26.2 Chevron Marathon 2017

On January 15, 2017, I ran the chevron marathon. The race started with a yellow flag warning. Runners were urged to slow down on their predicted marathon paces. The day of the marathon wasn’t as promising as other years. The humidity was at 97% with temperatures in the 70’s. So, what does this all means to me? I have been training for this marathon since July of last year. Being this my second full marathon. I had set up some new goals to crush. Unfortunately that did not happened during this race. I wanted to PR, and BQ during this marathon. I have trained and I know I was ready. Unfortunately what I wanted or what I thought I had in me did not happened. The humidity definitely took the best out of me. I ran the first half of the marathon slower. I took precautions, or at least I thought I did. When I hit mile 15, I started to feel some numbness on my legs. I thought, maybe if I slow down a little bit more ill be okay and at the same time ill be able to keep up. This mental toughness did not last. When I got to mile 18. I hit the wall so many runners talk about. This was completely something new for me. I felt the urge to stop…. But, I couldn’t. So, I started walking instead. My knees, legs, feet where hurting badly. I was cramping from left to right. I even took my phone out (which I never do) to text my best friend saying I was walking and feeling horrible. Needless, to say that I ran the rest of the miles with the most arduous pain my body has ever encountered before. I could not see the minute to get to the finish line. My A,B,C and D goal was out of the question… by that time I did not cared. I just wanted to finish. Thankfully I had some awesome running friends through the course. I probably could have never finish if it wasn’t for them I am so blessed. Bottom line, Chevron did not go according to plan, but that won’t stop me from reaching my goal. I will get to that BQ. And I will get my goal this year. That is a promise I am making myself. Only God knows why I did not performed the way I know I can on this race, and even though I was devastated. I am okay with that now. All I can do now is pick up the pieces and keep on dreaming.. DREAMING FREAING BIG

26.2 Chevron Marathon 2017

Houston Half Marathon (October 2016)

This past weekend I competed in the Houston half marathon as training for the upcoming marathon in January. This season I am mainly focusing on speed and maintaining a good health condition. I am being very careful on my training to ovoid any injuries. I want to be able to perform my best once January comes.

Thus, this past weekend was a blur. I have to say that I was a little nervous on my performance before the raise. Not because I wasn’t ready, but because the Texas heat is a killer. Even in plain fall, morning race promised to be on the 60’s going only higher. The humidity and fogginess was off the roof. Even though this race is just a part of my training for the full marathon, I had goals. Goal (A ) was to PR, last time I raced this race I was able to PR a 1:42, that being only the second half marathon I had ever raced, I was super excited. Sadly I haven’t raced that many half marathons ever since, and the one I did ran wasn’t a PR at all. Going on this race my thoughts were pretty simple. I needed to prove to myself that I have come a long way.

So, this half marathon means a lot to me. I was able to finish in a total of 1:38, my original goal was to finish in a 1:40. But, since I was feeling pretty good during the first ten miles I decided to just go for it. Despite the heat and humidity I was able to pull off a good race. I am very proud of myself. I am also looking forward to what is next to come. I can’t wait to see what I am capable of accomplishing in January.

 

Houston Half Marathon (October 2016)

“26.2 Miles of Greatness”

It might seem crazy for some, including my husband, Ha! Ha, but on January 17, 2016 my husband and I did our first marathon. I am so proud of our accomplishment. I still remember back in January of last year, when I told my husband that I had this amazing idea of running a marathon. He was like you want what? Do what? Over the next couple of days, he tried to come up with many ideas of why we shouldn’t run the marathon. Yet, I was determined to accomplish this milestone. I have ran several half-marathons throughout the last couple of years and I felt like I was ready to take the next leap in my running passion.

My hubby however, felt like we needed more time. Yet, being the persistent wife that I am, I managed to convince him. So we began our journey of training. We started about six months before the race. Now, let me tell you training season was not all beautiful. My hubby got injured right at the beginning of peek week. When we started to do our longest runs, he could not join me. I did 15,18, and 20 miles on my own. We even considered the option of him not running at all. I was so scared of him pulling his muscles/tendons and being injured permanently. That wasn’t all either. On top of my hubby being injured, I too injured myself on my twenty mile run. We were three weeks ahead before race day and there we were injured.

As weeks went by it was suddenly race weekend. I got pumped and nervous at the same time. I couldn’t believe that this was it. I had trained all that I could and finally the most expected weekend of the year was here. We went to the running expo and had a blast. Lots of people were there. Later that evening we did our mandatory carb loading. We enjoyed stuffing ourselves with pasta, as we were burning this off the next day.

