Anybody Have Experience in Running in Santiago de Chile?

Because of a wonderful program here at UC Berkeley, I will be traveling to and working in Santiago de Chile for close to a month in the May/June time frame. The majority of my time there will be spent working on a clean tech project, but hopefully I will have a little bit of time to explore and go running. Needless to say I'm beyond excited!

Knowing that Santiago is one of most developed cities in South America, I am still a bit unsure as to what running is like (weather, safety, etc.) down there. I was hoping to participate in a six hour race only a week or so after my return. If you've visited and can share you're experience with me, please send me an e-mail.

joy!

Race Discount/Free Race Number for My Friends in Georgia

Unfortunately, I can't take advantage of this anymore, but if you're planning on running the Granite Grinder in April, you can either do it for free (!) or register with a $10 discount. Here's how it works:

Free: Go to Subaru of South Atlanta on January 31st from 1 - 6 pm, test drive one of their cars and get a free race number AND a free VO2 max test.

$10 off: When you register on active.com, use the code "gogrinder"

Enjoy!

The Effects of Walking on Mileage

Atlanta is a driving city. It is nearly impossible to live in the ATL (I'm hip like that) without having access to a car. Berkeley is sort of the opposite of that. I got rid of my car the second day after I got here (not an exaggeration). Between the lady and I we share one vehicle that I drive on average about once a week (grocery shopping or trail running/racing). Everywhere else I walk. And I LOVE it!

There are several factors that make this possible. Incredible weather. Proximity of campus and key stores, restaurants, etc. to our home. Decent public transportation system into the city. With all that, I sat down and tried to figure out much I expect to walk in 2009.

Round trip to and from campus (Haas): 2.2 miles
Trips per week: ~5
Additional mileage per week (shopping, getting coffee, etc.): 2.5
Total weeks of school: about 30 (accounts for some miscellaneous events)

Total miles walked per week during non school weeks: ~5
(This number is higher, because I often combine walking to and from schools with running errands. Five miles per week is a good approximation of how much I have walked during break).
Total weeks without school: 22

Total expected walking mileage: ~515 miles

Wow! Walking is certainly not a substitute for running, but it does qualify for cross-training doesn't it? (This may also explain why I lost quite a bit of weight last fall despite running less).

Inspiration

2009 is off to a great start! My mileage is up despite extensive travel, and I'm in the final stages of putting together my spring schedule. I am committed to making 2009 my strongest running year yet.

One major reason of why running has been going so well is my fellow bloggers. They are setting an example and inspire me every day. Thank you all (you know who you are) for being awesome!

1243.59

That's my total mileage for 2008. Honestly, it's not something I'm excited about, as it falls way below my expectations. There were way too many 8, 10, 14 mile weeks during summer/early fall when my training was taking a backseat to other things in life. (1245 miles will get you from Berkeley to Estes Park, CO, gateway to the great Rocky Mountain National Park and one of my playgrounds this past summer).

Alas, it's a new year! My minimum goal for this year is 1,500 miles (4.1/day, 28.8/week) and my dream goal is right at 2009 (5.5/day, 38.6/week). We'll see how 2009 shapes up.