gran canaria half marathon

Just over a week ago I ran the Gran Canaria half marathon, and I have never been so glad to be done with 13.1 miles in my life.

Some lessons learned:

+ Just because your hotel tells you over the phone that they are the hotel right next to the starting line for the island's only marathon does not meant they actually are said hotel. "Oh, no, that's our sister hotel!"

+ You might assume that water and a PowerBar or a banana would be relatively easy to come by at the start of a multi-thousand-strong race. You would be incorrect.

+ You would also be incorrect to assume that it would be possible to pick up your race numbers on the day of the race. Everyone knew that it was necessary to pick up the race packets the day before and that they would totally not be available after that point; why didn't we?

Ultimately we were allowed to run the race (thanks ever so kindly, race volunteers!), but I started out about a full minute per mile faster than my goal pace and the first refreshments stop was 5K into the race, so I spent that first 5K feeling miserable because I was dehydrated and starving, the second 5K feeling miserable because I horfed down too much banana and water, and the last 11K walk/jogging with Stephen, whose left leg has been hurty for a couple of months and decided to give out on him. So basically overall, nobody's greatest race ever.

Having said that, my offical time was 2:29:33, which is pretty good for a first half marathon! It's also about 20 minutes slower than my goal pace, so in spite of the fact that I finished the Gran Canaria half cursing everything about running, I am glad to have a chance to try again in the Lufthansa half on March 10th -- you know, just over six weeks away. (Ahh!)

an ode to kartoffelpuffer

Oh, German potato pancakes! I love them so. There are plenty of bad ones out there, but the ones at this one stand at the Frankfurter Weihnachtsmarkt were consistently tasty: crisp and crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, flecked with bits of onion, served with an excellent garlic quark (similar to Greek yogurt). I may have eaten a few more than I needed to (at three a serving when they're close to the size of my hand, it's easy to see how this might happen), but that only means I'll be able to survive until the next time I get them a little bit better, since I am sure not craving them right now. (During Christmas market season, it was a near-constant gnawing in the stomach.) They're particularly good with a little hot sauce, as we discovered when we brought along Frank's and Tabasco. And of course they're best of all when eaten while dressed as Santa. Till next time, Kartoffelpuffer!

frankfurt winter

  
Some things I did in Frankfurt in December before heading to NYC and Virginia for Christmas:

+ visited the Christmas market many times

+ saw a roller skating Christmas tree at Galeria Kaufhof

+ had fabulous fondue at Tatjana and Joachim's (and learned about the Swiss tradition of having to take a shot of Kirchwasser for every piece of bread you drop . . . it was not long before people were throwing pieces of bread into the fondue pot on purpose)

+ hung out at the Anglo Irish, a.k.a. the smokiest bar in Sachsenhausen

+ had lovely appetizers and Feuerzangenbowle

2013 resolutions

I started out this post with a list of 18 things that I wanted to absolutely definitely do in 2013, which is . . . kind of a lot. Let's try again, with four.

1. Run a marathon.
In high school my assistant track coach told me he was convinced I was going to run a marathon someday, and I basically laughed in his face. And now I've got two half marathons on the schedule for 2013 already (Gran Canaria on January 20th and Frankfurt on March 10th) and have figured I may as well accept my fate. Pretty much the only questions I've got are: when and where? I'm thinking fall, but the location is TBD.

2. Learn calligraphy.
I did not quite get my act together enough to buy myself the supplies and coursework for the I Still Love Calligraphy class by Melissa Esplin, which was my original plan for Big Thing I Want for Christmas 2012. I've been obsessed with stationery and hand lettering for ages, and am excited to get into developing my own calligraphy practice.

3. Complete the first draft of a novel.
This was a goal last year, too, and I didn't precisely set myself up for success by putting it off until NaNoWriMo in Novemeber -- when I was also already training for a half marathon five times a week. I like the NaNoWriMo concept, and am going to be picking a different month to give it another go this year.

4. Move.
I'll consider this resolution satisfied if I'm living in a different apartment this time next year, but really the goal is not to move for the sake of moving so much as it is to be moving forward. I've been in the same apartment for not quite three years, and in addition to being physically stationary I'm feeling stagnant.

From the original list of 18, some other stuff I would just plain like to do this year:

* go on another Weinwanderung * continue the hunt for the world's most magnificent beaches * be more conscious of my spending * prioritize swimming for exercise * add speedwork and strength training into my running routine * go on a wine weekend in the Pfalz * concentrate on people photography

Current travel plans on the agenda:

+ Gran Canaria with Stephen - January 19-23
+ ski trip to the Innsbruck, Austria area with friends - late February
+ Kelley visitation to Frankfurt or elsewhere - late March
+ Mom visitation to Frankfurt or elsewhere - spring, maybe?
+ Conor's college graduation in Vermont & some time in Stone Harbor - late May/early June