May....back on the road again.....

[Bierzo Baggie]

Decided today that it was time to get back into it. 40 minutes around the river and felt surprisingly good considering that this comes after 0 kms in April followed by our first week of baby-induced sleep-deprivation. It felt a bit like I’d closed my eyes at the end of March and opened them again six weeks later. Monte Pajariel rose above the River Sil cloaked in a velvety green and there were flowers everywhere. Huge daisies fringed the long grass near the river and there were clusters of buttercups and vibrant red poppies. Lots of them.
River circuit. Hot. 40 minutes. Felt OK and only a couplr of minutes slower than normal.

[El Gordo]

Well done, BB. I also had my first run yesterday after a shorter break than you, but a break nevertheless, of 2 weeks. Don't know about you but I tend to overeat during idle periods, which makes getting back into it even harder than it would have been.

Anyway, glad that someone else is suffering too. It eases the burden...

BTW, watched West Brom's very creditable draw with ManU on the box yesterday. They were fortunate to survive a first half onslaught only 1 goal behind, but perked up a lot in the second. The equaliser was a rather dubious penalty to be honest, but I was glad to see their effort rewarded. It must have been a bit frightening to see the United triple substitution halfway through the second half, when Rooney, Scholes and Saha all came on, but Albion hung on. Whether it will be enough is anyone's guess. I'm confident that they'll beat Portsmouth next weekend, but who knows how the other results will go? Gripping stuff, and I'm glad I can play the part of the interested spectator rather than the stressed-out supporter or manager.

[Bierzo Baggie]

After a couple of false starts this week finally managed to get out onto Monte Pajariel. A spot of not so nimble rock-hopping took me across the river and onto the track to Toral de Merayo. After recent rain Pajariel is as green as it ever will be and thick with the sickly sweet fragrance of a million flowers, reds and whites, yellows and purples. Lots of yellow gorse and the delicate white petals of the rock-rose decorate much of the hillside. This is an abundant, but short-lived flower which blooms spectacularly in May before reverting back to its habitual state as an inconspicuous, sticky little bush. There are also huge, mutant Bierzo daisies all over the place. Essential oil extract from the yellow heart of the flower is used locally to make a herbal tea called “manzanilla”. According to my mother in law it’s a great remedy for babies with colic if you add it to the feed bottle. We got some from the chemist but little Lara spewed it out again pretty quickly...so much for the daisy treatment.
Warm today, but not uncomfortably so. Felt OK physically although my calf muscles tugged and occassionally screamed in protest.
46 pondering minutes.

[Sweder]

. . . bloody hell, what a day.
Congrats to the Baggies. No-one gave them a prayer but they stuck at it and they've survived on an astonishing day in the Premiership.

Boing boing!

[Riazor Blue]

Boing Boing Pah!

Well done to them (he says through gritted teeth).

As per usual Palace threw it all away in the dying minutes, how often have they done that this season ? If only matches were the same length as in rugby... we'd be in Europe this year.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Just rang my dad up for first hand report of incredible scenes at The Hawthorns. For some reason I'd got it in my head that Palace were already on 33 points and even at Charlton 2 Palace 2 I thought we were down. When it dawned on me....manic boinging followed all around the house. The neighbours below were probably thinking that the Englishman had finally cracked up (too much running?). Even baby Lara stopped crying for 10 minutes (she's a Baggie, she's a Baggie).

Commiserations Brian. Hope you bounce back next year.

[El Gordo]

It was a wild afternoon, guys. I watched it all in the pub, amidst a crowd of fans of varying sympathies. Highly dramatic.

This should finally expunge the pain of West Brom's 1967 defeat at Wembley to QPR.

[Bierzo Baggie]

It was the 82 FA Cup semi-final which holds the most painful memories for me. Rangers 1 Albion 0. A grim 90 minutes of football at Highbury with the only goal ricocheting off Clive Allen's knee. And the end of an era for The Baggies.

[Bierzo Baggie]

My good friend Miguel the mushroom picker has corrected me on the origins of the daisy tonic. The Bierzo daisies, large though they are, are not the true source of the locally produced manzanilla infusion. In fact it comes from camomile daisies which grow in the mountains of Leon and the Picos de Europa. Well, how was I to know? It was just PG Tips where I came from.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Slipped out for a run on Sunday morning. Did my St James’ Way route. Noticed that mid-May marks the crossing of the meridian line where pilgrims (7) start to outnumber storks (2). Seeds from the poplar trees fall like snow. Windy, cloudy and threatening to rain. Ran for 71 minutes, felt tired and struggled on the hills.

