Antarctic Adventures in Christchurch

The International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch is a must-see for any visitor.

I had SO much fun!  We went on Queen's Birthday and so the price was more affordable then non-holidays ($25, I think, compared to $65).  With the entry fee we got to watch the penguin encounter (penguin feeding and talk), experience an antarctic storm (complete with frigid temperatures and wind gusts), view a 4D movie of Antarctica's scenery and wildlife and travel in the super cool all terrain amphibious Hagglund (think of a Duck Tour going up and around short steep hills).

I mentioned penguins... here they are!

Okay, so maybe the picture leaves a bit to be desired.  How about a little video of some of the little blues?

I enjoyed all the interactive aspects of the center.  I even left my mark here:

What is the one thing you would take with you to Antarctica? Emerson's Pilsner.

So, the whole experience got me thinking... New Zealand isn't that far from Antarctica, right?

Christchurch

 In 2006 and 2011, my hometown and the surrounding communities were dramatically affected by devastating flooding.  So, this month as I set out to walk around post-earthquake Christchurch I thought I had a small sense of what the local community experienced.  Not so much.  New Zealand's 2nd largest city experienced much much more than I can ever imagine.  But, what's so incredible about this place are the examples of how this city picked itself up and found ways to get back to business.

Here's the Pallet Pavillion:

It had a flea market/farmer's market vibe inside the pallet walls.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the walk around Christchurch:

In the foreground is a cafe constructed from shipping containers as part of the 'container mall'.  In the background is a parking garage that is no longer in use due to quake damage.  I just love how unique the stores look because they are made from containers of all colors.

This is part of a mural that I walked past:

It says:

Amidst the shards of glass
& twisted steel
Beside the fallen brick
& scattered concrete
we began to understand
that there is beauty in the
broken
Strangers do not live here anymore

Continuing on, we reached the section of town where the Cardboard Cathedral was constructed.

The Cathedral is the triangular object.  The white chairs are a tribute to the 185 victims of the 2011 earthquake.

Here's the front of the cathedral:

I have more photos of Christchurch (PENGUIN PHOTOS!), but those will have to wait for another day.  Stay tuned!

Run, Sara, Run!

I have a secret...If I don't run then I can't sit still.

There's a LOT of sitting when it comes to PhD life, so a few sedentary days really throw me out of whack.  Sometimes I get in the office around 9am and I try to spend hours in front of the computer, but I can't focus unless I've burned off pent up energy.

Over the past few months, I've used my running time to meet new people and prepare for races.  In April, I ran the 26k (16.2 miles) Three Peaks Mountain Race here in Dunedin.  Wow, was that a cold, wet and windy race!!

I finished in 3 hours 44 minutes (26/29 women, 153/175 overall).  It was my first time doing a race that intense, but I really enjoyed myself.  It was fun to concentrate on not falling in the mud... that is, until I tripped and landed in some spiky gorse - I had little purple polka dots post-race from those suckers!  I'm hoping to do this race again next year so that I can enjoy the views from the three summits on the racecourse.

Next up was the Otago Peninsula Challenge in May.  This was an extremely scenic 23k (14.3 miles) run along the ocean and over farmland.  The course began with a long uphill that took me about 15 minutes to ascend and from there it was a roller coaster to the finish line.

I often encourage triathlete/running friends from home to visit New Zealand to race with me somewhere on the south island.  THIS is definitely a race that is worth the trip!  Here's the view from the finish line:

I finished that race in 2 hours 35 minutes (11/28 women, 75/117 overall).  My fitness had drastically improved in just a short amount of time!

This month, the big race was the Christchurch Airport Marathon (42.2k, 26.2 miles); it was my first marathon in New Zealand.

This was the sky on race morning around 8am:

The course was flat as a pancake, which was advertised that way, but I didn't expect it at all... normally when something sounds easy by New Zealander standards it's actually hella ridiculously hard by international standards!

I finished the marathon in 4 hours 8 minutes - about 9 minutes 28 seconds per mile (30/64 women 20-39, 51/110 females, 219/399 overall).  Not too shabby considering I didn't run for 1 1/2 weeks after the Peninsula Challenge due to respiratory issues and barely ran the week before the race due to pain in my right foot/calf.

I had a laid back approach to the whole race.  I figured that 5 hours of running was easier than a multi-day tramp - I could get a hot shower and French fries within a short time of finishing AND I'd be sleeping in a comfy bed that night.  Unfortunately, on race day I was dawdling and missed the cutoff time for the special drinks drop off station.  I was told I'd have to find my own way of making sure my flat Coke would be out on the course at the 3 hour mark.  Thankfully, some super awesome spectators saw me studying the racecourse map to think of a strategy to get my drink out there and they offered to wait out on the course after their athlete passed by to hand my Coke off to me - how sweet?!!!

I held back on my pace for the first 3 hours and then tried to pick up the pace since I was feeling so good.  Needless to say, I was stoked that I didn't have any issues until the last 5k/3miles of the race-  I was just feeling tired and ready for it to be over.

Unfortunately, the run has caused my foot injuries to get worse and now I'm forced to sit for a few days and rest up.  I suppose it's good timing because I have a really important final exam coming up in my Biostatistics and Epidemiology class.  I'm optimistic that I'll be back to running in no time - there's a half marathon in two weeks that I'm keen to do and then I hope to race the local marathon in September.  The goal will be to go sub 4 hours in September and then see if I can chase down a Boston marathon qualifying time (3 hours 35 minutes for my age group) after that!