I forgot to mention that Greg and I rented a house. It is at KM 21- which needs some explaining. Bariloche is a mountain town of about 150,000 people. The ski season ended about 5 days before we arrived. It is surrounded by mountains and on a huge lake, large enough to have tides (250 miles around I think...) The entire town- grocery stores, shopping, pharmacy, etc... is in town. Restaurants and breweries are the few things located randomly outside of town. There is one bus that will take you to where we live, and it comes once every 30 min. or so- no schedule, of course, as this is Argentina.
So- if you haven't guessed by now, we live 21 km outside of town. When we booked it, we were training for the marathon and running 21+ km on a regular basis. It really didn't seem that far.......
So now we have a car (details of buying it are worthy of their own blog post). A 1990 Renault 12- that runs off natural gas. Natural gas is 1.25 pesos per liter, and regular gasoline is 3.57 per liter. For those of you living in the US and not living like the rest of the world and using the metric system, there are approx. 4 liters to a gallon. We can switch to regular gasoline if needed- but find the natural gas to be the best thing about the car.
The best part is that we can probably sell the car in 4-6 mo. for exactly what we paid for it, if not more. Used cars are ridiculously overpriced here- so if you have an old car that is worth nothing in the states, bring it to Argentina- you will instantly triple the value of the thing. Needless to say, we can now drive and explore the rest of Patagonia- spending about 16 pesos for every 400 km we go.
A few fun facts before I go. The speedometer on the car does not work. While we were worried about speeding tickets- police in Argentina are not allowed to pull you over for anything at all.... there are no such things as moving violations. Government offices in Argentina- those needed to fill out the paperwork for buying a car- are only open from 9-12 M-F. You need to go to 4 different government offices to get random papers in order to buy the car. You need to go back to three of them to get stamped after completing different forms. Shaving cream stops windows from fogging on a car. Stereos are not common in cars- and are commonly stolen out of cars. Water pouring in through the window seal can be fixed with the addition of a few towels in the car. Locks on cars are overrated. Stop signs are arbitrary- just pay attention and honk a lot.
More on this another time :)
Friday, 23 October 2009
Never a Dull Moment
Argentina- it has taught me more patience than I could have ever thought possible. The simplest tasks take all day- and I have yet to have even half a week where everything goes smoothly. However, I have learned so much patience that the ridiculousness of my situations no longer phase me. I started school again at the beginning of October, and of course, day one was filled with chaos- just as the last semester beginning was.
I had just finished my shower when the doorbell rang. Greg answered it- and I went about my business. I quickly learned that a pipe had broken and was causing water to pour into the apartment below us. The apartment below is actually an office- and the water was conveniently pouring directly onto a computer. The computer gods had chosen another target, at least!
However, this was a problem. We immediately had to turn off the water in the entire apartment and call our landlord. Well, our landlord- a 29 yr. old California girl whose parents had bought her this apartment- was in Mexico and then headed to the US for a few weeks after. She also forgot to leave someone in charge.... So Greg and I moved into a hotel for 3 days while we tried to sort things out. We had no water, afterall- so no toilet, shower, sink, etc.... By the time the plumber was called- it was now Friday afternoon and the people below had left. The plumber needed to get into the apartment below in order to see what was going on. He looked at things in our apartment and turned on the water for a while. But no more could be done until he could see below. So now we were stuck until Monday.
Monday comes- we come to apartment and meet the plumber. We are greeted by a note (written in English- really terrible English- but the point was made), stating we are being sued by the people below us for not shutting off the water. Apparently, the carpet had gotten wet and the computer had been moved back to right under the hole with water pouring through it. The plumber had turned the water back on to try to assess the situation- but apparently this was still our fault.
