Week 14

[Antonio247]

Week 14. 19th-25th January. I still have the same weight, 82,1 kg. I find it difficult to lose weight this year. At least, I haven´t gained any but I should eat less and lose two kilos so that I can see number 7 in front, for instance, 79,9 kg. I wish I could get that weight and keep it until Madrid marathon but I´m not as motivated as the previous months when I managed to lose 9 kilos in nearly four months, from 89 on 1st September to 80 just before Christmas.

Tuesday 20th January 2004. When I left my block of flats at 6.30 am, it was a bit cold. I thought: What am I doing here in the open? I should remain in bed instead of going for a run at dark. However, once I started moving; I felt better. I went to the end of the first part of the sea front slower than on Sunday when it was the last part of the long run. It took me 17´45´´. Then I came back a little faster in 16´ 45´´. On my way back I heard someone coughing. It was a runner I had never seen before who overtook me. There were fewer people than usual this morning not only running but also walking. I decided to complete until I did 40 minutes and around 5,5km

I like many things of Hal Higdon´s marathon schedule but one I really appreciate is the fact that in the midweek days you don´t have to train long distances, which makes me feel more comfortable sinceI haven´t got much spare time in those days.

[Antonio247]

Wednesday 21st January 2004. I left too late this morning at 7 o´clock. I went to bed very late last night and I overslept. I should have done five miles but I only did 6 kms because of the time I had. I left from the park opposite my flat by the seafront. I went uphill to the end of “La Rambla”, the same course that I did on Sunday. It took me 23 minutes, nearly two minutes less than on Sunday. Then, I came down that large avenue, a bit fast because I was in a hurry. I went straight home without getting to the Almadrabillas park and without stopping one minute to walk. In all, I did 43 minutes and about 6 kms. I felt quite well this morning. Tomorrow I have am appointment with a physiotherapist I know to have a discharge massage in order to avoid injuries at the race and after the race.

[Antonio247]

Saturday 24th January 2004. Unfortunately, on Thursday I didn´t go for a run because I didn´t feel well. I had a general discomfort with a little cold and a sore throat. I thought it could be worse if I went out to train. However, I went to my physiotherapist to have a discharge muscle for Almería half marathon next Sunday. I went to Paco Rueda, who was a pupil of mine several years ago and who is also a triathlete. I felt all right after the massage. He advised me to go for a soft run that day and on Saturday I could do 20-25 minutes and a few progressive strides followed by some stretching.
Although I still don´t feel well, I went for s short run this morning. I went to Avenida del Mediterráneo where the half marathon starts to get some fruit and vegetables at a street market that is there every Saturday and then I went for a slow run along a ground path where I met some dogs that were barking but as the Spanish proverb says “Perro ladrador, poco mordedor”, which could be translated freely into English as “ A dog that barks a lot, doesn´t bite at all”, I went on that “cortijo” ( Andalusian farm ) and went into a nearly empty road, then I followed another ground path I´d never been to and went back to the place where I had left my car. In all, I did 30 minutes and around 4 kilometres. Then, I did some stretching.

This afternoon. I´ll go to the runners´ fair at the university to collect my race number. I´ll go with Manuel, a friend of mine who is from Almería but lives in Barcelona. Later, we´ll go to the pasta dinner to get enough starch for tomorrow´s half. Yesterday I met Manuel in Almería where we had a drink. In the street, we saw a young man from Berlin who is travelling around Europe and Morocco on bicycle with a sort of windsurf board to carry luggage. Actually, he had just arrived by ferry from Nador, Morocco. I greeted to him because I also used to go on bicycle trips in Spain, Portugal, France, UK and Ireland. He was looking for the youth hostel and he had to repair the towing gadget. We told him the way to the youth hostel and went with him only part of the way because Manuel had to go home to have dinner with his family and I had to take him in my car to his village which is 12 km away from Almería. He told us he started his trip in August and he wants to get to Greece for the Olympic games. My friend told him that he had run Berlin marathon and he said that he had run Athens marathon which Manuel also did four years ago. What a coincidence! I wish I could spend only ten days travelling on bicycle again. It´s so wonderful.

[El Gordo]

Best of luck for the Almeria Half, Antonio. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get there but who knows? Perhaps next year. Even if I'd been able to go, I'm not in a position to run 13 miles at the moment.

I hope your illness and slight injury don't hamper your race.

As always, very interesting to hear about your training. It's a beautiful day here today, but we've been warned to expect cold weather and snow next week, with temperatures possibly down to minus 14.

Spare us a thought!

[Antonio247]

Thank you very much, Andy. I hope I´ll be able to finish not feeling too bad trying to improve my last year PB a few minutes.

I´ve just come back from the pasta dinner. There was a great atmosphere. I went with Manuel and we met the young man from Germany who is travelling on bicycle. His name´s Thomas. He´s going to take part at the half marathon tomorrow. We had dinner with him and some other friends of him.

The runner´s fair was quite good with different stands and there was also a film and a lecture as a homage to two Spanish athletes. Dinner was quite good. Macaroni, salad, chicken and chip and a dessert ( fruit-yogourt )and a soft drink.

