It was quite a thrill and something I had almost wholly forgotten about over the past 5 months...
On Thursday, the university where I work held a 4K cross country race around the campus. In traditional Chilean racing-style, the lead pack went out at a suicidal pace and completely blew apart in about 400 meters. It was twice as funny as it sounds. About 1K in, I passed the remainder of the guys still hanging on and eventually won overall. I have no idea what time might have been because (in true Chilean race fashion), there was no count down or "gun" to signal the start of the race...we just sort of milled around until people got antsy and started running. There was no timing. I didn't have a watch. It was just...whoever crossed the finish line first won. I was only minimally slowed by the stray dogs constantly underfoot.
On Friday, I went to Santiago to meet up with Daniel and the awesomely supportive Vanessa early on Saturday morning for the K42 race in Cajón del Maipo. The race featured about 6,000ft+ in a 13 mile up-and-down course. I wrote a long race report but instead I'll break down into bulleted points.
-I slept for two hours the night before.
-I vomited white foam after just 10k. I had not eaten any white foam that morning. Huh.
-Daniel gave me some rice cakes with Marmite on them.
-I drank some Gatorade.
-I held a tiny Chilean flag.
-I fell during the descent twice.
-I saw a tiny pure-bred Cocker Spaniel puppy in the mountains twice.
-I learned that I really like Marmite and I spent $14 on an imported jar of that hideous tar.
4th place overall, 5:20:00. Yeesh. 1st place came in around 4:15:00 and was immediately whisked off to a clinic in an ambulance. So...I think he really wanted it quite a bit more than I did. It was a tough day for everyone, although Daniel finished just a couple spots back of me looking very relaxed and fresh. The 80K in October ought to suit him pretty well.
Pictures!
I hope that everyone in the world is doing as well as they possibly can be doing given their situation in life!
Proceed with your hell-giving! Those unforgivable cretins surely deserve it!
Love,
Pat.
6 comments:
First, way to be magnifico!
Second, is Marmite some sort of spread, made from marmots?
Third,...shit I forgot. Adios!
Marmite is made out of the sludge leftover from the beer brewing process. It looks like dark brown snot. It's unspeakable foul/unforgettably delicious.
That first photo, of the lagoon. That is really beautiful.
thanks, jen. you have a great eye when it comes to this sort of thing and, secretly, i was pretty happy with the photo. i'm glad you mentioned it.
"I fell during the descent twice." Shoe choice?
markus, i went with a pair of red italian stilettos. i was looking for something with a 110-120mm drop.
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