I went to Toledo (Spain)

First off, I'm here alive and well. I haven't written in ages because NADA new has been going on in my life. I've been sticking to the same hair schedule and I haven't run any races in awhile. 

However, I'm currently on "vacation" and we're actually trying to go places this time. Usually we sit around the house watching movies. Although it's completely conducive to saving money (and hey, I like movies) you just need to DO something sometimes. Just say: "to heck with scrimping and saving!"....... Sometimes. So this was our first stop.

In case you don't already know, Toledo is the capital of Castilla La Mancha (or Castile-La Mancha for English speakers). I have, so far, seen half of the cities in this part of Spain: Ciudad Real and Toledo. The other two are Albacete and Cuenca but I have no idea what there is to see in those places.

Toledo is known for its swords and weaponry. My husband said that the swords used in the Lord of the Rings movies came from this city. Wherever you go you can see shops selling seriously scary looking weapons and armour.

We took pics of everything but my favorite ones are of the Catedral de Toledo (Cathedral) and the Puente de San Martín (Saint Martin Bridge) overlooking el río Tajo (the Tajo River).

It's a very beautiful, old-school feel city. I highly recommend it and the bonus it that you can see it all in a day. Well, obviously, you can't go into every single monument but you can walk around the entire city in a few hours.

October 2012 Marathon: XVII Castilla-La Mancha

This was from last year's race.

Yes, I did it again! I signed up for my 2nd marathon that will take place on October 28th in Ciudad Real, a province of Castilla-La Mancha.

I AM SO EXCITED!

Oh, and yes, I do have a more ambitious goal this time: 

to finish in 3 hours and 30 minutes.

 After running the Seville marathon, my plan was to take a break from training to recover and then set my sights on another marathon in the fall. I didn't want to rush back into training too quickly because I do not want to get injured again.

So I've been on my conditioning program for almost 3 months now. Then I start training July 1st. The conditioning program was a way for me to keep running without the pressure and strain of training. 

I did, however, want something a bit more structured than just running when I feel like it. Especially since I don't want these 3 months to be lost time.

I fully expect to be ready for training in July. Actually, I know I'm still in shape. Plus, my joints and muscles have had ample resting time.

This marathon only cost me 25€ (or $31), which is a ridiculous bargain! The route consists of two laps and that's probably the only thing I'm not that thrilled about. 

Laps tend to get boring because you have to look at the same scenery etc. Although I pretty much do laps in training so maybe it won't be so bad. Either way I'm ready for another race and can't wait to get started!

More updates to come such as my new training schedule and some tips and tricks I've learned about training through the brutal summer months.