Sunday, January 30, 2011

Running on the Pan American

Hot, burned grass smell, smoldering piles of burning trash, piles of horse dung, choking diesel engines, it's all pretty much the invigorating experience of running along the Pan American highway. I think if I ran north far enough, I'd end up back in the USA.

The heat has been intense even at 6:30 in the morning, when I start out. I've only been running for an hour, at a conversational pace.

Nicaragua is beautiful country. From the morning light off the hills to the bright pink bougainvillea flowers all over the stone walls, to the warm waves of the Laguna de Apoyo (see picture below) it's pretty amazing. Not to mention the incredible coffee, and the warmth of the people here.


Here are some highlights from the last month:

- Training has definitely ramped up! In the last month, I've really increased the amount of physical activity and that's made me feel a little tired; good but tired. The swims feel a bit hard, and I've noticed a new muscle in my arm (funny, I never thought that I'd write about this kind of stuff, and always kind of chuckled when I read other people's specific details like that, oh well)

- I've been in Nicaragua for work for the last week, and it's been a great trip, but I've been limited on what I can do. I've run for an hour every day (as advised by Andrew), but feel like I've lost some of my ground, so although I still have a few days before I get home, I'm ready to start back up

- Today I swam in the beautiful Laguna de Apoyo, outside of Masaya, Nicaragua. It's a crater lake, and absolutely picturesque and beautiful.

I'm a little nervous about the Ironman which I guess is in less than 100 days!

In the last month, I've been biking a lot. I joined a bike team, which I'm really enjoying.

More soon!

Annie