[Bierzo Baggie]

The second or third Sunday of May is normally the day of my annual pilgrimage to the Truchillas-Vizcodillo fell race. Pedro the lumberjack rang on Saturday night to see if I’d be joining the Ponferrada contingent but this year it was not to be. It’s worth commenting on though as it’s a pretty special event.

It’s a straightforward, no-nonsense 16km up-and-down mountain race which I’ve taken part in for the last 3 years (it would have been 4 but one year an overnight snowfall blocked the mountain pass and we didn’t make it through). And you won’t find this race in Runner’s World. You probably won’t even find it in the Spanish edition of said magazine but it’s as spectacular as any race I know. It has the same subversive air of a semi-secret gathering and the first time we went it felt like looking for a late-80s warehouse party. Early hours at some vague location between the mountains of El Bierzo and the mountains of northern Portugal searching for any sign of a race, passing through one isolated village to the next even more isolated, semi-abandoned village, not a soul in sight and suddenly….

The odyssey usually begins a couple of hours before the race starts. We take the mountain road from Ponferrada over the Morredero pass (they say name comes from the Galician language, Morredero, “a place to die”...a taste of what’s to come?). The road passes a sign which reads 1950m …and it continues climbing. Then it hairpins steeply downwards to Corporales, the first village of the Cabrera region on the other side of the Aquilianos range. This is followed by Baillo and then Truchas (trout) and finally Truchillas (little trout) which is supposedly the village of the race. You’d never guess though as the tiny, dismally ramshackle little place has the air of being totally abandoned. Another 500m along the road, however, and you’ll see the first indications that something strange is about to happen. Gnarled, scrawny and olive-skinned mountain-men with quads and calf muscles seemingly sculpted from the very mountainside are mulling about, stretching or applying smelly substances from tubes. To get a sense of the atmosphere you must read a book mentioned by Andy on another thread “Feet in the Clouds, a tale of fell running and obsession”. Substitute Lakeland fells for Cantabrian Cornisa and you’ll get the idea. Familiar faces of those who repeat year after year mingle with new faces most of which will later vow never to come back. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea. One of the “never-agains” is a friend of mine who describes the race as “something for people who don’t like running” and it’s true. Any normal running in the sense of regular rhythm, regular gradient and regular stride pattern is for 90% of the time impossible. Maybe a bit of rephrasing would leave a more satisfactory definition on the lines of “something for people who quite like running but who love mountains”.

Took a few photos last year and they turned out like this.
http://es.geocities.com/leonatletismo/truchillas.htm
Of the Ponferrada crew you can see Carlos the copper (number 248), Pedro the lumberjack (number 250), the mighty Basurko (number 272) amongst other head-bangers. I’m the one taking a breather at the top (Pico Vizcodillo, 2100m). The lake is half way up and more than one runner is known to have taken a dip, usually on the way down. As you’ll see the race in a merry succession of mountain paths and rock hopping.

No entry fee, no showers (most cool off in the icy waters of the local river) and it all finishes with the traditional fraternal barbecue and prize-giving. Pedro the lumberjack won the prize for over 40s last year which was a large piece of ham. This time round it was not to be but like West Brom, I’ll be back again next year.

[Bierzo Baggie]

7 lunchtime laps of the park and it’s hot again. Bierzo is next to Galicia and there are many similarities (in vegetation, food, accents and dialects) but the Summer heat here is unmistakably Castilian.
28 minutes and t'was more than enough...
A lot of rain over the last few days and the early morning temperatures are still quite low. There was even snow falling on the peaks during last Sunday’s Truchillas race. Apparently one poor fellow had to be winched off the hillside by helicopter with a broken ankle.

[El Gordo]

Fascinating photos, BB. That is some hill.

Very interesting race report. There's something sort of parched and raw about this sort of event that makes it seem to belong in a totally different running department. Along with reading stuff like "Feet In The Clouds", my appetite is definitely being whetted.....

