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I purposefully didn't have any plans for my last week in Costa Rica because I wasn't sure how I would feel after more than 8 weeks of travelling.  I figured once I was there, I would know what the right thing to do was.  As I ran along the rocks on my way to the finish of the Coastal Challenge, I knew the only thing I wanted to do was go home. It was such a great event that it seemed the perfect ending to a great trip.  Plus I'd get to surprise Emilie a week early. I flew home on Sunday, took a cab home, and called her from our front porch.

It is good to be home. I have two weeks before I have to be back at work so I can get caught back up on life, school, training, and race directing. 

Coastal Challenge - Just Finshed

I just finished the coastal challenge on the beach on the pacific ocean.  What a great experience!  I understand why people do stage races now.  That was so amazing.  I think this was the perfect way to end my adventure of the last two months.

Somehow I ended up in 6th place despite never finishing above 8th place any day. I was very consistent while others had big fluctuations day to day.  The weather was hot, but very nice.  The course had short spectacualr trail sections split up by long dirt road sections. Other than some scrapes on my arms, I am completely fine and not sore.  The one pair of shoes I have had with me the whole South/Central America trip are hilariously destroyed but they made it through. I'll post a report in a day or two. 

Costal Challenge day 1

The first stage was a quick one - 24.5 kms with 1550 meters of climbing.  The day started with an early 3 hour bus ride to La Fortuna. We were greeted with a great view of the Arenal Volcano as we started. The course began with some pavement out of town followed by a super technical and steep climb up to Cerro Chato. The descent down the mountain was equally epic. This was my favorite part of the day. The rest of the course was a little pavement and a lot of dirt road.  It was warm and humid but not totally unbareable.  I have no idea how long it took me. I tried to go as slow as possible to conserve myself for the tougher days.

We are staying at the Rancho Margot tonight; an off the grid, totally self sustaining hostel/farm/camp... It is very pretty.

The biggest thing I confirmed is that I am out of shape!  two months of vacation is not the best for training.  This is going to be a tough week, but the course is spectacular so that should pull me through.  Tomorrow is the longest day - 62.4 kms with 4280 meters of climbing.  I think it will be very important to take it easy tomorrow.  the next stages are 20 miles then 30 miles so I can't beat myself up too much yet.

Cipro time plus more Peru pictures

It looks like something Em and I ate two days ago in Peru was bad because we are both having some problems.  I should have known I'd get sick the day before the race given my track record with international races.  Luckily this is about 1% as bad as mexico so I think a little Cipro and I will be good to go tomorrow.   The weather is absolutely perfect and I am very excited about the race, stomach problems or not!
Here are some more pics from our final few days in peru:

This is what my intestines feel like :)

Nazca flight

Pre-Incan ruins with some great trails nearby

Nazca Lines

Nazca Lines

This is where we'll put anyone that tries to run with a pacer at deadman peaks this year

1500 year old pyramid in miraflores

Lima, Peru to San Jose, Costa Rica

The South American part of my trip is officially over.  Emilie and I spent the last two days in Lima, but this morning I flew to San Jose, CR and she flew home. Lima was good.  We stayed in Miraflores, which is a really nice neighborhood on the ocean. We saw some cool bones in the San Francisco Monastery and a 1500 year old pyramid, but beyond that there wasn't much to see. We ended the Peruvian part of the trip with a great sunset dinner on the ocean.

I had a direct flight from Lima to San Jose so it only took 4 hours to get there.  I am in CR to run the Coastal Challenge stage race.  Tomorrow is the race check in.  I can't wait to get out and run the course and see the country.

Nazca

We arrived in Nazca at 6 am after a overnight bus ride from Arequipa on Monday. Our hotel was great and let us check in, despite being 10 hours earlier than the normal check in time. 
After getting cleaned up and resting a little, we went to the airport to take a flight over the nazca lines. We flew on a little 6 seat, prop plane. The flight took us over 12 different of the famous shapes, like the monkey and spider.  The pilot took really tight banked turns so each side of the plane could see each of the shapes.  The combination of the high wind, hard turns, and a tiny plane made for a wild ride.  I thought I was nervous, but I was actually doing the best of everyone. One woman behind us was puking, the other woman looked like she was about to cry, and Em was fighting not to puke.  It was actually kind of funny. By the 8th or 9th shape, no one even cared. We all just wanted to get off the plane.

The lines were fun to see, but no more spectacular than in pictures or TV. The more interesting attractions near Nazca are the mummies at the Cemetery of Chauchilla and the various pre-incan ruins around town. We spent the next two days visiting many of the places. I found some great mountain trails to run on just 1 km from the hotel and a place to work out so I was happy.  I didn't have high expectations for Nazca, but it turned out to be a nice, small, cheap, charming town.

We are now on the bus to Lima.  Cruz del Sur is great. Wifi, movies, and Super-cama seats. On Friday, I fly to Costa Rica for the last leg of my adventure and Emilie goes home.  I am running the Coastal Challenge stage race.  I am in ok shape considering I have been on vacation for almost 8 weeks.  The race should be fun, albeit really hot and humid. Grad school is starting up again, as is the work for Cedro Peak, so the real vacation is over. I'm glad. I don't know how people do year long trips.         

Running in Colca Canyon

After a great time in Cuzco, the sacred valley, and Machu Picchu, we flew to Arequipa on Thursday.  Immediately I was blown away by the huge mountains surrounding the city. 

 

Getting of the plane in Arequipa

Arequipa is a great city.  Very clean and pretty.  We only stayed one night and then were picked up by our guide for three days of hiking in Colca Canyon.  Colca Canyon is the second deepest canyon in the world: over 9,000 feet deep.  The elevations range from 6,000 ft up to 15,000 ft. The plan was basically I would go running while Emilie hiked with the guide. 

We arrived at Cabanaconde at about noon. We ate a great lunch of soup, rice, and alpaca steak and then hit the trail.  For the first afternoon, we headed down to this amazing little refugio down on the Rio Colca. It had hot springs and these cool little bamboo huts for rooms. 



The trail down from the canyon rim was very rocky, but well maintained. 



The canyon has a lot of similarities to Copper Canyon, but without all the trash, crime, and drug money. The people were wonderful and the trails were amazing and pristine.  There were all these little villages that had water, food, and places to stay.  There were a few other trekkers out there, but most of the time, we were completely alone. There were only 4 other people at the first night's hotel.



The second day, I ran all over the canyon.  I met the guide and Emilie for lunch in Malata and then continued on to a few other small villages before re-joining them at the Oasis.  My favorite part was the village of Tapay. It's up this huge climb out of a side canyon.  At the top, you pass through this little notch and are greated with the view of the town, big white church, and snow covered peaks behind it. After a nice stay at the Oasys, moring we climbed back out of the canyon and back to Cabanaconde and on to Arequipa.  

Colca Canyon really exceeded my expecations.  It really was unbelievable. The whole trail system is epic.  I could have spent another week there just exploring the miles of trails.