The all new training diary.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Stage 3: The Mountain running section.About 25 kms and 1800m total ascent in a shade under 6 hours.

Left the car in Montes and retraced my steps from the previous stage to Peñalba. From here I climbed la Silla de la Yegua, “the Mare’s Seat,” a truly hideous slog which rises from 1000m to over 2100m in three kilometres. Some of the first kilometre is downhill so most of the climb involves a 1:2 gradient which is just about on the limit of what you can get up without using your hands. When I came here with my dad in April we aborted half way. Dad was thinking of doing the Aquilianos long route in June but the Mare had other plans. The problem is that it’s not a natural route. The mountain paths and tracks around here generally zig-zag up to a pass once used by travellers, shepherds, drovers, pilgrims or traders in order to get from point A to point B. This particular path, however, was invented by a madman who had the inexplicable desire to find out what was like to scramble up a 1 km high pile of builder’s rubble. There are few redeeming features. OK, the views back are glorious but the summit is an antenna-laden anti-climax and the wind turbines which come forth and multiply from the west each year edge ever closer to dispel any illusion of splendid isolation.

Covered those 3 kms in 1 hour 42 minutes. Wow! That must be 50 minute miling! But it’s probably the fastest I’d ever climbed la Silla. In the race I dare not mention there are at least three similar climbs all on the same day. If I really thought about it I probably wouldn’t even bother trying.

The 8 km stretch between la Silla and la Guiana peak on the other hand is wild, untamed beauty. There’s no choice but to cover the spine of the Aquilianos on foot. The wind farms are yet to intrude and hopefully never will. Any 4 by 4s or quads foolish enough to push on after the Silla would inevitably overturn and bounce their merry little way down the glacial valley and good riddance to them. For a while you are very much at one with nature and that’s just how it should be in this last wild place.

My favourite part of this section is Pico Tuerto, “the one-eyed peak,” except that it has two eyes and the soft white curves of the twin peaks made it all seem strangely sensual.
At the top I met a group of walkers, some of whom were training for the Aquilianos. As the next section was mostly runnable I tucked in behind the most senior member of the party, a stocky 64 year old called Angel who trotted stealthily over the rocky terrain. I kept up with him using a run-walk technique thanks to my longer stride length but when the going got steeper I huffed and puffed.

We chatted at the top of la Guiana and here I discovered that Angel had been up both Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua which is the highest mountain in South America. His next challenge would be Mt Elbrus in Russia. After the Aquilianos of course. Oh, and he weighed a couple of stone more than me despite being much shorter. As if I needed any more convincing of the innate ultra-distance and climbing qualities of the over 60s (I didn’t) Angel provided me with it.

A nasty little descent down the Aguiana firebreak followed and then a pleasant jog through a sweet smelling pine plantation took me to the evocatively named “Campo de las Danzas,” the field of dances. This marked the end of the Aquilianos high mountain stage. I still had to get back to the car though and it that meant another hour or so along a wide dirt track back to Montes.

I was sore at the end, my feet ached but it had been a fine test. I’d also seen roe deer, a family of red squirrels, several unidentified birds of prey and one bushy fox who had crossed right in front of me. And I also got back for lunch.

That was my longest long one yet (10 days ago now). Mañana I’ll know whether I can mention the unmentionable.