Running today didn't produce the smooth miles of yesterday,
with uphills and strong headwinds being the order of the day. Until now our
weather experience in South America has been picture perfect with blue skies,
gentle winds and hot temperatures being the daily norm but things have changed.
Low clouds, dark and broiling - reminiscent of a nasty Vancouver day - rumble
over us, dropping temperatures and hammering us with strong, gusting headwinds.
Truck traffic is heavy on this road with roughly 3,000
trucks blasting by us each day and every one of them carrying a powerful punch
of wind that, on this particular day when combined with the headwind, wallop us
to a virtual stop. It's brutal going.
And if this isn't enough our road is exclusively uphill.
It's not a steep uphill by any means - not one that gets the job done quick -
but rather an insidious one that slowly ekes away at our stamina, gnawing at
our resolve.
By lunchtime we've managed to claw out 40kms and we're
tired, very tired. We wolf down food and take a power nap, awaking two hours
later with a start, not believing we've slept so long. The morning miles were
rigorous indeed.
The wind hasn't died down during our slumber but, instead,
has intensified. It's starting to rain as well. Our shorts and T's are replaced
by long pants and jackets. Running is proving too difficult in such conditions
so we march out the final 10km at a walk and call it a day. A hard day done and
only 50km in the bag.
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