Runners North-Monterrey 5000m
Rabbiting Duties
Following the HP Houston Marathon, I was invited to participate in an elite 5000m track race in Monterrey, Mexico on February 13th, 2005. At the time, I felt I would be recovered and ready to run hard and compete at a high level. However, subsequent training tests and workouts indicated I was in a far deeper depletion-hole than I thought, and thus had to cancel on the race, but I followed through with the trip with my wife, Perla.
Perla was born in Nuevo Leon (General Bravo, about 1 hour outside the city limits of Monterrey) and had not been to Monterrey since her high school days, so she joined me on the voyage to run the accompanying 10K road race.
Flying down to the Harlingen Airport on Friday night, we were welcomed with a cherry red Ford Mustang convertible- the "economy car" I had rented from Enterprise. We drove the hour to McAllen and stayed the night at a Motel 6 before heading out for the Reynosa border check early Saturday morning. Here's where things got interesting: I was not allowed to drive the rental car into Mexico. Why? I already had a "permiso" (permit) for my own personal car, Nelly, when we drove down to General Bravo for the funeral of Perla's grandmother in Jan of 2004. So, I was not allowed to have two "permisos" at one time and had to cancel my personal car one first. So, I figured I could pay a fine and get it taken care of: nope. I had to drive the car down and they had to see it in person! We then said, what if Perla drives. "Is the contract under her name?" Nope. That was no good either. Finally, we crossed back over to the good ol' USA, called Enterprise, had Perla added as a driver and then crossed back over to Mexico to trick the border agents that the contract was now in Perla's name. It worked and we were on our way...
However, driving a red Mustang convertible in Mexico is a red flag. The Mustang is America's emblem of speed and power, and having a young couple behind the wheel with the top down was sure to bring trouble and it did, as we were stopped at the first checkpoint and held for about 5 minutes. But we were soon on our way to Monterrey, at times cruising at speeds nearing 120 mph!
Entering the city limits on a foggy afternoon, I couldn't see any mountains and was disappointed, but then all of a sudden Perla's like, "Gaby, look, there's one!" And I look up and I swear, higher than the moon at full heighth in sky, there was a mountain-top! It was amazing. Then, suddenly, peaks started appearing everywhere and it was so breathtaking. I hadn't seen mountains since my stint in Utah, but this was different. Since Monterrey is nestled in a valley between the Sierra Madre range, the mountains are so imposing. And the best mountain of all is the "horse's saddle", which I will post a picture of here.
After finding the hotel, we sat through the introduction ceremony and race details, said hi to Carlos Guerrero (Race Director) who didn't recognize me at first, and then had a great talk with marathon legend Dionicio Ceron (three-time London marathon champ, World Championship Silver Medallist in '93, Fukuoka-Beppu-Rotterdam champ) with Perla. There was also a video of his amazing 1:00 Half Marathon in Philadelphia. What a down-to-earth, humble runner. The purest of the pure "mountain goats", as I term them. He lived at 2600m (8,500 feet) his entire life, training and living there. What a great human being and beaming of self-confidence, but wanting to help anyone.
We checked into our hotel room (small bed) and rested a little as I was suffering from either an altitude induced headache or from driving in the sunlight (working 60 hours/week and running in darkness, I was not used to the sun in my eyes- squinting). Anyhow, we got out and walked around the "Macroplaza". There were thousands of young folk (mostly teenage girls) visiting the hundreds of shops. The street was completely torn up and there were beggers everywhere, playing accordians or offering roses (Valentine weekend). From there we went to eat dinner at the infamous El Rey de Cabrito (King of the Baby Goat), and ordered the cultural dish of "cabrito" (baby goat). We ordered the "pehco" or chest and another order of "arrechera" or their version of fajitas, along with a couple of Sol's for Perla and a couple of Dos XX's Lager for me. After a delicious meal, we visited the goat room for a picture and then walked home to rest up for tomorrow's "races."