Saturday was very emotional, but Sunday was even more. My marathon experience was one of the best. Even though, we ended up arriving late to corral “A”. God! I don’t know how I always do it. I was supposed to be in the corral at 6:35 a.m. and I got there at 6:40 a.m. Needleless to say, they closed my corral entrance before I could get in. Luckily, I was still on time for the following corral.

There were tons of people and it was super cold before the race started. I was wearing shorts because I knew that once I started to get running I was going to warm up. I had an extra sweater, which I would regret later. You see, runners just toss their sweaters around the corner, but I was too afraid to loose my sweater. It’s one of my favorite sweaters for crying out loud. Lol! So, I wore it for most of the race and strapped around my waist once I got too hot. It’s very uncomfortable by the way. Thankfully, the crowd was amazing and cheerful which helped mitigated boredom and thoughts of soreness. I saw tons of people from the neighborhood giving out water, bananas and oranges to the participants. It was such a humbling experience to see all of these people sharing and cheering for their loved ones, and strangers.

My husband and I were crushing it until mile 19 when he started to feel that his muscles were collapsing. With all the lack of his long distance training he had skipped due to his previous injury, symptoms were starting to show. I tried to slow down for him, but I was slowing down way too much. I decided to keep up and do the last seven on my own. I was a little sad to leave him behind, but I knew that I couldn’t push him too much. Once I started running on my own, I had more time to focus on me and think about what I had to do. I thought about so many things. It’s true of what they say about running a marathon and finding yourself. I did find out that I am stronger than what I think I am. I can indeed accomplish anything that I set my mind to. I am a mighty little woman. I ended up finishing the marathon feeling very strong and crushing my goal. I had initially anticipated 4 hours. Yet, I finish in 3hrs 49minutes. Hurray! Not so bad for my first marathon. I felt so alive and energized at the end that I felt like I could had done it faster. Thus, being my first marathon I did not wanted to push it. My hubby finished in 4hrs 10 minutes. It was a very good day for us. I am still on cloud nine. I feel ready for another one. Ha! Ha! Not really, but I am surely thinking about my next marathon. I have completely fallen in love with the 26.2.  

Here I was doing the last stretch.

My husband Ethan, and my friend Karla, after the race.

Before we started the marathon.

He is running because he loves his wife.

We are the people that choose to run over sleep. suffer over being content. We thrive off pain and choose it over and over again. Pain is our welcome friend. We fear nothing.

The time I went to Fort Worth, Texas

What is so magical about a zoo, that even when we grow older we still get excited? I mean as kids it’s such an adventure to go see the wild, the unknown. Animals that you cannot quite pet because they might eat you. Yet, you want to see them and wish you could touch them. These unbelievable feelings follow most of us as we get older. Every time I step into a zoo I can imagine the wild, me petting exotic creatures like the lion or the tiger. Of course, this only happens in my imagination. Ha! Ha! I think we all know that these types of creatures can’t be petted just like that. They would either have to be asleep, domesticated or even dead.

Anyways, last time I wet to the zoo I went to the Fort Worth Zoo, and I was so excited for various reasons. This was my first time coming into this specific zoo. You see I am from Houston, and I rarely travel to the north side of Texas. I had heard so many great things about this zoo and even though my husband is from Fort Worth, I haven’t had the chance of visiting yet. We always seem to surpass it on our way to his house. The last time we were in town I told him, “ I want to see one of the best zoos of the nation according to family life magazine.”

So I finally went. Let me just tell you it was time well spent. I was so fascinated with all the animals. In fact I think I saw almost everything through the eye of my lens. Yes, one of the downfalls of being the photographer. Ha! Ha! Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so passionate about photography and just enjoy the moment, but then I snap back out of it and go to my lens. Ha!

This zoo is like no other I have seen before. Just to mention some of the amazing things they have that make you feel right in the middle of nature is a sanctuary birdhouse that you can just go in and be near hundreds of different bird breeds. I cannot wait to go back to this zoo. The zoo ended up closing before we had a chance to finish our tour. As I mentioned earlier I was going trigger-happy with my lens (taking pictures left and right) Yet, I was able to enjoy a good chunk of it. It is just a matter of time until we meet again with the wild fierce animals from the Fort Worth Zoo. =)

All images © 2014 Sulma Cortez

Furry Friend

Has there ever been a time when you step out for a run or a walk around the park and happened to come back home with an unexpected surprise? Let me tell you about something that happened to me not to long ago. It was a beautiful morning as usual in Texas; Ha! Ha, not really, but this morning was gorgeous. You see let me tell you first about the Texas weather just in case you didn’t know. Texas is something like what Forrest Gump’s mom always would say, “ You never know what you’re going to get” Ha! Until you open the door of course. Anyways, let me tell you what happened this specific morning.

