Season 2016

[Bierzo Baggie]

Race report: Trail Balboa (last Sunday).
Remember the time when running was a relatively painless activity? When things got tough you either slowed down a bit or pushed on, because you could. And speeding up would involve a rush of blood to the head and a surge of energy. A change of gear even.
Middle aged running hurts.
That is the painful reality.
Injuries disappear only when superceded by other injuries. The dull ache in my left calf will be replaced by a sharp pain in my lower back. Problem solved.
Sunday morning: 21k and 1200m climb.
 
Balboa is a small agricultural town famous for its pedigree cattle and its “palloza,” a traditional thatched building made of local stone and where man and beast once shared the same living space. The appearance of these buildings, think Asterix and Obelix or iron age hill forts, is often attributed to the influence of the Celts in this area. Man adapting to his environment with the resources that were available at the time is a less romantic and more likely explanation. The swallow will build the same nest wherever you find her.
 
There was snow, quite a lot of it on the surrounding hills, pretty in places, especially higher up where it was soft and shapely like lemon meringue. The endless landscape of sugar coated pine trees and gorse bushes also pleased the eye. But there was also dirty, slushy, mud-caked snow where the runners cut a rude furrow through the virgin whiteness. Some short sections of descent were slideable. To gain places you could just sit down and launch yourself through the cold, greasy mud until your arse went numb. Overtook a few people in this undignified way.
 
2 hours 50 minutes, 105th out of 207 finishers.
 
Beers in the palloza afterwards.
I’ll tell you what, the craft beer craze has reached El Bierzo too but it’s all a bit hit and miss I’m afraid. Much of the stuff the pointy bearded craft brewers peddle around here tastes like dodgy home brew to me. Bierzo’s beer of choice was the instantly likeable Estrella Galicia 1906, a nice premium lager, safe, cheap and friendly …just like me!
 
And with beer in hand, thawing out next to the open fire of a palloza-restaurant, the aches and pains finally seem worth it .. for now.