Long Run Reccying For Tim...
Anadi and I have just emerged from lying about eating 'tiramisu naked...'
That sounds like a type of a tiramisu, especially if I put inverted commas either side...(which I just have!)
Our 'plan' today was to run over to Portugos... Antonio who owns the local hostelry here in Bubion, had told us last night, as we sat eating paella under his Cherry trees, that Portugos was a neighbouring village across the mountain. he said that if we continued along the path from Tajos del Angel, it would take us there...
'How much further is it?' I asked.
'Oh, five maybe 6k' he replied...
This seemed a good plan... To run to the village, replenish our water supplies and then run back...12 or 13 miles in total, a good 'Sunday long run' taking into consideration the heat, the climbs, the altitude, how much longer it takes to cover the miles..
Home for shower and brunch, and then an afternoon dedicated to 'sacred space' and nothing else...
I was mindful that Tim is coming out here for a 'development retreat' next week, and that he is keen on long runs... Next Sunday his training plan is to cover twenty miles...
I was not sure that an actual 'twenty' would be particularly wise, given that we are in the mountains and counting the hours rather than the distance, is a necessary practice....
So we set off on our 'long run reccy'... I had woken up feeling 'dreadful' heavy eyed and head achy, back in my allergic state! But my miracle pill had done its work and I was ready to run...
'I suppose I would have just died in the past', I said to Anadi cheerfully, as we started our climb... We remembered last year when I didn't know what was wrong, and I reached the stage of not being able to breathe properly and having to sit up all night because my lungs hurt so much...
The run was spectacular... In fact it became a run/ walk, as the climbs and the altitude mean my heart rate is often reaching 160 and Anadi's similar, although higher as his physiological profile is different to mine... And so we took some walking breaks.
The steep incline flattened out a bit about a mile on from Tajos del Angel; we had reached 1775 meters in altitude....
The path took us to a bridge over a rushing river, which was coming from a waterfall, and we could see it swirling over rocks a long way below... On the way back I heard voices echoing under the bridge...
A group of people, all kitted out in wet suit gear and crash helmets, tied together with ropes, were making their way through the rocky traverse being battered and tossed about by the rushing water....
I knew I would rather be running...!
When we had travelled 6k beyond Tajos and there seemed no sign of a village, I said to Anadi 'Your Dad would have looked at a map, he wouldn't have taken Antonio's word for it...!'
Anadi's Dad is a keen walker, travelling miles and miles on foot with Laddie his dog, in the Lake District and along coastal paths in Devon...
Anadi and I are 'cut from the same cloth', in that both of our Dad's would 1) look at a map first, and 2) not go out without one!
But our own free spirits meant that we did not internalise this wisdom, and likely have an 'adaptation' that means we have a tendency to adventure in more 'reckless style.'
But - we did know we were going to reach a village eventually - signs started to appear - and that we would be able to get fluid, and this was really all that truly mattered...
One of the lessons my Dad repeatedly told us as children was 'keep hydrated...' I took that one on board...!
It was rather like seeing an oasis as the little white houses started to appear...
And after 16k - 10 miles - of journeying we arrived dusty and sweaty into Portugos...
A very beautiful village, with a bar right in the middle.
We bought bottles of water and ordered coca cola and iced tea; the bar man served it to us with tapas... Which we ate gratefully and hungrily...
'This reminds me of many years ago', I said to Anadi... 'When I was in Switzerland, I ran with a group of guys eleven miles, and we ran into France, where we stopped and drank beer and ate biscuits. We then ran the eleven miles back, and I ran like I was flying on the fuel of beer and biscuits...'
And so we had ten miles to journey home...
We have found you a twenty mile run Tim!
It was hot and hard... With three miles to go Anadi decided to walk the last stretch, his legs having had enough!
I ran the slightly longer route (by 1k) that took me through the villages of Capileira and into Bubion, so that I could stop at Teide, Antonios restaurant and buy us the delicious Tiramisu, made by his Mum... To eat naked later...
'You look hot' he said 'been running?' I told him all about our run and how Portugos was further away, 16k away, and that it had taken me 3 hours and 50 minutes of running (with walking) to arrive back at his door...
'
'So you ran further than usual' he smiled!