I went out for a run as I usually do every morning. The sun was shining bright that day. The birds were singing and you could also hear the wind and noise of the traffic in the street. I was walking toward my car when all of a sudden I saw this furry thing walking toward my feet. I blinked once or twice just to double check what was coming near me. When I was finally able to see what it was I shouted,

“OMG It’s a Ferret.” Not only was it a ferret, it was a small baby ferret. I looked at my husband with those puppy eyes and said, “Well what do we do?” He looked at me with the look of, “Please don’t you dare pick up that animal, as we already have two and there is no room for more?”

However, as the animal lover that I am, I obviously didn’t listen to him and picked it up. Now, we were with the dilemma of what to do with the cute ferret? I was so excited. I was thinking what a cutie and I’ve even considered the possibility of keeping it. So, I went and searched on the Internet what food they eat and what were the possibilities for a baby ferret. After doing some research I was so discouraged. The dream of having a new pet was slowly dwindling away. As you see having a ferret requires a lot of work from the keeper.

Therefore, the only options were either giving it up for adoption in a shelter or finding her a home. My husband and I looked for friends who might like the idea of a ferret at home. We didn’t really like the idea of a shelter just because you’ll never know if they will survive or not. After searching for a possible home for the beautiful ferret we got a friend of my husband’s interested in the little one. He took it with him and loved it for a few weeks. Unfortunately, he found out that ferrets are harder to care for than what he had anticipated.

However, he did find her a home. He told us that he gave the little ferret to a neighbor of his that used to work for a veterinarian. The fact that she actually knew about the hard work it takes to take care of a ferret made me feel a little more at ease. I was a little disappointed to hear he couldn’t keep it at first. He had promised to keep us updated with the ferret’s status. But, I shortly realized that he is a busy man and hopefully the ferret ends up in better hands.

As of today, all I have from that little creature is the pictures I took before giving it away and the memories I made in those few days I had the pleasure to call myself an owner of a ferret. Ha! Ha! I really hope she found a loving home and I pray to God I don’t stumble upon another ferret in my path. God saved me because my husband wouldn’t be happy to know I will definitely want to keep it. Ha! Ha!

Houston Half Marathon

It has been a few weeks since I’ve ran the Houston Half Marathon. This is my second half and I am so excited about the outcome. Even though I hadn’t trained as much as I had anticipated, I managed to attain a new best PR. (Personal Record)

When I first started training for this half I had a couple of goals in mind. One to get a better time and two to have more fun! Amazingly I managed to get at least one of them. I did much better with my time. Some how I managed to get a 1:42 compared to the first race a 1:47. Although I did had fun I probably would have enjoyed this run a little better with a little more training. I ran with my husband (Ethan), he is such a great support in my running journey. I am so thankful that he is able to share with me what I love to do the most.

We started training for this race sometime in July. I knew there were going to be some hard months ahead of us. Thus, we were planning for our wedding in August we tried our best to get those tough runs squeezed in our busy days. The last couple of weeks before our wedding we hardly did any runs. I had got to the point where I just wanted to run and have fun, to not think about any PR’s and just let it go. I had convinced myself that as long as I run the whole thing I was going to be all right.

However, whenever October came around I was so excited and so committed to do my best that I managed to get some extra out of me and started training. I trained very hard; my husband pushed me as much as possible and it all payoff. When the final week of October came I was ready. The day we woke up for the race I remember looking at myself in the mirror and saying this it. In just a few hours you will be running and there is no stopping until you are done. When we got to the race ramp, I was a little disconcerted; the race coordination did not look good at all. There were runners walking in front of the starting line. We were supposed to be going into downtown. After almost a chaotic starting line, we started the race and were off. Our first mile was at 7:30 minute pace. I remember Ethan telling me that we were going too fast, to slow down. I was amazed at the first mile, but I did slowed down I wanted to finish strong. At mile eight I was still surprised that I was going under eight minutes. We were doing great, well I was doing great because Ethan can do much better than I can. His fastest time in a half marathon so far has been 1:30. As of now I can only inspire to reach that time one day. I know it is possible with a lot of hard work and determination.

However, running this race gave me new hope for my upcoming running goals, even though I do not plan on running any other races until next year. I can honestly say that I am pretty content with what I have achieved this year in 2014. It has been a magnificent year. What I did to manage my goal was to be focused, despite all of the obstacles and doubts.