We awoke at 5:30, and headed to the lobby at 6:00 am and met Noe Jurado of Chihuaha. Jurado is the youngest hot gun on the Mexican running circuit. An 8:52 steepler and consistent sub-15 min/31 min 5K/10K runner on the roads, he is already infamous for his aggressive racing. He had just arrived on a 12-hour bus ride from Chihuaha only minutes ago, with the race 4 hours away and he hadn't slept much at all (he would go on to run 14:39!). Amazing, so full of confidence that he could defeat the Kenyans because he trains with many of them. Anyhow, we were off..
The 10K road race started outside of the Technologico Stadium of Monterrey, or "El Tec". My plan was to run with Perla the whole way, and I did up to 5K and that's where she slowed down because of her knee and I ran with Dionicio Ceron (once in a lifetime opportunity) from 5-8K, and then returned with Perla for the final 2K to finish in about 42-minutes. My day was supposed to be done, but I had BS'd with Carlos Guerrero that I would rabbit. At first he said, great, 5 laps of 65-seconds/lap, and I said, no-way! Not at this altitude and plus, I hadn't run a workout since the Houston Marathon less than a month ago. My only "workouts" had been steady 7-mile runs after work! So, we agreed on 4 laps of 65. A 4:20 mile at 3000 ft. and 80-degrees after the 10K run. We would see. I would try my best.
While warming up, I was panting, not accustomed to the altitude. I found I could run hard, but once I stopped I would be panting for air and heaving. Oh well, I was to draw upon all my track racing experiences for this duty of pace-making for the 8 Kenyans and 21 Mexicans. After being announced as "El campeon nacional de Houston en el maraton" (the national champion of Houston in the marathon- sounds better in Spanish), we all lined up and I tried to squeeze into Lane 1 next to the Kenyans, explaining that I was the rabbit. But they understood neither English nor Spanish, and to make matters worse, Guerrero did not announce my intentions clearly and then said that there was a 7000.00 peso bonus for a sub-13:35 clocking (best time on Mexican soil, I think). I knew there was no way anyone would run a sub-13:35 in these conditions because 1) the altitude and 2) it was bordering on upper-80 degree weather. Anyhow, the gun..
I lost 10m in the first 50m to the Kenyans. Sprinting wildly, I caught up, passed them and took control of the lead with a 28-29 second 200. Telling myself to relax (going out this fast is not what I wanted), I hit the quarter in 63-64, and then to my surprise, 2 Kenyans shoot by me! Startled to do my job, I dig deep, re-pass them and control the next 400m to hit 800m in 2:08-2:09 when, bam! they pass by me again! I'm like no way! I'm doing my job, and I'm running very hard, gasping for air, but I dig again (to the crowd's pleasure- white guy trying to win) and pass the Kenyans. But this time, they think I'm racing them to win and at the 1100m mark, they pass me for good, as I am starting to lose form, though I debate going for the 4th "vuelta" (lap), I realize I am no longer rabbiting and I would not be doing my job, so I weave off the track passing 1200m in 3:16-3:17 and cheer everyone on. However, my job is not done, as the Master of Ceremonies announces, "Gabriel Rodriguez of Houston has finished his job and now would like to share some words (in Spanish, of course)" and he hands me the mic, to which I reply in Spanish, "I would like to thank Monterrey, Runners North and Carlos Guerrero for this opportunity and Viva Mexico!!" This throws the fans into a frenzy and we are all smiles..
The race: defending champion, Jesus Torres (23-years old, 13:42 PR at altitude), runs a brave race, moving up to finish 2nd behind Josphat Kibet of Kenya, 14:05 to 14:08. A swarm of Mexicans and Kenyans finish soon after and the race is done. I translate for the Kenyan for the cameras and crowd and Perla and I are off to the hotel to check out and head to the Cola de Caballo (Horse's Tail), a beautiful waterfall that we end up over-shooting by 50 miles and end up not being able to see in light of our time-crunch situation to drive back to the border and Harlingen to make our flight. Anyhow, a great trip and a wonderful experience and we will continue to train hard so that we may be offered this great opportunity again.
My final words to the Director were, "next time, I will be ready to race to win." Press On!!!
