Welcome to the twenty-fourth episode in the Out Of Breath series! This run in Rio de Janeiro occurred on the 1st of March, 2019.
In the past few months I've been bitching and complaining about the heat and humidity. Well, I promise this is the last time. All those other times were the result of my poor memory, because finally this is really what Singapore was like (at least in terms of weather). Hot, humid, by the ocean... maybe the architecture and language were different, but otherwise it was extremely close to my memories of running in the red dot.
Our week in Rio was quite remarkable. We were there during Carnival and planned to be there with Max and Marta to have fun, explore the city and party. Much to our surprise, when we arrived at our airbnb we were greeted by two other friends who decided to join us as well! The remarkable part is that I managed to run at all, given the weather (either hot and humid or raining and humid) and my level of sobriety (drunk only once but frequently enjoying a cold beer).
Our airbnb, while perhaps the worst (dirty, expensive, messy, dirty, gross, etc) we've ever stayed in, was in an amazing location. Besides being in the center of the city, it had an amazing view of the beaches, Sugarloaf and the city below us. It was right next to a favela, but this was actually amazing because every evening they had huge, .50c hamburgers and enormous acai shakes. The view running down to the beach was rather awesome, too!
Running along the beach was also very special. This particular morning was rather early and besides the drunk people I passed in the city, there weren't many people out and about. The largest group was a big crew getting a stage ready for a party later, but along the beach itself it was very quiet and peaceful. These are my favorite runs, where it feels like I am peacefully alone in the middle of an otherwise chaotic place/scene/city/life/etc.
I really love the peace that comes with running.
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