I was anxious to take part at Cartagena half marathon because I had worked as a teacher of English in that beautiful town in the region of Murcia in the years 1984, 1985 and 1986. I have very good memories of those years when I was younger and single.
Cartagena is by the sea. Its port is natural and it has seen very different civilizations. Besides, there has always been a big rivalry between Cartagena and Murcia, the capital city of the Region of Murcia.
On Sunday 5th March at six am, I picked up Juan Pedro, another teacher of English who also likes running. Actually, Cartagena half was going to be his 49th half in a few years since he started running. Unfortunately, Juan Pedro didn´t feel very well since he had a strong cold and was taking some medicines.
Cartagena is 240 km away from Almería. We stopped at a petrol station and had a cup of coffee near Almería. Juan Pedro was sleepy since he hadn´t managed to sleep until 1 am, so he fell asleep some time in the car. It took us around two hours and a half to get to the stadium where we picked up our race numbers. Although he wasn´t in the list and he had forgotten his copy of the fax he had sent with his entry and bank order, they entered him quickly without any difficulty.
Afterwards, we went to a bar nearby where we had some more coffee and a slice of toast. We met some other runners from Almería before the race start. This half consists of three laps of about 6 km around the city and then you get to an athletics pitch where you have to run for one and a half lap. The course of each lap is going down a little to go a little uphill, then a little downhill towards the port and then go along flat avenues to Plaza de España, where Jiménez de la Espada secondary school is. That was one of my schools there as well as Isaac Peral school. Then, we went a little uphill along Alameda de San Antón to turn right to get to El Corte Inglés department stores and go downhill to the start two more times.
The race started at 10:05 am. I started with Juan Pedro but after one kilometre, I felt I could go faster and I left him behind. I was going at a 5 minute fifteen seconds pace feeling really well. However, in km seven, which I did in 36´50´´, I felt a strong discomfort in my left shin, which made me go more slowly. I reached km 10 in 55 minutes. I met a man from Cartagena also called Juan Pedro who reached me and we talked for a few minutes. Then, in km 12, Juan Pedro from Almería reached me. We went together for a few kilometres but I felt more discomfort, so I let them go. I met a young man from Cartagena, Guillermo, who also had some discomfort in his left knee. He happens to be working in Almería at a savings bank and he was a student at a secondary school where I had been a teacher in Cartagena, Jiménez de la Espada secondary school. So, he had had as a teacher some of my colleagues. By the way, he speaks English very well and we talked a lot in that language. The last kilometres were very hard because of my injured shin and the wind blew more in some parts of the course. When we were near the athletics track, I couldn´t keep Guillermo´s pace and he arrived one minute and a half earlier than me. Actually, I did two hours 10 minutes thirty seconds and Juan Pedro did it in two hours five minutes while Juan Pedro from Cartagena finished in two hours four minutes. After arriving, we were given a technical shirt after asking what size we wanted. Then, a bottle of wine from “Campo de Cartagena” and a bag with a beautiful trophy,a cup, a key ring from the city of Cartagena, a pin with the Isaac Peral submarine, a symbol of this city, a cake, juices, etc. It was a really good bag. We could also have water, beer, pieces of oranges. I met Juan Pedro who was resting and tired after the effort of running with a strong cold and In also met Guillermo and his wife. He was glad of having finished in spite of his discomfort in his knee. I felt a bit disappointed because I could have done a PB but I made the mistake of starting too fast and I got injured.
Afterwards, Juan Pedro and I went to my car where we got changed quickly and went to meet my friend Julio, a teacher of Philosophy I had met many years ago when we both were teachers at Jiménez de la Espada secondary school. I told him to get into the car because it was windy in the street and talked about many things. Now, he is married with a Cuban young lady and they have got one son.
We decided to go to have lunch and he suggested going to a Chinese restaurant nearby. I hadn´t been to a Chinese restaurant for ages. However, I really enjoyed the meal. We had a lot of dishes and they all tasted really well and were so big that we had to leave some. Actually, we couldn´t have the dessert but we had a cup of coffee instead and alcohol free liquor. We had a very good time there talking about the old times and old friends. After saying goodbye to Julio, we drove back to Almería. It had been an interesting half although too windy and a bit frustrating for me since I could have done better and avoided getting injured. Fortunately, after five days without training, I´ve managed to go for a soft run along Almería dry river, Andarax, today.
Good to hear from you, Antonio, and thanks for sending us the long report. Sorry to hear about your injury. It's an easy thing to happen if you push yourself too hard of course. I nearly got an injury last weekend when I did a very long run after a week or two of inactivity.
I worry that you don't drink enough beer after a race. About 5 litres will rehydrate you nicely. It won't heal your injury, but it may help you to forget about it for a while.
What are your race plans for the future? We previously talked a little about the possibility of you coming over to the UK for a race sometime. The Reading Half is on the same day as the Zurich and Paris marathons unfortunately, but we could possibly think about a race later in the year?
My own plans are a bit vague at the moment because if I miss my target in Zurich, I'll have to do another marathon to try again. Perhaps after Zurich we can try to arrange something.
Please remember us to Juan Pedro, and of course to your wife and son.
Andy
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
BB, I used to play as a goalkeeper long time ago. I advised Juan Pedro not to run with so many clothes but he felt more confident with all of them due to having a strong cold.
SP, it´s really unlikely that Spain will win the championship,
Andy, I couldn´t drink much since I had to drive later. Anyway, as they didn´t have alcohol free beer, I had a glass of beer but a Coke at the restaurant.
I´d love to have done the London marathon but I wasn´t lucky at the ballot. Anyway, if you plan another race in the following months, I could try and go. It would be wonderful to meet all of you again. By the way, greetings from, Juan Pedro, Carmen and Víctor and greetings to M.
As far as the Zurich marathon is concerned, I´d take it easy and train not too long distances, always under two hours and one day a week, I´d try to gain speed by doing a twenty minute easy run, then thirty minutes with changes of pace and ending with a fifteen minute easy run. Best of luck, Andy!
anlu247 Wrote:As far as the Zurich marathon is concerned, I´d take it easy and train not too long distances, always under two hours and one day a week, I´d try to gain speed by doing a twenty minute easy run, then thirty minutes with changes of pace and ending with a fifteen minute easy run.
Thanks Antonio. I hope that works...!
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
anlu247 Wrote:I´d love to have done the London marathon but I wasn´t lucky at the ballot. Anyway, if you plan another race in the following months, I could try and go.
Eh what's that? Recent RC photos reveal one Antonio already putting in significant London training ... and who's that in background? The plot thickens...!
Yes it's Abbey Road - the most famous album cover in history! Actually, I showed it to a musician who didn't recognise it (heathen), but doubtless the 60s musicologists inhabiting RC will have no such problem.
Re FLM, never mind Antonio, there's always next year. Or you could pop over to Australia for one of ours
XIII Medio maratón Cartagena 5-3-2006
Enjoyed reading your report from Cartagena. Hope the injury clears up soon.
