This morning, I ran the Diabetes 5k in San Juan. I’m very proud to have signed up and finished this just two weeks after my first half marathon. I was afraid to sign up for this because I didn’t know how I would feel after 26 miles. I survived but I did spend the rest of the day at home and for the next two days I decided to just do yoga. I wasn’t in the mood for anything high impact, high intensity or strength. I also needed to stretch a little and the yoga worked like magic. I didn’t know at the time but yoga is recommended as recovery for races like that. When I felt like I could, I went on a walk. 

I needed a good recovery because I was going to another family wedding that weekend and I couldn’t show up still tired. The groom, my second cousin Howie, found out I was doing a half marathon one week before his wedding, he was a little upset with me. I assured him I would be fine at his wedding so I couldn’t show up tired. 

Just like I promised, I was able to go to my cousin’s beautiful wedding at sunset, at the beach in Rincón. They picked a beautiful venue for their wedding and I’m very happy I was able attend. I had a great time dancing and spending some time with my family and even meeting a few new members. 

After my recovery week and weekend getaway, I only had one week to get ready for this race. My time wasn’t the best, but I was able to finish without ankle pain every time and that was the most important thing for me. Despite my practice not being the best, the race went better than I thought. I finished in 39:54, according to my watch and was able to run for most of the race. 

Today’s race was 5k Encaminada Por La Diabetes for the Puerto Rico Association for Diabetes to help continue to offer direct and educational services to more than half a million Puerto Ricans who are affected by this condition.

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Published by mariacristinasanfeliu

I’m an aspiring writer still looking for exactly what I want to write about, with a lot of creativity, imagination and desire to write. I studied Writing and Rhetoric at Syracuse University where I explored many different sides of writing through my classes and extracurricular activities in order to narrow my search for an identity as a writer. I have written for Citrus TV Noticias and La Voz magazine, both of which gave me the chance to explore different mediums in which to write in. Through Citrus TV Noticias I also gained experience in translating from English to Spanish and vice versa, which is also something that I would be interested in working on since I am fluent in both of these languages. I was also an intern at Syracuse University Press where I got hands on experience in what goes into actually editing and publishing a book. Through out the last four years I have faced a lot of challenges, which helped chape the person I am today. After being in a tragic car accident, being in comma, having a Traumatic Brain Injury, and being in therapy for over a year, I am a new me, willing to face challenges and knowing how to deal with them. I want to write about my accident and life after it to help others, show them it can be done and help in any way I can.

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