This is the first time I take part at a duathlon and I really enjoyed the experience. Last Saturday, on 1st October, I left Almería by car at around 9:30 am. It was a lovely sunny day. I went to Aulago, a white village in the Filabres range of mountains. It is about 50 kms from my home town on the way to Calar Alto observatory. It must be 800 metres altitude. There were a few cars parked near the entrance to the village and a few people around there with their bicycles or warming up.
I went to the village and saw a big white tent where there was a van and a few people queuing to enter the race. We were given some form to fill in and when it was my turn, I gave ten euros and was given a T-shirt, a bag with a strap to wear while running or cycling and an eye-shade. Then, another girl painted my race number with my number twice, 34.
After going back to my car and taking out my bicycle, I went to the start line to leave my bicycle in the place set for them and did some warming-up. I also drank some water at a fountain in the village and took some pictures. At 11.20 am, the race on foot started. There were 43 runners. We went along the road towards the road crossing that takes to Almería or Calar Alto for one kilometre and back to the start line. I arrived the last but one in 9´50´´. There was a drinking station there. So, I drank a glass of water. Then, I took my bicycle and went along a street to a stony place where we had to get off the bicycle. After that we had to follow a narrow steep path where we had to dismount again. Fortunately, we got to a broader path where we could ride more comfortably. There were signs showing the way in stones and ribbons in the trees. There were many olive trees, almond trees, a few fig trees. It smelt very well with a lot of aromatic plants. However, in another part of the course, we were near some greenhouses. We even had to ride on a lot of tomatoes left on our way. I went with a few cyclists I met there. One of them had to finish by 1:30 pm because he had to start working at 2:00 pm at Almería´s prison, which is near the airport and he said that he could be there in just half an hour. When we were near the village walking up a steep street, we saw a man sitting on the floor. He said that he had some muscle discomfort.. We encouraged him to follow us. We arrived at the village after around 18 kilometres and left our bicycles. We drank another glass of water at the drinking station.
I did the same two kilometres that we had done running before with a young man, Juan, who is from Almería as well. He told me that he had been working in London as a waiter for six months. He also advised me to do some hill series and short distance series on a flat surface once a week if I want to run faster. We did those two kilometres in 10´50´´. Then, we had a powerade can, a banana, some died fruit, a coke. We saw other people arriving on bicycle and later on foot. After that, I went to my car where I got changed and came back to have a plate of paella and some coke that we were invited to have as well as the people who went to the village fair. The dish of paella was very good. It had seafood and meat.
I had a good time there and I really enjoyed the experience of doing both sports in a race. Besides, it was very relaxing to go for a run after riding on bicycle.
I duatlón de montaña Aulago. 1 Oct 2005
