Happy New Year 2026!

This year, I want to become a stronger runner, run more 10k races and another half marathon, so it seems appropriate, yet it wasn’t planned, that my first run of the year happened to be a long run. 

This week’s long run was just five miles, a decent long run to start the year. As I headed out on the path in Viejo San Juan with some two friends, I was very sleepy so I walked until we got to the Norzagarai hill in San Juan, then it was time to run. 

El Morro

As soon as we made our way to the grounds of El Morro fort, we all knew it was time to run again but by that time I was awake and followed my friend’s lead in running to El Morro twice in a row. That’s not an easy task the first time but you’re motivated to make it to the castle; the second time around you spend most of the time rethinking your decision and everything that’s left after that.

I always have a little trouble measuring how far down the path I should go before turning around to complete my path. I either go a little too far or not far enough. This time I also forgot my second run to El Morro so even though I had to finish 5 miles, I went too far by a little over a mile. I ended my long run at 6.2 miles in 1:39:24. I didn’t care about running to finish the last mile at first because I knew it didn’t count but when I was taking too long I started running again. 

The 6 miles were unintended but this is preparation for my first race of the year in two weeks, which happens to be a 10k (6.1 miles). The 5 miles I was supposed to run took about 1:10. 

I loved starting the year with a long run, hopefully this will set me up for better runs this year but I still have to take care of my ankle. It bothered me last week but I didn’t do anything and it hurt after my run yesterday. It’s still hurting today but I’m doing everything I can to make it better, applying pressure with heat, then cold and doing yoga.

I have to remember to keep taking care of my ankle this year, especially if I want to keep running.

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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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