From Miss to Mrs. in Minutes

 

                  The day of you and your future husband that you have been waiting for is finally here! After all of the planning and madness over the past twelve months the weight has finally been lifted. Wedding Day YAYY! No more dealing with vendors, pinning useless wedding ideas, or arguing with bridesmaids about the color of dresses they will wear. No more “That Bitch made me wear green shoes.” Everything is finally falling into place. You arrive to the ceremony the officiant gives y’all his blessing and everything is going great. Next stop reception: Food, first dance, party, cake, drinks and more food!!! This day goes by so fast, a wedding that took you a year to plan has flashed before you in less than twenty-four hours.

                  Next on the agenda Honeymoon! “Oh glorious honeymoon!” Your husband and you have had a blast and before you know it reality has kicked in when its all over. Don’t be mistaken this can be just as wonderful and exciting as the wedding itself. It’s true there is a thousand things to do and think about after the storm has calmed. You still need to deal with some of your vendors and the nerves are building up still waiting to see how well the video and photos turned out and when will they be ready. Tremendous things cross your mind but we can’t let this bring us down. We need to keep calm and breath. “One, two, three” Once you are a bit more calm you realize there are far more important things to worry about. Like how to change your last name or how to join your life in unity.

                     Nowadays, we seem to focus so much on the idea of the “perfect wedding” and not so much on the preparing and the actual marriage itself. We often forget the real meaning of why we agree to marry that special person in the first place. I am a newlywed and like most brides the biggest project I have taken so far in life is my wedding. I have planned my special day for months, so it’s inevitable that once it’s all over I may feel the need for a new focus.

                      So what to focus myself on? What now? Well according to experts there is always a way to make things work. For example, start planning about your future life. Start thinking about the future you and your significant other want for each other. Personally I like this new step. Yes it’s nerve wrecking but I feel it is all worth it because I married my best friend. I mean no one will listen and try to understand me the way he does. Yes, I need a new focus but don’t we all? From this day forward I think I will start putting my energy in what matters the most and that is my relationship with God and my soulmate.

BE MY VALENTINE……

Have you ever thought about the word St. Valentine? Sure, you may said it’s a word that we Americans use to describe love and friendship. Every February 14, across the United States millions of roses, teddy bears, love cards and chocolate, you name it are exchange in the name of St. Valentine. But do we really know what St. valentine really means, how did this tradition became so big in America?

Lets start from the beginning first of all, St. Valentine was a saint. But why is he affiliated with this ancient story? Well,  the  catholic church recognizes three saints named Valentine or valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One of the legends says that valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome when Emperor Claudius II decided that single men were better soldiers than those that were married. Valentine however defied  Claudius performing marriages in secret for all the young lovers. When Claudius found out Valentine was sentenced to death.

There are other stories that suggest that Valentine was killed for attempting to help Christians scape the Roman prisons. He was imprisoned and is believed that while being in jail he actually wrote the first “Valentine” after he felt in love with a young girl who visited him. Before his death he wrote a letter signed “From your Valentine,” a word that is still use today. Although these are just stories that we believed to be true St. Valentine is one of the most famous saints in the world.

Now, lets talk about what the day of valentine is and what it should be in our actual society. God! have we ever stop and think that we humans can be so self-centered at times? I mean what most girls want now a days is new shoes, nice dresses and purses. anything that is expensive. And the guys of course do not really care about valentines, but if they are celebrating they want gifts as well. Now, There is nothing wrong with wanting to celebrate that day with your significant other; if not your friends. Because, valentines is also about friendship. We could get into a whole different story discussing about what is more important if friendship or romance, but that is a whole new story. Lets just instead talk about greeting cards and wishes for a happy valentine. Do we remember that time in elementary school when there was nothing luxurious about valentines, but just a teddy bear or a “Be mine” card? As we grow up our wishes get bigger and we tend to forget the true meaning of St. Valentine.

First of all we should all be celebrating love and friendship every day of our lives. But February 14th, is a special occasion to show everyone around us that we love them no matter what. Love should not be measured with gifts. Wouldn’t it be nice if instead of gifts we gave more hugs and kisses? I mean not only to our significant others, but also friends and family. Spread the love people. Lets focus in what is authentic and real, the love that we all have in our heart. And remember that St. Valentine can be about roses and and chocolates as long as we know what true love really means.

“Lets talk about FOOD!!”

