Kilometre 0 – The run starts here
The Challenge has started well, hurrah for willpower. Running, blogging, and drinking water all proceed as planned. Today I ran at a leisurely pace with a camera in my hand and the sun in my heart, and on the streets. Spring is definitely here.
Today I repeated yesterday’s 5.29km route, running a little later in the afternoon as the sun took a while to break through the Lima fog. Regular photo breaks (at each kilometre) and my customary exercise stops kept things fresh all the way around the circuit, so despite taking it easy I clocked in at 29 minutes and 18 seconds, only a little slower than yesterday’s PB, passing the 5k mark at 27:40.
And here is the route….
Kilometre 1
The end of the first kilometre runs down towards the sea and the glass bridge which crosses the beach road. Paragliders above the coastline are a regular feature. On summer days it’s nice to take a stroll along the prom, ice-cream in hand, counting how many are vying for airspace.
Once on the malecón there are a series of impeccably manicured gardens with dog agility trial areas, exercise bars, and a series of exercise machines: chin-up bars, bench press, crunch machine, a decent variety, and all in the open air for public use. Maybe some of you reading think this is no big deal. Coming from the north of England, where any outdoor facilities are rendered useless for the majority of the year due to freezing cold, driving rain, or the fact there are only five hours of daylight means I never cease to treasure these additions to my route, as you can see!
Exercise break!
Workin’ out
Running on, past the lighthouse you see in the banner image and back up to the road I would usually start to head homewards. Not this week – this week I head around the tennis courts towards the completion of kilometre three and parque Yitzhac Rabin, which currently harbours a huge statue of a clown, for no reason I have been able to discern.
the clown is currently hiding, in case of sensitive readers.
This is my last stretch along the cliffs before I peel off for the ten minute final stretch straight down the middle of avenida Jose Pardo, winding to a halt at the main roundabout. Roundabouts here are called ovalos, and it tickles me that the ovalo in Miraflores thinks it is so important that its name is ovalo El Ovalo. This ovalo is too cool for names.
Kilometre four at the quiet end of Pardo….
and kilometre 5 right outside Starbucks…
and still smiling!
More tomorrow!
The Parrot on the Power lines 