The plumber says he needs to rip up the floor- new floors I might add (the apartment was completely gutted and redone before we moved in). This will take a week- in Argentine time that is. Our landlord- still in another country- asks us to move out that day. Great- we have a marathon in just shy of a week, work, school work, and four hours to find an apartment when it usually takes a few weeks. So we search for a place, pack up , and move into a studio apartment that is about the size of my bedroom in the States. We decide to move out of BA completely and go to Bariloche- about 1200 miles south of BA in Patagonia.
So now, here we are. It is beautiful- breathtaking really. And it all worked out. The only catch- we have had winter now for over a year- and we were eagerly awaiting Summer and warmth- and we woke up to several inches of snow. It has not let up all day- and is not supposed to for as long as the weather website shows. I will wear flipflops and shorts again one day.....
I had just finished my shower when the doorbell rang. Greg answered it- and I went about my business. I quickly learned that a pipe had broken and was causing water to pour into the apartment below us. The apartment below is actually an office- and the water was conveniently pouring directly onto a computer. The computer gods had chosen another target, at least!
However, this was a problem. We immediately had to turn off the water in the entire apartment and call our landlord. Well, our landlord- a 29 yr. old California girl whose parents had bought her this apartment- was in Mexico and then headed to the US for a few weeks after. She also forgot to leave someone in charge.... So Greg and I moved into a hotel for 3 days while we tried to sort things out. We had no water, afterall- so no toilet, shower, sink, etc.... By the time the plumber was called- it was now Friday afternoon and the people below had left. The plumber needed to get into the apartment below in order to see what was going on. He looked at things in our apartment and turned on the water for a while. But no more could be done until he could see below. So now we were stuck until Monday.
Monday comes- we come to apartment and meet the plumber. We are greeted by a note (written in English- really terrible English- but the point was made), stating we are being sued by the people below us for not shutting off the water. Apparently, the carpet had gotten wet and the computer had been moved back to right under the hole with water pouring through it. The plumber had turned the water back on to try to assess the situation- but apparently this was still our fault.
The plumber says he needs to rip up the floor- new floors I might add (the apartment was completely gutted and redone before we moved in). This will take a week- in Argentine time that is. Our landlord- still in another country- asks us to move out that day. Great- we have a marathon in just shy of a week, work, school work, and four hours to find an apartment when it usually takes a few weeks. So we search for a place, pack up , and move into a studio apartment that is about the size of my bedroom in the States. We decide to move out of BA completely and go to Bariloche- about 1200 miles south of BA in Patagonia.
So now, here we are. It is beautiful- breathtaking really. And it all worked out. The only catch- we have had winter now for over a year- and we were eagerly awaiting Summer and warmth- and we woke up to several inches of snow. It has not let up all day- and is not supposed to for as long as the weather website shows. I will wear flipflops and shorts again one day.....
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Break It Down
So.... The marathon is over. I could not be happier. When I started the training process, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I figured that since I could run one mile, how hard could doing that 25 more times really be? Needless to say, mile 26 is not as easy as mile 1 :) So I thought I should break it down.... Please excuse the randomness of the order :)
15- most miles I had ever run before starting to train.
1- number of times that I did that
3- usual max I could run
6- # of knee surgeries endured prior- and the reason I am not a runner
10- minutes it took me to run an easy mile in the beginning
8:20- minutes it took me to run a mile easily in the end
5- # of stray dogs that randomly decided to join Greg and i on our training runs
1.2- average # of miles run by each dog that joined us
47- Gatorade's drank by Greg and I during the training
47- Gatorade's drank by Greg and I during and after the race :)
18- "# of weeks until glory"- as put by Hal Higdon... also known as # of weeks of self inflicted training pain
458- miles run in the 18 weeks- not including the marathon
138,336- distance in feet of a marathon
1,660,032- distance in inches of a marathon
2,1418,240- distance in feet I ran during marathon training
29,018,880- distance in inches I ran during marathon training
70.6- hours spent running for training
37- times I wanted to quit
Infinite- times I cursed Greg while running
Infinite x2- number of apologies given after cursing Greg
916,000- steps needed for Greg to run 458 miles (approx.).....
