February frolics

[Bierzo Baggie]

“Going ot for a run” has formed part of my weekly routine for as long as I can remember. First there was cross-country at school and then the marathon boom came in the 80s when my dad and several other members of the family would take part in marathons and half marathons in the West Midlands (Wolverhampton, Sandwell...) I was more into football at the time although sometimes I’d join my dad for a few miles.

Have spent most of the 90s and up to the present day in the “Bierzo” region of northern Spain (a lot colder than where Antonio lives) and the words “just going out for a run...” now ring out 2 or 3 times a week (if there’s a race near, maybe 4 or 5 times). I’ve never really thought of what I do as “training”. I’ve never followed a plan or joined a club. I don't even know the exact distance I run (I try to avoid roads) although I do note down the times, along with the occasional comment of anything that has caught my attention.

For example, looking at my notebook I see that on June 23rd last year I ran for 40 minutes on a circuit around the local river, it was warm, for some reason my calf muscles ached and I stopped to talk to an old fellow weaving a basket! All pretty banal stuff and not really a diary...but almost.

Err...no running today.