I've been training and running on my own and with some different running groups since I got to Baghdad. One day, I was doing some sprint work along the back perimeter, and one of the Peruvian security guards stopped me to give me some running advice on posture, head and shoulder positioning, and arm swing. I listened to him, and changed some of my running posture according to his advice as he and the other guards watched me go back and forth doing my 200s.
Well, a couple weeks later, it was time for our monthly 5K, and my Peruvian friend, Yermy, told me his boss was going to let him run. So I talked to him at the front of the starting line, and told him who the man to beat was, an English guy named Steve. So we started the race, and I ended in an IZ PR of 19:45, but Yermy did extremely well, winning his age group and coming in second place overall after Steve, with a time in the mid 17 minute range. That's really impressive seeing as how Yermy has not been able to run for the 3 months he's been here. I found out that he had run for the Armed Forces team in Peru and was an experienced runner.
After the race, Yermy told me that he was very impressed by me the day I was doing sprints because, as he said, I takes a lot of "fuerzas" to get out there and push yourself on your own. He must have also been impressed that I was humble enough to take running advice from a Peruvian security guard. It may just be that Latin Americans just love me and think I'm the coolest. Anyway, he said that he asked his mom to make me a present, so she sent him a hand-knitted "chullo" or tassled beanie cap that is so synonymous with the Andean peoples. It's beautiful, and so soft that I think it must be made from alpaca wool, although I didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth by asking.
Here we are: Yermy with his medal, and me with my chullo. (Note that behind us is a ginormous statue head of deposed leader Saddam Hussein)
Well, a couple weeks later, it was time for our monthly 5K, and my Peruvian friend, Yermy, told me his boss was going to let him run. So I talked to him at the front of the starting line, and told him who the man to beat was, an English guy named Steve. So we started the race, and I ended in an IZ PR of 19:45, but Yermy did extremely well, winning his age group and coming in second place overall after Steve, with a time in the mid 17 minute range. That's really impressive seeing as how Yermy has not been able to run for the 3 months he's been here. I found out that he had run for the Armed Forces team in Peru and was an experienced runner.
After the race, Yermy told me that he was very impressed by me the day I was doing sprints because, as he said, I takes a lot of "fuerzas" to get out there and push yourself on your own. He must have also been impressed that I was humble enough to take running advice from a Peruvian security guard. It may just be that Latin Americans just love me and think I'm the coolest. Anyway, he said that he asked his mom to make me a present, so she sent him a hand-knitted "chullo" or tassled beanie cap that is so synonymous with the Andean peoples. It's beautiful, and so soft that I think it must be made from alpaca wool, although I didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth by asking.
Here we are: Yermy with his medal, and me with my chullo. (Note that behind us is a ginormous statue head of deposed leader Saddam Hussein)
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