Distance: 26 kilometers (16.14 miles)
Time: 140 minutes
Surface: asphalt/concrete
Weather Conditions: cool, misty, overcast, 60s, morning run
Location: Miraflores/Barranco/Chorrillos/San Isidro/Magdalena de Mar, Lima, Peru
Comments: I wanted to put in a huge run today and 'lo' that is what I did. I took it easy yesterday, carbed up pretty well and got in the mindset. Felt rested this morning so had a bannana and an energy bar with lots of water to get ready. Then I hit the road with two gel packs and two bottles of Gatorade.
Started very slow and deliberate. My knees were achy and I focused on taking smaller steps to get going. I went a slightly different route through the streets of Barranco and Chorrillos to cut out at least two big hills... and for the slight change of pace.
I was able to pick it up again when I came back from Playa Herradura and kept to the beachfront. Going out a bit early kept me from the sidewalk congestion of the Sunday morning walkers on this section.
Humped it up the hill to the San Isidro exit and back down to Magdalena de Mar - further that way than I have ever gone. Heading up the cliffs there was the toughest part of the run. When I got back up onto the street level I was running badly.
But, when I got back on the Malecon, the Pixies came up on the iPod and I said "screw it" and decided to feel some real pain. I picked up my stride the whole final 20 minutes and ran full out on the last kilometer when the Nine Inch Nails song came on.
Tough effort but worth it. I don't plan on running this far again for several months but it was nice to get a personal best under the belt.
The gels today were Clif Shots which tasted of overly salted cookie dough. The vanilla was putrid but the chocolate wasn't too bad.