I don´t feel completely well but enough to be able to run.

The weather has been great today, sunny, not windy. I expect it will be like that tomorrow. It must be hard to expect such low temperatures over there. Well, at least, today you´ve also had a beautiful day.

Well, tomorrow I´ll tell you how the half marathon was.

Good night. Buenas noches.

[El Gordo]

Buenas noches, Antonio, and good luck.

We all look forward to your race report.

Andy

[Antonio247]

Sunday 25th January 2004.
As I walked out this midwinter morning, I thought I had to do my best to lower my PB a few minutes. Early in the morning at 6.30 am, I had had two oranges and three mandarins. Later, at around 7.30 I had a glass of cocoa milk and two slices of bread with some olive oil. Although the weather forecast predicted that it would be a sunny day, actually it was a cloudy misty morning. Fortunately, it wasn´t a windy day as it had been last Sunday but it was a wet morning. However, in the afternoon, the sun did shine. I went to the stadium on foot in about fifteen minutes. There were a lot of people already around getting the race numbers because they had arrived in the morning and getting the chips those who had got it at the runners´ fair on Saturday. I collected my chip and went to the stadium changing rooms to put on my T-shirt after having done a little warm-up. I met Germán. He´s an old runner I met last year at this half marathon and in Lorca, Murcia last November. He always wears the same T-shirt, one with the Cuban and Spanish flag. He was interviewed in the Spanish edition of Runners´ World. He told me that he runs a half marathon every weekend. He lives in Madrid and he´s been to many races. He also told me that last year he took part at London marathon and two weeks later in Madrid doing around 4hours 30 minutes in both of them. I met there some other runners I know and then I went to the start line where I met other runners. Two young men told me I had been their English teacher at Vera in the province of Almería fifteen years ago. I recognized them and we talked a little about the old days and the race. I also met Thomas, the German lad who is travelling on bicycle, and Manuel and some others. Well, we went through the gate where the carpet for the chips was and quickly the race started. I felt quite well and went at a 5´35´´ pace the first kilometres, which is quite good for me. I went with different runners from different places but sometimes I couldn´t follow their pace or I preferred overtaking since I saw that I could finish with a good personal record. My nephew Luis, who is 13 years old, went on bicycle with my rucksack with some water and cereal bars in case I needed but actually I only had a bar at kilometre 18. I stopped running to walk for one minute while drinking water at kilometres 5, 10 and fifteen. When we were going along the road by the sea it was nice to see the people who were going back to the finish while we had to get to the university and how we cheered up each other. I felt quite confident without any discomfort in my calves and I even overtook a runner at the stadium but another runner overtook me too. I saw the people cheering there. Manuel, who had done his PB in 1 hour 32 minutes, was there too. I forgot to stop my watch at the finish but I did around two hours 3 minutes, which is fifteen minutes less than the previous edition on 1st June 2003. In my last half marathon in Lorca, Murcia on 27th November I also did the same time.

I think this sport is really great. Anyone that doesn´t know about it will probably think it isn´t worth doing 21 kms 97 metres to finish one hour later than the winner but for us it is wonderful to see how you´re getting on and feeling that great atmosphere and the good healthy friends you make. In my last half marathon in Lorca , Murcia on 27th November I also did the same time. I´m very glad to have got my PB here in my hometown feeling all right and more confident to do a marathon in three months´ time. Now my objective is to do the next half under two hours.

[El Gordo]

Well done Antonio, that's a fantastic improvement over that period. Sounds like a very sociable event.

I hope you'll allow yourself a glass of something to celebrate.

Also, good use of "had had" in the second sentence!

Are you still planning to come to the UK in the spring?

Andy

[Antonio247]

Thank you very much, Andy. It´s a pity you couldn´t come. The atmosphere was quite good although the day wasn´t sunny as it is usual around here. It is also unusual to have pasta dinner at half marathons in Spain. It´s usual the pasta party at marathons. I think it helps to create a nice atmosphere previous to the half marathon.

Well, I must admit that I brought some cakes this afternoon to celebrate it.

Yes, Andy, I was thinking about the "had ..... " sentence when I was writing that.

I´d love to go to Bramley 20 miles on 29th February but I´ll probably have to stay here or go somewhere nearer to do that distance. Perhaps Seville marathon doing 33-35 kms or Torrevieja half marathon and do ten kilometres before the race.

The ideal thing would be to spend the weekend in London and take part at the race in Bramley on Sunday. That way we could meet at the race and have a drink afterwards. Besides, it´s a long weekend at schools in Almería. However, unfortunately, the chances are small unless I manage to persuade my wife.

Well, Andy, I hope you enjoyed your long run today.

Regards,
Antonio

[El Gordo]

I ran 8.3 miles today and enjoyed it a lot. I'll try to write it up shortly.

I've decided that the Bramley 20 miler will be too far for me by the end of February. It's ideal for the London marathon in April, but it comes a bit too soon for my new marathon date in mid-May.

There are a lot of choices including the Bramley 10. (The 20 is just a repeat of the 10 circuit.)

If you think you will be over, let me know, but otherwise I'll assume you won't be.

