Running in Peru – My Final Run for the Trip and Sort of a Summary

I’d had hopes of doing another long run this week - the Cleveland Marathon is looming. But those pesky Peruvian germs got me again - yesterday I caught a sudden cold. I wasn’t about to miss this final opportunity for a run during this trip, but I would probably have to do it slower and easier than I would’ve liked. So I start slowly down the hill from the hotel and then onto the now familiar road that loops around the golf course.

I can’t say that my running in Peru has been great. My post about my first run here chronicled my circuit along with the accompanying pollution and traffic challenges. I’d gotten some decent mileage in that first week, including a slow 20-miler. That’s when the germs got me the first time causing that major GI problem. By the time I recovered, I was in Cusco, where at 11,000 feet, all I could do was shuffle around for a couple miles. (The picture above is actually of me shuffling in Cusco.) When I returned to Lima, I was suddenly running better than before I was sick. Monday I did 4 of the 2.85-mile golf course loops in record times, and Tuesday I also ran well, logging a solid 9.

Yes, after 15 to 20 circuits, the old loop around the golf course is very familiar now. The golf course, like everything else in Lima, is surrounded by walls. Starting at 5:30am, there is very little traffic, and I can do some of the running on the asphalt roads. Later, as the traffic builds I have to move to the concrete sidewalks for the entire way. There are four places where I have to cross the road, and this gets more dicey as the morning wears on – the traffic volume reaches a crescendo by 7am, but I’m finishing up by then. I run by the walls, the armed guards at the gates, the other runners (Peruvian and not) and of course the increasing traffic. Today I do 3 circuits, each one a bit faster. The last two loops are under 23 minutes – pretty good for me in this day and age.

Now it’s light out and I’ve got between 8 ½ and 9 miles in. I’ve got a little more time but I don’t want to fight the traffic and exhaust on another loop of the golf course. Instead I finish up on a 2++ mile loop of the mountain road by the hotel. It’s not really up on top of the mountain – it’s really just built into the side of it. It’s winding and hilly, and the traffic isn’t bad. I finish this in a decent 19 minutes to give me 11 total miles in 90 minutes. With my cold, this was better than expected, and the best pace for any of my running in Peru.

For more on Peru, See the old travel blog, horvaths travels.