7marathons7continents

Greetings from Panama City, Panama. Bill and I arrived at 10PM local time Thursday night. We've spent the last couple of days getting oriented to the city and acclimating to the humidity.

Those of you who have followed my winter complaints (aching teeth, frozen hands, runny nose) will be relieved that I will NOT be complaining about the heat now that I am here in deep Central America. No, I'm quite happy to be warm for a change and look forward to a nice long run in 90% humidity tomorrow morning at five AM.

As always, we have learned some quick lessons about the country we are in. We've learned, for example, that in Panama City, traveling by taxi is by far the most efficient way to get from point A to point B, and that taxi rides are not for the faint of heart. In fact the whole traffic scene, even for the pedestrian, is a trip! Yesterday Bill advised me regarding the best method for crossing a street (and those of you who know us well will recognize Bill's advising me on street-crossing as a recurring theme in our relationship) saying, "Tuck yourself behind some locals and let them lead the way."

Since information on the marathon is in short supply, we don't know if the traffic will be re-routed during the race or if we'll spend the whole 42 K tucking ourselves behind locals to make it to the finish line.

I've also learned that many of the roads don't have signs. For me, as a back-of-the-packer, unmarked roads can prove to be very troublesome. If the course isn't marked or if the volunteers are not plentiful and/or helpful, I may need to find my own way on the course.

Today I started to worry about how, with my limited Spanish I would be able to find my way to the finish line if I find myself alone on the course. To assuage my concern, Bill suggested we create a "safety plan." When you run slowly in a foreign country with a language barrier, I have learned from unfortunate experiences that a safety plan is crucial.

Here is my safety plan for tomorrow.

Along with water and energy gel, I will carry:

1. A map of the course, for what it is worth,
2. A list of locations (such as our hostel and the address of the finish line) with phonetic spellings beside the actual spellings of all words,
3. A list of Spanish phrases that will help me communicate with passers-by or volunteers,
4. Five dollars for a taxi.

Tomorrow morning at what is three AM for my friends on the West coast, Bill and I will be starting the Panama International Marathon. About five hours after that, with any luck, I'll be crossing the finish line. Send us your good vibes (and a good sense of direction for me) and stay tuned for the race report. If I'm not too trashed, you'll get it tomorrow night. If I'm over the edge with exhaustion, I'll post it when(ish) we get home on August 18th.

Peace!