Seems like I will be spending a few days per week in Medellin over the next couple of months. I know that Medellin has the most beautiful girls in Colombia and probably Latin America but as a true tri geek, I am mostly concerned about being able to do my training.
Anyone know about:
– 25 or 50 meters pool, ideally with masters class
– good gyms with decent gym bikes
Running I figure I can get done easily.
Thanks
Hey I lived there for a year. Which area are you living in and I can make recommendations? I lived in a couple buildings that had pools but know of a couple others too.
For running, I didn’t worry about where I ran on the basis that if a van comes around the corner I could at least jump in a ditch to save my life. That was in the more mountainous parts of the city where there aren’t many pedestrian paths. If you want to do some hill work check out pueblito paisa which is probably a mile long. You can also run east on Calle 5S near the Oviedo shopping mall. It’s just a road with some pedestrian path next to it but it is super steep! You can run next to the river for some flat runs.
For cycling I personally didn’t do much outside the gym. I found the roads to be pretty unsafe at the best of times and as there isn’t much of a bike commuting culture (translation=none!) I didn’t feel safe given most people would be surprised to see you on the road. Having said that they shut the road next to the river once a week so that people can jog/run/blade/cycle so you should definitely take advantage of that. On the outskirts of the city there are some decent cycling groups that go up and down the mountain roads. I’d encourage you to join a team for cycling. Although Colombia is much safer than in the past there is still a decent chance of muggings especially if you have something obviously expensive/look foreign/are alone.
For swimming I swam at EAFIT which is a uni there. It has a 25 yd pool and a running track. My building also had one which was fine in the mornings when it wasn’t busy. Don’t know of any
There are loads of gyms there. I can’t remember the one I went to but it was a high end one for Medellin and cheap by international standards.
As an aside I did this Spanish program. It was pretty good. I did it for 6 months semi-intensive. http://www.eafit.edu.co/idiomas/spanish-program/spanish-program-english/Paginas/inicio.aspx. You might want to check out UPB too as I knew quite a few people there.
Let me know if you need any help with info as I still know some locals there and might be able to dig up current information. You’ll love it there. The weather is fantastic all year round and the people are really friendly.