This weekend, Las Fiestas De La Calle San Sebastián were celebrated in Old San Juan. This is a four day festival celebrated in Old San Juan, often called the biggest festival in the Caribbean. Artisans from all over the island como to sell their art, artists gather all around the old city to share their music with the public and you can find an unexpected group of dancers or cabezudos or just about anything as you walk down the street or into a plaza, and it’s a huge party at night; a truly amazing experience.

Now, I only go on Saturday during the day, but I try to catch the first buses to San Juan to get there early, beat the rush and get to the artisans before they run out of merchandise. I was not surprised to see that it was very crowded on Saturday morning, but I still got to enjoy the experience and get a few crafts.

I only stayed until the afternoon because I was running a 10k the next day. My coach had told me to rest from Thursday to Saturday but I couldn’t miss this party. I did spend the rest of the day resting at home after we left and sacrificed not joining my family at the beach. 

Early on race day, my support group, which was bigger this time because we were joined by my cousin and his wife who are visiting, and I set out early to make the trip to Añasco, on the west coast of the island, for my race. I started preparing with a lunch full of carbs; I had a delicious fish filet and rice and beans. I usually like fried fish better but this is better before a race. 

When I got to the Añasco plaza, where the race started, there was a lot more people than I expected, but I was able to meet up with my friend who was also running. She’s faster than me but in other races, if I fall behind, I have been able to catch up later. This time I was only able to keep up for the first two miles, I had to take a break and start walking. From then on I decided to go for my usual walk/ run, trying to run until I reach half a mile, then walk for about three minutes. I wasn’t able to pay that much attention so I felt like I was very slow, but now that I look at my time splits on my watch, I was doing pretty well. The first two miles were my fastest and in the last four I stayed in my regular range. My fastest mile was 11:38 and my slowest was 13:53.

It was not my fastest 10k, but not my slowest either and that was partly my fault. If I had listened to my coach and rested on Saturday, I know I would have done a lot better but I finished the race and that’s what’s important. This was the first race in the Puerto Rico 10k challenge, where you have to complete eight specific 10k races within two years. The next two are in April.

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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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