Hope you're able to have a day or two of rest before continuing your training.

Andy

[Liz]

Congratulations Antonio - what a great performance.

I'm thoroughly enjoying your diary and am continually impressed by your English skills.

[Riazor Blue]

Hi Antonio,
I like the thread mate. I've asked andy if I can start a diary, we can keep eachother posted on here. Congratulations on the 1/2 yesterday. Don't worry about the weight, I went from 86kg down to 81 (March to December) then put 4 kg back on over Christmas, I reckon you are not changing weight as you're still building muscle.
Equalled my best in Viana yesterday (give or take a few seconds) 1h39m59s (sounds less than 1h40m).

[Nigel]

Felicitaciones y muy buen hecho, Antonio. Congratulations, and very well done on a fine race. I enjoyed your account, picturing your nephew Luis cycling alongside. Hopefully you can count on good support along Madrid's Paseo de la Castellana in April as well.

You mentioned that Las Ramblas in Almeria, where the race starts, was a river bed filled in a few years ago to make that wide and elegant boulevard with its line of parks running down to the port. What happens to the water, when it rains there now ? It doesn't rain often in Almeria, I know, but when it does, it rains very hard....

“Perro ladrador, poco mordedor”, that's a good Spanish proverb. 'His bark was worse than his bite" would be the English equivalent, which we apply to many people, not just dogs. (Except for admirals, where an alternative might be 'His barque was worse than his bight'....).

Who were the Spanish athletes featured in the pre-race lecture ? Spain has had some great 1500m runners over the years - Fermin Cacho is one I remember particularly well, thrilling the crowd at the Barcelona Olympics, whilst Abel Anton was a World Champion who won the London Marathon in style in 1998. A proud running tradition indeed.

[El Gordo]

Welcome Riazor Blue...

I'll create your training space this evening, when I get home.

Good luck for Madrid.

Andy

[Antonio247]

Hello, everybody

Thanks a lot for your support and encouragement.

Andy, I´m glad you enjoyed your ran yesterday. If I could go to Bramley, I´d tell you but, unfortunately, it´s really unlikely. Yes, I´ll take some days of rest, especially because my legs are still a bit stiff. Tomorrow, I´ll probably go on the bicycle a little in the afternoon and on Thursday I´m going to my phisiotherapist again to have a post half marathon massage.

Liz, how are you doing with your training? Are you feeling better? I hope you can run London marathon. It must be a great experience. Next year it will be my aim if I finish Madrid marathon this year and I want to repeat the experience. I hope so since once you start, you need to do it again at least once a year.

Brian ( Riazor Blue ), congratulations on Viana do Castelo half. I wish I could get to your level. I´m glad you liked this website. I think the atmosphere here is fantastic. It´s wonderful to be able to share your training diary. I´m sure that it´ll be more interesting than mine and we all will learn a lot.

Nigel, I think that to avoid floods the Rambla was canalized though other underground canals. Nevertheless, it doesn´t rain much lately but you´re right it can rain cats and dogs ( llueve a cántaros ) as we say in Spanish.

The Spanish athletes were Manuel Pancorbo and Francisco Sánchez Vargas. They´re from Andalusia and got some important awards.

I agree with you, Nigel. There have been very good runners from Spain ,especially in middle and long-distance, such as those you have mentioned or Martiz Fiz. By the way, he organizes a marahon in his home town, Vitoria, in April.

Well, good luck, everybody and thank you very much for your support and encouragement.

Antonio

[Seafront Plodder]

Antonio,

Can I just add my congratulations to you on your terrific run. I think sub-2 hours is definitely on for you next time. The only downside is that you are 8 minutes quicker than me

I've been meaning to mention for a while, but you posting the odd link reminded me that I was down your way last year. A small town on the coast called Benajarafe. Had a very happy and relaxing week there, and although I took my running shoes they never came out of the suitcase.

[Antonio247]

Thank you very much, Andy. I´m sure you can beat your PB and mine soon. It´s great that you´re looking forward to doing your local half marathon.

I´m glad you have a good time at Benajarafe, in the province of Málaga. I´ve never been there but I´ve driven near it several times on my way to Málaga. By the way, I took part at Málaga half marathon last year and I liked it a lot. There were a lot of participants, the bag of goodies was quite good and the course is nice along the sea front and along main avenues in the city centre and finishing at a stadium. It was at the end of March. I did 2 hours 18 minutes then.

I hope your nephew is all right now. it´s a pity he broke his femur skiing in Switzerland.

Regards

Antonio

[Antonio247]

Summary of week 14 I haven´t followed exactly Hal Higdon´s schedule this week since I had to take part at Almería half marathon on Sunday. Besides, I had a cold and a sore throat. I didn´t do cross-training this week although I went to school on foot or on bicycle every day. I was worried about what I would do at the half marathon because I didn´t feel completely well. However, I enjoyed the race quite a lot and managed to get my PB doing 2 hours 3 minutes 57 seconds. In all, I have done 36 kms.

Next week, I´m going to take it easy to avoid injuries. I´ll do more cross-training, bicycle and walking than running.