Rocking that *International* Paradise

I have tried many new things while in Guatemala, but I wasn’t sure rock climbing would ever be one of them.  I had a rather irrational fear of it.  I’d tried indoor rock climbing once or twice, and the last time I tried, I didn’t get very high before a paralyzing fear froze me in place on the wall, unable to move.  And if I was that scared inside, why on earth would I want to try it on an actual rock?! Still, seeing as some of my best friends here love the sport, when they said they wanted to plan a trip to rock climb, I knew I couldn’t be left behind and that I would join them and push myself to overcome the fear.  And so I signed on to Saturday’s rock climbing trip in Xela with 7 others.  We left Guatemala City at 4:00am in order to reach the Quetzaltrekkers office in Xela as early as possible to check in, eat the delicious breakfast they provided, and pick up gear.  Shortly after 9am, we were equipped with climbing shoes (which I thought were cl...

I have now completed 5 half marathons in my life time.  Add that to the list of things that ten years ago I would not have thought possible.  The Guatemala City 21K (half marathon) is a huge event.  The race registration is capped at 8,500 people, and registration was already full and closed nearly three months before the race.  Luckily, because of Annette’s forethought and persuasion, a rather large group of us all registered before the race was full.  So that, of course, meant a summer of training.  There were hiccups along the way for each of us, I think, ranging from mild injuries to decreased motivation to train while traveling.  Days before the race, a friend asked me my goal time, and all I could do was shrug at him and say, “I honestly have no idea what I can do with this one…my training has been so erratic.  We’ll just see how it goes.”  The morning of the race came, and a group of six of us found ourselves clad in runni...