an unexpected day off work

last wednesday i found myself not in work, so mike and i went up the volcano nearest to quito which is called Pinchincha. the volcano is active (i think), the last activty was a while ago though so i wasn't in any immediate danger. the peak is at nearly 5000m above sealevel so even from Quito that is quite an ascent, but never fear we took the cable car- no walking! it was a beautiful day and from the top we could see 6 other of Ecuadors volcanoes, unfortunately the closest and largest, Cotopaxi was covered in cloud at the very top for most of the time, we did get a quick glimpse of the snow capped top when we were coming back down however. the views over Quito itself were also spectacular as it is spread along the floor of the valley beneath us. being at such an altitude did however make me feel a little peculiar and this may explain what i did later on in the day.... in roughly 2 weeks there is a huge sports event in Quito, a 15km race, which i have entered! so now my training will begin in earnest this week- i bought some trainers on friday. i'm not even sure i can walk 15km in my current state of fitness so it should be an interesting day! wish me luck.