I wrote a bit about my trip to Paraguay last week, and today I want to talk about my running down there. I was surprisingly pretty consistent…and running in the mornings! :-O If you’ve read here for a bit, you know I am NOT a morning person and do not run in the AM haha.
I got to Paraguay on Friday, April 3, but obviously after a 9 hour overnight flight I was not about to go for a run. How does anyone sleep on overnight flights?? I wish I could afford the tickets for first class, where you get a semi-bed:
Wouldn’t that be nice?? I’m pretty sure those seats are over $5,000.00 though.
Anyway, back to running…
Saturday morning I went to the main park in Asuncion, Paraguay, which is a 5K loop. I went with my mom and met up with my aunt, uncle and grandma. It was rainy, so I was surprised when they still decided to meet me! My uncle ran with my mom and me, and my aunt and grandma walked a loop.
Since it was in the 80s, the rain actually felt nice. I don’t mind running in the rain when it’s hot…though the humidity sucked. Since I have been running inside all winter, being in 80 degree weather plus anywhere from 60-90% humidity was a shock to the system. So I didn’t even wear a watch and just ran by feel.
That day I just ran one loop (5K). Each day I made sure to run in the mornings because afternoons and evenings were filled with either visiting family members or going out places with my grandma and aunt (dinner, bowling, shopping, etc.). I would wake up around 7:30 AM and start running probably around 8:30. I don’t know why it was easier to wake up and run while on vacation than it is here at home…shouldn’t it be the opposite? 
On Sunday (Easter), I met up with my aunt and uncle again at the same park. This time it was 80s again and 96% humidity!! Tough. We ended up breaking the run up into sections…running the first mile, then running 400 meters, walking 100 meters, repeat. We ran about 4 miles that day.
On Monday, we went back to the park again, and ran about 5 miles. Filmed this quick video with exercises you can do at a park…all you need is a bench! I like using benches for step-ups after runs to get in a little strength workout:
That day would end up being my mom’s last run for the whole trip. She was feeling a bit frazzled scheduling everything between running, visiting family, etc. so she decided to just take a break. I took off Tuesday, Wednesday we were SUPPOSED to run 9 miles but I woke up with a crazy stomach ache, so took off again.
Then Thursday-Saturday I ran at another park that my aunt and uncle introduced me to. I loved it! Although it was only a 1,500 meter loop, it was shaded and had some hills, so it provided a change of pace. I ran 5 loops each day, and we walked 1 mile there and 1 mile back home so about 6-7 miles total for the day.
Sunday was my great grandmother’s 90th birthday party so I did not run…plus it was the hottest day of my trip…96 degrees!
Monday I ran at a local soccer field because I had no one to drive me to the park. I ended up doing a speed workout. Approximately 3.5 miles with something similar to 400 meter repeats. Again, ran watchless. And Tuesday we flew back.
The Thursday we got back we ran 8 miles, with 2×2 mile repeats in the middle. Felt pretty good! We are running the Long Branch Half Marathon on Sunday so we’ll see how it goes! I know we won’t PR, and our longest run has only been 8 miles, so I’m not expecting anything. It will be my first race with my mom where we are just running by feel and running for fun.
I think, since I am not trying to PR or anything, I want to try a run/walk method. According to several websites and calculators (too lazy to look up links right now), I need to run for 4 minutes and walk 1 minute to average around 9 min./mile. If I want to run 9:40/mile, I need to run the 4 minutes in 8:40ish pace…can I do that?? I have no idea. But I want to try.
During the time I was in Paraguay, I ran about 19-20 miles in a week. I’ll take it! I ran about 20 miles per week consistently for about 4 weeks I think. So I know I can run this half, but we’ll see what the final result is!
Anyone else running the Long Branch Half/NJ Marathon?
Has anyone tried the run/walk method?
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I was homesick towards the end and more than ready to come home.
