How lucky birds are! It´s wonderful to be able to have a look at the landscape from a plane. How small everything looks! It´s great to have a look at places you´ve been to and see them from above. The view from the plane was fantastic with the bay of Almería on one side and the ranges of mountains on the other one, with snow which is not very usual and a sunny day after a few cold rainy days. It was marvellous to be able to go to England even if it was just for 47 hours. I really enjoyed the experience. When we were approaching Gatwick, I noticed very white clouds which looked like cotton. There were also the typical green fields with their hedges and there was some snow over there. From the airport, I took the Gatwick express to Victoria station. It was cloudy and a bit cold in London on Saturday afternoon. I had a walk around there and later I took a bus to go to Shepherd´s Bush were I was going to meet Andy. I met a man from Ireland on the bus and we talked about London, Ireland and so on. Then, I went to the shopping centre where we were going to meet. I had a cup of hot chocolate and an apple pie. I met Andy there. He came from a football match, QPR Reading which ended in a 0 draw. From there, we went to the car park and went to my hotel but before that Andy showed me the school he attended and the wine shop he used to work in. He took me to Windsor where we saw the castle and after a detour we also had a look at Eton college. Then, we got to my hotel, The Courtyard Reading Berkshire, which was very comfortable. After leaving the luggage, we went to Andy´s house. There, I greeted M., Andy´s wife, M., and met a friend of Andy´s , Kevin, who was going to take part at Reading half as well. We exchanged presents and offered me something to have. Later, we went to an Italian restaurant where we loaded a lot of carbohydrates which were really good. We had a wonderful evening there.
On Sunday, Andy picked me up at 7.30 am and took me home but before he showed me his training routes along the canal and near a place with lots of deer. The landscape was very quiet and relaxing. When we got to Andy´s place, Andy SP and Sweder had already arrived from Brighton. We all complained about our injuries and headed in Andy Sp´s car for the leisure centre where the half marathon start was. It was a bit cold but sunny. We left the car at the orange car park and walked to the start. There were a lot of people around there. We went to the start but I had to take a pee before, so we agreed to meet at the start but when I got there I couldn´t see them since it was crowded. The race started with about twenty-five minutes´ delay. Fortunately, I had an old sweatshirt on to leave when the race started. The atmosphere was very nice there. We talked about the delay but we didn´t mind the delay much. Finally, we started to be able to walk. It took me five minutes to get to the start line. There were people along the streets cheering and I could see a few runners carrying a bucket where people threw coins for the charity. It must be really hard to run with such burden. There were also some runners wearing a disguise. The course was a little bit uphill at the beginning in mile one, Shinfield Road and in mile six at Russell street but it was mainly flat or downhill. There were plenty of drink stations. I started at a soft pace not feeling any discomfort in my right foot sole. I didn´t have to take any walk breaks and felt quite well so that I managed to increase my pace after mile 9 or ten. I met a lad who is a farming student at Reading university, Chris, who is also a rugby player at the university team and we did nearly the whole last mile together.It was great to reach the Madejski stadium and finish in just a few metres without having to do a lap and a half as in Almería. I finished in two hours fifteen minutes, chip time. I was given a bag of goodies and a plastic blanket. Later, I received a medal, which is really great since in Spain they´re given only in marathons. I also noticed that over there the female participation is much bigger than here and I also liked the fact that there are a lot runners who don´t care doing more than two hours thirty, which is great.
Then, I met Sweder and Kevin who had arrived in around 1 hour fifty-two minutes. Immediately came Andy RC, who although arrived a bit later than me, had beaten me in the chip time doing 2 hours 14 minutes and a PB. A few minutes late arrived Andy SP, who had managed to finish in spite of his calf injury. Well done, everybody!
I went to the shop and bought a commemorative technical T-shirt and we went back to the car park and Andy´s house. Then, we all went to a pub where we all and M. had a drink. Andy SP and Sweder left early to go back to Brighton since it was Sweder´s daughter´s birthday. Afterwards, we had another drink. Then, Nigel and his three wonderful children, Christina, Robert and Miranda, appeared. Later, we went to Andy´s house and had a cup of tea and some biscuits. I had a very good time playing with Miranda. Afterwards, Nigel and his children left. Andy took me to my hotel where I had a relaxing shower. Later, Andy took me back home but showed me first another route that he sometimes does along a narrow steep road with a beautiful countryside landscape. Then, at Andy and M. ´s house, we had a good time having dinner, tea and scones. At about 9 pm, Andy took me to Reading station where he helped me buy a ticket to Gatwick airport in a machine. I´d like to thank Andy and M. for their kind hospitality which made my short stay in England a really wonderful experience. I was away for just 47 hours, which was also my room number at the hotel in Reading but they were intense and worth doing again. It´s sometimes good to change your routine and going there after nearly thirteen years has been really great.
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