Thank G-d for Asics

I almost got robbed today. I say almost because I´m a runner. This should be a warning to any potential robbers out there not to rob skinny looking guys (or girls) in asics.

I was walking through the Mariscal, the touristy section of Quito, which is known for being plauged with robberies, even during the day. I usually avoid this area on principal and on the aforementioned fact. However, I heard there was a good English bookstore in the center, so I decided to risk it.

Now, before you hear the story, you must understand that there are two types of people who try to rob you in Ecuador. There are ladrones, which most literally translates to the English word mugger. These are people who will come up to you at night with knives or guns. Then there are people who I don´t really know what the word is in spanish but are basically con-artists. These people don´t carry weapons but simply try and get you to give them your stuff willingly. This is what I had to deal with today.

So, the story begins as I was walking through the Mariscal and stopped to find out what street I was on. I set my bag down next to me and pulled out a map. This was my first mistake. A lot of people had told me that if you take out a map you will probably get robbed. I assumed that they were exagerating, but apparently not. As I´m looking at the map, a man walks by and spills some nasty cheese sauce all over my favorite shirt and one of my few pairs of pants (luckily, tomorrow is laundry day!).

I think, shit, today is not my day. I have cheese sauce all over my pants. This should have been a red flag but I was too flustered by the idea of having dirty pants to make the connection. The man apologized and handed me a pile of napkins. As I looked down to wipe off the mess, someone yelled at me in spanish and pointed at a taxi which was beginning to pull away. I immediately noticed that my bag was no logner next to me and made the connection. I took off.

I must have sprinted a few hundred meters to catch up with the taxi before I could smack its windows and make it stop. I pulled the door open and saw the man who had spilled his cheese sauce on me. He, of course, pointed in the opposite direction, trying to suggest that the man who had really robbed me was going the other way. After a few seconds, I realized, there had been another man in the taxi, who was now running off down the street in the opposite direction.

Having caught my breath from the chase of the taxi, I was ready for my second interval of the day. Again, I took off. The man must have had a 10 second lead on me. About a 60 second 440 later, I pulled up next to him, told him he was a whore in Spanish, and tripped him. As he went down, I pulled my knee up and smacked him clear in the nose. Triumph.

In perfect Spanish, I knelt down over his now bleeding face and said ¨Si trata robarme otra vez, va a matarte, putita.¨ (If you try to rob me again, I will kill you.) I picked up my bag and jogged back down the street where I found the bookstore I was looking for. Full of adrenaline.

Other than that, my day has actually been pretty good. I was able to get a bunch of interesting looking books and I had a great run (after the aforementioned mini interval workout). It was the longest run I´ve done since February, about 10.5 miles. It was super hot, so the pace was a little slow (7:15), but it was all right.

Also, I need to write an entry about the Cotopaxi hike from this past weekend, but right now I´ve had about enough excitment for today and I don´t have enough money to stay here much longer, so I´ll try and do it tomorrow or something.

All in all, I think the lesson learned today is don´t try to rob someone who looks faster than you if you´re not armed. I guess he couldn´t see my super jacked thighs through the cheese-sauce-stain on my jeans. Better luck next time.