cloudy skies and temperatures about 15 degrees cooler than typical for this time of year.  Humidity??!  Well, how about 96%?! Running at sea level is always an advantage, but throw in that kind of humidity!!!  Yikes!!

So I got up early and did my runs.  There are several dirt roads and trails around the little village so running is a delight.  Not many cars down here either!  In fact, I think I got all my runs in with only one car passing by me!  But here is the highlight of the week:

On Thursday I had a 3 mile run to do, so I decided to go up a hill toward the "airport", which is a clearing with a dirt runway.  I have never seen a plane come to town, but perhaps there was a time when they did.  Anyway, it sits on a mesa, just about 1.5 miles from our little house.  So off I went.

All of the sudden, I had a running partner!  Here comes a skinny Mexican guy, in running shorts and shoes and he joins me, running along side me and talking to me in Spanish!  Well, my brain is a bit disabled when it comes to communicating in Spanish, but we did get a few things understood.  1) His name is Ray.  2) He is training for a big race in Mazatlan in February, 3) Hills are good for the heart, 4) I run slower than him because I am poquita gorda (a little bit fat).  He got a laugh out of that one.  It was fun.  He was about 5' 4" and ran with a spring in his step along side my plodding.  My guess is he will finish his Big Race in Mazatlan at a much faster pace than I finish mine!  We parted on the way back and indicated we would run together some more.

Running in Mexico is a treat for me.  I run past little houses with chickens and baby chicks in the yards.  Mothers with their babies smile and wave as I go by (probably thinking - look at the loca gringa!)  I run past giant cactuses with Vultures roosting on each arm.  Ospreys, Herons, Pelicans are all part of the scene.  And the best part is, the ocean is always on the horizon.  If you click on the picture above you can see the Sea of Cortez to the right of "Black Mountain".

Loving Man got to fish everyday and brought us home a very large Grouper.  I got to see 3 whales, 1000's of dolphins, several Sea Lions, 2 Manta Rays jump, and 3 Marlin jump.  The seas were calm and the peace and rest were delightful.