Food is one of my favorite topics to talk about. I mean who doesn’t love food? Since the day we were born we were crying for food. Isn’t that the truth? ha!ha! Some of my favorite foods are healthy meals which includes fruits. YUMM! grapefruits are so delicious and what about the pomegranates? They are some yummy treats in almost any dessert or salads. Now, lets not forget the smoothies they are a super delicious and a healthy treat as well. Most of the time I drink my smoothies in the morning. I feel like they accommodate better with my eating habits. Lets squeeze our greens every time we can. =) How about dinner do we like light or heavy? I always go for light, but nutritious at the same time. Lets not forget that our body will be needing those nutrients while we sleep. Below are some of my favorites to eat. I could literally eat these foods/ desserts all day and everyday. ha!ha!^_^

Did you know that grapefruits are very low in calories? They consist of just 42 calories per 100 g. It is also; rich in dietary insoluble fiber pectin and helps to protect the colon mucous membrane. It also contains very good levels of vitamin-A which are good for the mucus membranes and skin.

Fun fact about this delicious fruit is that Ancient Egyptions were often buried with pomegranates. A large, dry pomegranate was found in the tomb of Djehuty, the butler of Egypt’s Queen Hatshepsut.

AHH!! fish tacos they are delicious and good body nutrients.The omega-3 fatty acids in fish are good for your heart.

Smoothies are so simple to make even a kitchen virgin can put one together. Blending a smoothie is an addictive process: just stick to a few rules, get together what you can and make sure it pleases your palate.

And along the way comes the splurge of sweetness. Snow cones!! as delicious as these can be, they are high in sugars which turns into fat, so be careful with making it an addiction. =)

Lets not forget the plain yogurt. These are so fun to make because you can put anything you desire. I usually like to top it with cinnamon and honey. It’s one of my favorite treats. I can eat plain yogurt for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Anyways, I hope you enjoy my food and inspire you to go make some of your own. until next time and happy cooking. ^_^

Blast to the past

Usually flashbacks are happy thoughts that come in mind. Well, this time my mind flew back to my last time in Nacogdoches. The city of the pine woods. I recently moved back to my hometown Houston Texas.  After graduating from Stephen F. Austin State University. There was really nothing left for me out there. I cannot describe of how much I miss that place at times. To think that such a small town can have such a huge impact in your life is amazing. When I first decided to go to school in Nacogdoches, I never thought it was going to be such a huge part of my life after graduating. I honestly can say that I did not only grew as a person and expanded my knowledge, but it also changed my life completely.  When I think of  Nacogdoches I think of it as a part of me. There is a part of my heart that will always be there, not only for the friendships I built, but also for the nature itself. I am a big fan of the outdoors. I enjoy running outside and observing the nature on the trails.  Being a city girl I have always tried to look for the nature inside the city and even though I  think I have achieved it I think back to the SFA pine woods and it just isn’t the same. Nacogdoches is just a place of peace, a small town  with such good vibe. Well, the last time I decided to explore the nature of Nacogdoches was a few weeks before my graduation. I walked through the trails and  just out of my apartment that was a forest itself. I could hear the birds sing every time and watch the random animals just outside my window. Anyways, this last experience was amazing. I was partially sad that I wasn’t returning back the up coming Fall. Yet, I was excited to be back at home with my family to start a new chapter in my life. However, I miss the forest so much at times that I just wanna drive back and stay out there. Ha! Ha!  of course this can happen because I only live three hours away from the town. Never the less, this last trip around Nacogdoches was exciting. I seriously got to explored more of its nature and got some good shots of birds, squirrels, and flowers. Even though I love being at home with my family and long time friends I cannot wait to be back in Nacogdoches for a visit. I am okay with knowing it’s not my home anymore and I only hope that the people keep on taking good care of its nature around the town. I want to be able to go back every time I can and that  each time is the same. A place with nature and love.

A Mockingbird hanging on tree in the beautiful forest of Nacogdoches TX.

A baby lizard picking through the sun.

A beautiful amaryllid or “Oxblood Lily” blooms in the Azalea gardens from SFA. These type of lily’s are from Agentina.

A cardinal looking for his mate in the Azalea Gaedens.

During a beautiful afternoon at the Zalea Gardens(SFASU) a cardinal lays in the mosses.

A beautiful Camellia blooms at the end of spring in the Azalea Gardens SFA.

A Carolina Wren, posing for the camera. He stood in the twig for about 5-10 mins. These type of events are rare, usually they cannot stay still for more than a few seconds.

Playing with some debt of field with some leafs.

a beautiful Camellia in the Azalea gardens at SFA( Stephen F. Austin)

Hanging on a wire in mid afternoon.

Hanging on a wire

A Norther Mockingbird posing for the camera.

Curious of who is looking? a squirrel sure looks captivating about who is. ha!

Focusing on a Oak leaf.

A squirrel picking through a wood fence.