January 2012

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Congrats Sweder, by the way, on being the first human ever to each 5,000 posts in the RC forums.

Worthy of a gong!

[Sweder]

Congrats Sweder, by the way, on being the first human ever to each 5,000 posts in the RC forums.

Time Spent Online: 1 Week, 5 Days, 13 Hours, 47 Minutes, 43 Seconds.
Oh dear #getalife

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Oh dear #getalife

Well you are in Almeria now aren't you?

[marathondan]

News from twitter...

Sweder
1:48 & change, negative split, excellent second 10k. Chuffed #Almeria
13 minutes ago

http://img.ly/dh1l

[Ana]

I would never imagine that during these years You would take a punk coiffure! Is SP also visiting the same hairdresser!?

[Sweder]

Almeria update.
Funny how we perceive a race and yet the stats reveal something altogether different. I would have bet my house on the fact that I ran the second half of the race 'much quicker' than the first, yet a delve into the Garmin data reveals a difference in favour of part two by a paltry 38 seconds.

Thinking back it felt like I'd 'coasted' the early miles and whilst the latter stages took their toll as legs tightened and muscles tired I put in a real effort to up my pace. Given that the results are disappointing, although I don't believe I've ever run la Rambla any better than I did yesterday. I held my pace below 8 minute miling around that well-populated loop, passing around 50 runners in the process.

The 'new' layout was in fact pretty much the same as last year, I just don't remember much about that race as it was in truth a bitter, ugly struggle. Any ideas that taking a second circuit of La Rambla out of the course would flatten the track are dispelled by the elevation plan (below). The race, like life, is peppered with ups and downs.

   

I crossed the line in 1:48, a full eight minutes slower than my 2010 best, but I'm pleased as I finished well and didn't feel unduly troubled at any stage. As I'd hoped this has proved an excellent launch pad for some pre-Brighton hard-top training. My legs stiffened considerably overnight, a process delayed by boistrous rehydration with Antionio, Manolo, Santi, Carmen, Ladyrunner, Moylebird, SP and EG. I'll leave the boys to regale you with their own race-related tales. I did see SP along the route, heading in the opposite direction as I reached 7.5 klicks. I proferred my water bottle and the big fella reached out, took hold and turned to run with me. Chipless (that was still in the room along with the shed skin of the previous nights' Rioja & Roll session) he elected to cut his torture short, running with me momentarily in the shadow of El Stadio.

   

Santi, sporting salt n pepper whiskers and the skinniest legs you'll see anywhere, posted a PB of 1:36, a superb effort. Despite a lack of training Ladyrunner finished in a creditable 1:44, Cam in 1:46. Here's a shot of us post-race in our delightfully garish finishers shirts. Antonio suffered a hamstring pull at around 5 kms yet typically struggled on to finish the entire 13.16 mile course. Many would have chucked in their lot and taken the 9k option but not he. Our generous host is a man of quiet determination and admirable strength. The post-race meal was delicious, washed down with generous helpings of cerveza and rioja. We took the battle on to Burana (aka Molly Malone's) where Ladyrunner delighted the bar staff by showing them how to pour a pint of Guinness without leaving an ice-cream float of a head. They've been serving the black nectar for at least a decade and at last they're doing it justice. Shame the ball-busting disco soundtrack gets worse every year, though we cared less about this with each passing pint.

This morning SP, Julie and Cam joined me for a sun-kissed stroll to Cafe Paris where we supped delicious cafe con leche and feasted on a brace of chunky tortilla espanolas. Our appetites where whetted by a dip in the ice-cold sea, a feat looked upon in slack-jawed disbelief by the well-wrapped locals. My choice of swimwear raised a few eyebrows, not to mention raucous laughter from SP and the girls. I'll save the sordid details for another time; suffice to say I went 'full Borat'. According to a friend who saw photographic evidence on Twitter we're definitely in for three more weeks of winter. We left the scene before I got picked up by the Policia for frightening the locals. More antics tonight at El Quinto Torro before a visit to last years' hit discovery known to RCers as 'the Rock Bar'.

[stillwaddler]

Excellent reults Sweder and glad to hear you are doing the apres run fun justice too.

[Sweder]

I would never imagine that during these years You would take a punk coiffure! Is SP also visiting the same hairdresser!?

Ha! yes, the photo wasn't planned but it turned out rather well didn't it? I'll post more from the meal/ rehydration later.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

You've done well Sweder - a mighty good time all things considered. But there's an air of intrigue hanging over this year's campaign. It all seems somehow ... different. What exactly happened at that pre-race rioja party? Why was SP chipless (or is that answered by the previous question?) and hardly any mention of the mighty EG?

And did you not run the mountain post race this year?

Sweder - the master of intrigue.

[Ana]

But there's an air of intrigue hanging over this year's campaign. It all seems somehow ... different. What exactly happened at that pre-race rioja party? Why was SP chipless?

I guess  SP was running with a bottle's beer cap at the sportshoe, ...meanwhile the chip is lying on some Almeria's pub floor!

[Sweder]

Those tales are for others to tell. We eschewed the Sierra Almahilla/ Cabo de Gata run, choosing to frolick on the beach instead. No intrigue intended, just leaving the floor clear for others to tell their stories ...

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

...just leaving the floor clear for others to tell their stories ...

...and we can't wait! Bring 'em on.

[Sweder]

You may have to wait a while for those. We finished in Vertice (the rock bar) some time after 3am. Antonio kindly dragged me out for a pre-dawn slog into the hills behind the town. We rested at the statue of Christ next to a Moorish hill fort to watch the sun rise over the Cabo de Gata.

An inhuman start, especially in some of the steepest hills I've seen here, yet well worth it for the views alone. Pictures soon.

[marathondan]

Well done Sweder, I'm not really clear whether you're pleased with your run or not, but at the end of the day it sounds like you enjoyed it and put in some great trademark hill work, and it's a stepping stone to something bigger. And viewed through the bottom of a Guinness glass, I guess it was a pretty satisfying day's work.

We await the photos of you at the beach with bated breath / turning stomachs. Although at that temperature, it sounds like without a zoom lens there won't be much to see...

And so LR pulled this year, huh?

The Rock Bar sounds ominous. Lock up yer mothers.

[Sweder]

Sorry if I sounded less than happy, that's misleading. I'm thrilled to duck under 1:50 (with only 2 long runs under my belt). What I'm less pleased about is the failure of lard to fall from my waistline, something that became all too apparent when, during our post-run swim, I was approached by not one but two Norwegian whalers. *sigh* So it is back on the wagon I go, from now until April 15th anyway. I'm determined to line up in Brighton under 90 kilos, even if I have to cut off an arm to do it.

LR was the picture of respectability as befits a lady of her standing.
And that's all I have to say about that.

[glaconman]

I suspect others were left trailing in your wake Sweder; both on the course and in the bar. Monster.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

You may have to wait a while for those.

Why? Didn't anyone post bail?

[Sweder]

I suspect others were left trailing in your wake Sweder; both on the course and in the bar. Monster.

I resemble that remark. In truth SP and EG were right there with me at the death. Sunday night was monstrous, for me at any rate. A month on the wagon wiped out by a day on Rioja and Guinness with a few shots thrown in for good measure (B52s? and something 'on the house'? Ugh). Fair to say I was not leading the charge by close of play on Sunday or Monday, rather clinging on by my fingernails.