Me: 1, Chiquañan: 0

My current place of living/working is a town called Tumbaco. I live about in the center of this bustling little city and my work (the Training Center) is about a 25cent 20 min bus ride away in a quiet little area of town called Collaqui (COY-a-key). Laced through the city of Tumbaco is about a 26km trail known as Chiquañan. This trail is probably my favorite spot in the whole city! A portion of the trail starts right outside the gate of the Training Center and takes about an hour to walk the trail all the way to the city grid and up the several blocks to my house. Getting to walk this trail with friends after training has become my favorite time of the day! There’s not a single spot of the trail that isn’t picturesque in some way shape or form like the volcanic mountain in the background with the Quito city lights turning on for the night below it; the natural caves, tunnels, ravines, and tree-overhang areas; the beautiful fruit trees and flowers; even the occasional horse, donkey, cow, dog, or goat you may regularly pass; there’s not a day that goes by when I don’t revel in the beauty and glory of God’s creation! This trail is very common among runners, walkers, and bike riders.

But why stop at walking? Enter us: the PC Runners Club: OMNI 112 edition! After finally properly acclimating to the altitude (mas o menos), we were able to start day one today. And omigosh did it feel good to get out and move!!

Obstacles:

-          It’s been about a month or so since my last run

-          Uneven trail path (not my thang)

-          A few up hills (as in pretty much the whole way back after turning around to retrace back to the Center…we’re not quite to 26k yet to just make the complete circle ;) )

-          Rain, thunder, and lightning (towards the middle to end of our run)

-          And did I mention we’re sitting at about 8,000 - 9,000 feet above sea level? (yay dizziness, headaches, and near lung explosion!)

Accomplishments:

-          I think I went farther than I ever have (about 4-5 miles)

-          I ran more of my first mile than I ever do (almost the whole thing)

-          My lungs didn’t actually explode!

Suck it, altitude! I can’t wait to be at ballin status in the US!