Following the HP Houston Marathon, I was invited to participate in an elite 5000m track race in Monterrey, Mexico on February 13th, 2005. At the time, I felt I would be recovered and ready to run hard and compete at a high level. However, subsequent training tests and workouts indicated I was in a far deeper depletion-hole than I thought, and thus had to cancel on the race, but I followed through with the trip with my wife, Perla.
Perla was born in Nuevo Leon (General Bravo, about 1 hour outside the city limits of Monterrey) and had not been to Monterrey since her high school days, so she joined me on the voyage to run the accompanying 10K road race.
Flying down to the Harlingen Airport on Friday night, we were welcomed with a cherry red Ford Mustang convertible- the "economy car" I had rented from Enterprise. We drove the hour to McAllen and stayed the night at a Motel 6 before heading out for the Reynosa border check early Saturday morning. Here's where things got interesting: I was not allowed to drive the rental car into Mexico. Why? I already had a "permiso" (permit) for my own personal car, Nelly, when we drove down to General Bravo for the funeral of Perla's grandmother in Jan of 2004. So, I was not allowed to have two "permisos" at one time and had to cancel my personal car one first. So, I figured I could pay a fine and get it taken care of: nope. I had to drive the car down and they had to see it in person! We then said, what if Perla drives. "Is the contract under her name?" Nope. That was no good either. Finally, we crossed back over to the good ol' USA, called Enterprise, had Perla added as a driver and then crossed back over to Mexico to trick the border agents that the contract was now in Perla's name. It worked and we were on our way...
However, driving a red Mustang convertible in Mexico is a red flag. The Mustang is America's emblem of speed and power, and having a young couple behind the wheel with the top down was sure to bring trouble and it did, as we were stopped at the first checkpoint and held for about 5 minutes. But we were soon on our way to Monterrey, at times cruising at speeds nearing 120 mph!
Entering the city limits on a foggy afternoon, I couldn't see any mountains and was disappointed, but then all of a sudden Perla's like, "Gaby, look, there's one!" And I look up and I swear, higher than the moon at full heighth in sky, there was a mountain-top! It was amazing. Then, suddenly, peaks started appearing everywhere and it was so breathtaking. I hadn't seen mountains since my stint in Utah, but this was different. Since Monterrey is nestled in a valley between the Sierra Madre range, the mountains are so imposing. And the best mountain of all is the "horse's saddle", which I will post a picture of here.
After finding the hotel, we sat through the introduction ceremony and race details, said hi to Carlos Guerrero (Race Director) who didn't recognize me at first, and then had a great talk with marathon legend Dionicio Ceron (three-time London marathon champ, World Championship Silver Medallist in '93, Fukuoka-Beppu-Rotterdam champ) with Perla. There was also a video of his amazing 1:00 Half Marathon in Philadelphia. What a down-to-earth, humble runner. The purest of the pure "mountain goats", as I term them. He lived at 2600m (8,500 feet) his entire life, training and living there. What a great human being and beaming of self-confidence, but wanting to help anyone.
We checked into our hotel room (small bed) and rested a little as I was suffering from either an altitude induced headache or from driving in the sunlight (working 60 hours/week and running in darkness, I was not used to the sun in my eyes- squinting). Anyhow, we got out and walked around the "Macroplaza". There were thousands of young folk (mostly teenage girls) visiting the hundreds of shops. The street was completely torn up and there were beggers everywhere, playing accordians or offering roses (Valentine weekend). From there we went to eat dinner at the infamous El Rey de Cabrito (King of the Baby Goat), and ordered the cultural dish of "cabrito" (baby goat). We ordered the "pehco" or chest and another order of "arrechera" or their version of fajitas, along with a couple of Sol's for Perla and a couple of Dos XX's Lager for me. After a delicious meal, we visited the goat room for a picture and then walked home to rest up for tomorrow's "races."