1,374,000- steps needed for my fabulously short legs to cover the same distance
8- blisters on my feet throughout the training
13- miles I now think are easy to run
10- water bottles I dumped on my head during the marathon
3- Gu's needed while running
4- times the Gu made me vomit while running
4- times I was knocked down by other people during training
4371- dog piles I jumped over while training
0- dog piles I stepped in while training
178- times I have circled the track around the park in Buenos Aires
3- toe nails lost while running the marathon :( (due to the wet socks from pouring water on my head)
2- times I cried while training
2- pairs of shoes worn out
18- ice cream cone rewards
90- age I felt the day after the race
67- age Greg felt the day after the race
2- days it took to be able to walk down stairs
3- weeks it takes for your body to completely heal
40- minutes it rained during the race
70- cost in pesos to enter the race
2:13:10- time it took for the winner of the marathon to run the race
4:18:15- time it took me to run the race
2:05:05- time spent relaxing by the winner before I could join him
4:32:08- average time to complete a marathon in the US... for a MAN
5:06:08- average time it take to complete a marathon for a woman
1- percent of people in the world that will ever run a marathon
Priceless- finishing it and having the medal to prove it!
And a quote from Lance Armstrong that I could not agree with more...
When Lance Armstrong ran the NYC Marathon last year, he was quoted as saying, "Even after experiencing one of the hardest days of the Tour nothing has ever left me feeling this bad...[it was] the hardest physical thing I have ever done."
15- most miles I had ever run before starting to train.
1- number of times that I did that
3- usual max I could run
6- # of knee surgeries endured prior- and the reason I am not a runner
10- minutes it took me to run an easy mile in the beginning
8:20- minutes it took me to run a mile easily in the end
5- # of stray dogs that randomly decided to join Greg and i on our training runs
1.2- average # of miles run by each dog that joined us
47- Gatorade's drank by Greg and I during the training
47- Gatorade's drank by Greg and I during and after the race :)
18- "# of weeks until glory"- as put by Hal Higdon... also known as # of weeks of self inflicted training pain
458- miles run in the 18 weeks- not including the marathon
138,336- distance in feet of a marathon
1,660,032- distance in inches of a marathon
2,1418,240- distance in feet I ran during marathon training
29,018,880- distance in inches I ran during marathon training
70.6- hours spent running for training
37- times I wanted to quit
Infinite- times I cursed Greg while running
Infinite x2- number of apologies given after cursing Greg
916,000- steps needed for Greg to run 458 miles (approx.).....
1,374,000- steps needed for my fabulously short legs to cover the same distance
8- blisters on my feet throughout the training
13- miles I now think are easy to run
10- water bottles I dumped on my head during the marathon
3- Gu's needed while running
4- times the Gu made me vomit while running
4- times I was knocked down by other people during training
4371- dog piles I jumped over while training
0- dog piles I stepped in while training
178- times I have circled the track around the park in Buenos Aires
3- toe nails lost while running the marathon :( (due to the wet socks from pouring water on my head)
2- times I cried while training
2- pairs of shoes worn out
18- ice cream cone rewards
90- age I felt the day after the race
67- age Greg felt the day after the race
2- days it took to be able to walk down stairs
3- weeks it takes for your body to completely heal
40- minutes it rained during the race
70- cost in pesos to enter the race
2:13:10- time it took for the winner of the marathon to run the race
4:18:15- time it took me to run the race
2:05:05- time spent relaxing by the winner before I could join him
4:32:08- average time to complete a marathon in the US... for a MAN
5:06:08- average time it take to complete a marathon for a woman
1- percent of people in the world that will ever run a marathon
Priceless- finishing it and having the medal to prove it!
And a quote from Lance Armstrong that I could not agree with more...
When Lance Armstrong ran the NYC Marathon last year, he was quoted as saying, "Even after experiencing one of the hardest days of the Tour nothing has ever left me feeling this bad...[it was] the hardest physical thing I have ever done."
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