January 2012

[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'.