Athletic Accomplishments Abound

I climbed Chirripo, Costa Rica's highest peak at 12,500 feet above sea level!  I started my adventure by driving down to San Gerardo with two fellow teachers, Dave and Tom.  We stayed at Casa Mariposa, a perfect little guest house only a few meters from the trailhead.  Despite the giant tarantula right outside our door, we all slept really well in the dorm.  We rose before sunrise to get an early start.  The hike was steep and long, climbing from 5000 feet, but pleasant.  We hit the water refueling station after 5 miles.  Had a brief respite, then attacked the hill again.  After about 6 hours, we reached the base camp, the lodge at Crestones, at 11,000 feet.

There was no doubt that we were fatigued.  After we checked in, we all took a nap.  Later, Dave and I took a little walk up the trail toward the Crestones on the other side of the valley, to catch a sunset view.  Then, after a decent dinner, we went to bed at 7:30, in preparation for our 2:50 a.m. wakeup for our final ascent to the summit.  We started hiking the final 5 kilometers to the summit at 3:15 a..m. using flashlights and headlamps, under a gorgeous starry sky.  Then, at about 4:30 a.m. first light appeared.  Not wanting to miss the sunrise, Dave and I surged forward to reach the summit around 4:45.  The final section of trail was actually a steep section of bouldering up to a craggy summit.  We were the first to arrive that day and the summit was ours.  

While the sunrise was only a brief tinge of pink, and Costa Rica was blanketed below with swirling clouds cascading across other mountain peaks, we were exhilarated to have accomplished the feat of climbing to the top of Costa Rica.

The hike down was long, wet, and painful.  Tom, Dave and I had done 15 miles of hiking that day and our feet were not so happy.  But we made it.
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Marina competed in a inter-school swim meet this weekend and took home 2 third place medals and 1 second place medal.  Way to go, Marina!

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I competed in the Cerros de Escazu hill climb 10K race a few weeks ago and, after putting in a lot of miles training, was able to pull off a victory in my 40+ age group.  This is the first real race that I've won in my adult running career.  Next year, I'm going to try to complete the 21K.  It's more than twice the distance and twice the elevation gain.