We awoke at 5:30, and headed to the lobby at 6:00 am and met Noe Jurado of Chihuaha. Jurado is the youngest hot gun on the Mexican running circuit. An 8:52 steepler and consistent sub-15 min/31 min 5K/10K runner on the roads, he is already infamous for his aggressive racing. He had just arrived on a 12-hour bus ride from Chihuaha only minutes ago, with the race 4 hours away and he hadn't slept much at all (he would go on to run 14:39!). Amazing, so full of confidence that he could defeat the Kenyans because he trains with many of them. Anyhow, we were off..
The 10K road race started outside of the Technologico Stadium of Monterrey, or "El Tec". My plan was to run with Perla the whole way, and I did up to 5K and that's where she slowed down because of her knee and I ran with Dionicio Ceron (once in a lifetime opportunity) from 5-8K, and then returned with Perla for the final 2K to finish in about 42-minutes. My day was supposed to be done, but I had BS'd with Carlos Guerrero that I would rabbit. At first he said, great, 5 laps of 65-seconds/lap, and I said, no-way! Not at this altitude and plus, I hadn't run a workout since the Houston Marathon less than a month ago. My only "workouts" had been steady 7-mile runs after work! So, we agreed on 4 laps of 65. A 4:20 mile at 3000 ft. and 80-degrees after the 10K run. We would see. I would try my best.
While warming up, I was panting, not accustomed to the altitude. I found I could run hard, but once I stopped I would be panting for air and heaving. Oh well, I was to draw upon all my track racing experiences for this duty of pace-making for the 8 Kenyans and 21 Mexicans. After being announced as "El campeon nacional de Houston en el maraton" (the national champion of Houston in the marathon- sounds better in Spanish), we all lined up and I tried to squeeze into Lane 1 next to the Kenyans, explaining that I was the rabbit. But they understood neither English nor Spanish, and to make matters worse, Guerrero did not announce my intentions clearly and then said that there was a 7000.00 peso bonus for a sub-13:35 clocking (best time on Mexican soil, I think). I knew there was no way anyone would run a sub-13:35 in these conditions because 1) the altitude and 2) it was bordering on upper-80 degree weather. Anyhow, the gun..
I lost 10m in the first 50m to the Kenyans. Sprinting wildly, I caught up, passed them and took control of the lead with a 28-29 second 200. Telling myself to relax (going out this fast is not what I wanted), I hit the quarter in 63-64, and then to my surprise, 2 Kenyans shoot by me! Startled to do my job, I dig deep, re-pass them and control the next 400m to hit 800m in 2:08-2:09 when, bam! they pass by me again! I'm like no way! I'm doing my job, and I'm running very hard, gasping for air, but I dig again (to the crowd's pleasure- white guy trying to win) and pass the Kenyans. But this time, they think I'm racing them to win and at the 1100m mark, they pass me for good, as I am starting to lose form, though I debate going for the 4th "vuelta" (lap), I realize I am no longer rabbiting and I would not be doing my job, so I weave off the track passing 1200m in 3:16-3:17 and cheer everyone on. However, my job is not done, as the Master of Ceremonies announces, "Gabriel Rodriguez of Houston has finished his job and now would like to share some words (in Spanish, of course)" and he hands me the mic, to which I reply in Spanish, "I would like to thank Monterrey, Runners North and Carlos Guerrero for this opportunity and Viva Mexico!!" This throws the fans into a frenzy and we are all smiles..
The race: defending champion, Jesus Torres (23-years old, 13:42 PR at altitude), runs a brave race, moving up to finish 2nd behind Josphat Kibet of Kenya, 14:05 to 14:08. A swarm of Mexicans and Kenyans finish soon after and the race is done. I translate for the Kenyan for the cameras and crowd and Perla and I are off to the hotel to check out and head to the Cola de Caballo (Horse's Tail), a beautiful waterfall that we end up over-shooting by 50 miles and end up not being able to see in light of our time-crunch situation to drive back to the border and Harlingen to make our flight. Anyhow, a great trip and a wonderful experience and we will continue to train hard so that we may be offered this great opportunity again.
My final words to the Director were, "next time, I will be ready to race to win." Press On!!!
posted by Gabriel Rodriguez at 10:26 PM
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