In January I visited Larcamar, a small tourist district of Lima, which sits next to the ocean. I took this picture from the top of one of the cliffs near the shore looking towards a small peninsula about 15 kilometers away. (about 9 miles). At the time I thought to myself, “Self, wow, what a view.” I was of course talking about the ocean-front view, not of the dying, pink flowers in the foreground.
I had the opportunity, once again, to take in this view last Saturday morning. However, this time I wasn’t a tourist trying to catch the sunset, I was part of a Peru Running Club training for the marathon here in Lima next month. When I say – “once again take in the view”, I really mean that if the sun had actually risen at this point in the day it would have been a good view. It was so early in the morning that I actually ran passed a restaurant of people still enjoying their Friday night… I don’t know which group was crazier – I’ll go with the runners club.
So, to give you a little history first, earlier last week I was speaking with a fellow teacher who had heard that I enjoy running from time to time. He said that I should join him this Saturday for a long run around Miraflores here in Lima. I said, “Oh, great, I would love that.” This is where it gets a little fishy. He told me that the run was 20 kilometers, which, for me is a long run. I would barely be able to make 20 kilometers (11 or 12 miles). However, I always know that when I’m with a new group, trying to show off a little, that my adrenaline is pumping and that would probably help me finish the 20K. I agreed and we arranged the time and place to meet his running group. First mistake.
5:30am on Saturday morning arrives with some great weather. I was getting excited and nervous. I met my friend, Marco, at the starting point and we began around 6am. 5 runners in total… a small group, I thought. We started at an annoyingly slow pace – so slow that I felt like walking. But, our route was along the coast so the ocean breeze felt great, and I figured that once the sun came up it would be a beautiful view. We continued the fast walking for about 20 minutes, then, without words everyone increased the pace to a slow jog. At this point I’m thinking, come on people, let’s start running. Well, at kilometer 5 we took a quick bathroom break at a gas station then increased the pace to a steady jog – more of my style.
Two of the group members are very experienced marathon runners. They begin to run a little faster, which is more of my pace – … if we were running a 5K. I am trying to show off so I agree to join the faster group. The fast group is a good one, I’m happy to be in the fast group, we’re cool. Second mistake.
We kept the pace for about 30 minutes, then for 45 minutes. Okay, I’m starting to get a little fatigued at this point. We’ve been running, what feels to me to be a 7-minute per mile pace, for about 45 minutes… all in the same direction along the coast. I finally asked the guy in the group, when are we turning around? He points to a spot along the beach, which I’m familiar with… the peninsula (remember – “self, wow, what a view”). I cough a few times and they laugh at me and ask me, “How are you feeling?” “Are you going to make it?”. But, I’ve translated this for you, they asked me in Spanish, and my oxygen-deprived brain couldn’t comprehend Spanish at that point so I asked them to repeat, por favor.
After I come to terms with how far we’re running I told them that I want to slow down. But there’s a problem, I don’t know the route. Okay, I told them that I would wait for the slow group to catch up and just run with them. They said, “Oh, the slow group doesn’t run this far, they’ve already turned around and are heading back.” Okkaaaayyyyy. After I heard this news the two runners actually convinced me that it’s not that much farther before we turn around and that I might as well keep going. I oblige and continue running farther away from my former life… a life without leg cramps. Third mistake.
We finally reached our half-way point and I asked them how far we had gone. He responded with a smooth, “15 kilometers”. Hail Mary, full of grace, the lord is with thee……
I couldn’t keep up with the pace any longer and I had to bow-out of the fast group. I was no longer cool. Actually, I was so slow that I probably wouldn’t be considered part of the slow group. I was thinking about the beginning of the run when we were running so slow that I felt like walking… well, it’s not so annoying anymore. In fact, at kilometer 25, I felt so happy to be walking that I dreamed about the next logical step – sitting. So that’s what I did, I took a taxi for 3 soles ($1) back to our starting point. My pride took quite a hit when I rolled up to the parking lot in a taxi as everyone is just sitting, stretching, and of course talking about me. I told my new Peruvian friends a sincere thank you… thank you for reminding me to bring some money with me just in case I couldn’t make it. They were very kind with me telling me that I did the smart thing, and that there’s no need to push my body passed its limits. Duh, I said, as I struggle to touch my knees while stretching.
Some time soon I will visit Larcamar again. It’s a great place to watch a movie, eat at some great restaurants, and generally it’s a good atmosphere for walking around/hanging out. Of course I won’t remember Larcamar for that one Saturday that I conquered the spontaneous marathon. Rather, I will remember how smart I was to bring at least 3 soles with me so I wouldn’t have to run any farther - That decision, alone, made up for the three prior mistakes. What a view.
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