[Bierzo Baggie]

That wasn’t a hill...this is a hill, http://es.geocities.com/leonatletismo/fo...rillos.htm

Took this in the Villamanín fell race last September (north of Leon). The rest of the photos are on the same page.......read the rest of “Feet in the Clouds” at your peril Andy....

http://es.geocities.com/leonatletismo/fontun04.htm

[Bierzo Baggie]

Set out without really knowing where I was going (know the feeling anybody?). Once I’d crossed the river, instead of taking the Monte Pajariel trail to the right I turned left and ran in the opposite direction. Passed a couple of heavily laden pilgrims and realizing that I was running the St James’ Way (but in the wrong direction) I decided to carry on. The walkers and cyclists (today there were hoards of them, lost count at 20..not much of one for numbers) are just completing one of the toughest parts of the route, the mountainous section between Astorga and Ponferrada. Some of them limp along with their heavy loads, obviously suffering in the heat. Stopped after 20 minutes to take a photo for a Dutch lady (it seemed the polite thing to do) and soon after ran through the little village of Campo. The last time I came along here was when Riazor Blue came to run the Ponferrada half marathon last September. Ran up through the steep, narrow streets and decided that in about 10 years time and with a bit of renovating this village might attract a few tourists.
Continued climbing on a track above the village, past vineyards now sprouting leaves. Along here there were plenty of wild pink roses and lizards which scuttled into the undergrowth as I approached. Eventually reached the brow of the hill, turned around and ran back the way I’d come.

60 energy-sapping minutes. It’s really too hot for lunchtime running now. Appropriately donned my “carreira pedestre popular Santiago 2004” cap.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Short Sunday morning run around the canal. Splendid views of the mountains behind Monte Pajariel on the way back with the last specks of snow clinging defiantly to the highest peaks. These are the Montes Aquilianos. They consist of a 3 summits of over 2000m and one slightly lower, followed by a serrated edge of jagged limestone at about 1500m. On the first Saturday of June there’s a long distance walking event from Ponferrada which ventures up onto this range (some of the local fell-running hard-core do it running. Every year there’s an “unofficial” race and the likes of Carlos the copper and Pedro the lumberjack are training all year round for the honour of getting the fastest time). Signed up for it last week and also put my dad’s name down as he’ll be over for the week. There are two routes, a short one of 45km and a long one of 66km which takes in the 4 highest peaks. This sort of event is similar to the one that Antonio vividly described not long ago http://www.runningcommentary.co.uk/forum....php?t=622 although slightly shorter and without the mountain biking option.
Back to Sunday. 30 minutes running time. Felt OK and getting a bit of speed back.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Got out onto Monte Pajariel today completing the habitual Toral de Merayo circuit. The bright yellow flowers of the gorse bushes are now out in full bloom. Lots of purple lavender as well. It’s probably the prettiest time of the year and an authentic treat for eyes and nostrils. Saw a buzzard circling overhead. Warm but not unbearably so.
45 minutes. Got into the slipstream of a tractor whilst running through Toral. Whoosh......

[Bierzo Baggie]

Just when I was getting back into it...came down with a stinking cold. Always seem to get one when the hot weather comes. Strange that. What’s worse, I passed it on to Rosana who passed it on to baby Lara. So that put an end to any more running last week.

Got out early this morning while everybody was sleeping. Cool, Sunday morning air made for ideal running conditions. The mist hung enigmatically over the Montes Aquilianos and the cherry trees in the allotments brandished their first ripe cherries. I struggled around a one-hour all-road circuit although hardly came up across any cars. Brought up several gallons of phlegm and sounded more like old man Steptoe than an athlete.
Running time 61 minutes. All in all, felt better after a run!
Saw a couple of signs up for next Saturday’s Montes Aquilianos event. http://es.geocities.com/leonatletismo/aquilianos.htm
They’re expecting a good turnout with runners and walkers from all over the north of Spain. My dad won’t be doing it in the end due to an unfortunate accident halfway up Ben Nevis. I ran my first half marathon with my dad back in 1988 but he packed in the running fairly recently when people started shouting “well done grandad” as he crossed the finish line. He still does a lot of challenging walks though and this was the ideal event to do together 17 years later.....a shame, maybe next year.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Last day of May. Ran around the canal. Hot. Looked across to the Montes Aquilianos and miraculously there is still a speck of distant snow near one of the peaks. It won’t be there for much longer though....
30 minutes.