Flying On Land....
Today we followed a race... All around San Sebastián...
Another glorious bright, light, sunny day greeted us as we emerged from our breakfast cafe to run...
One of the things I have noticed about being nomadic is that rhythms of living occur wherever we go.... Human beings are creatures of routine and habit, it would appear...
But the strange thing is, that although Anadi and I usually find we have adopted a new pattern, it is entirely different to any way I might have lived before, and certainly not how I have lived in the UK....
Here in San Sebastián it gets light late and we get up later...
We do a few conditioning exercises and then cross the road to our cafe...
The waitress who speaks 'nada ingles', now starts to prepare our breakfast as we appear...!
Every day Anadi has Tortilla espanol, with a bit of bread and a cafe con leche, and I have orange juice, coffee and either tostado with butter and apricot jam, or a croissant...
We eat and chat, then run off up the road to the sea, straight away....
In the past, I had all sorts of 'rules', and ideas about what made my body feel okay.... And certainly the type of breakfast I'm enjoying and happily running on here, I would not have thought worked for me in the past, and I certainly wouldn't run one minute after eating!
I am aware that nutrition is of course an important part of keeping well and healthy, and I notice that on the whole I am drawn to fresh and healthy food; I also supplement my diet with all sorts of super foods and protein recovery shakes...!
But I also notice that there is a degree of relaxation within me that wasn't there in the past, and that I can flow with new routines, new customs of the land...
And find a way of being within it...
As we ran along the prom, it appeared there were people gathering for a race...
We arrived at the end of the beach as a whole body of runners filed down to the start gantrey, and so we decided to run back the way we had come, so that we could watch them...
One runner streaked out into the front... A group followed. It looked beautiful, a stream of colourful runners on the edge of the sea shore...
As we reached the other end of the beach, we could see them winding their way up a steep climb...
'Lets run to the end of the prom, and then by the time we get back they might be on their way down...'
Sure enough I was right...
We got back as the leader streaked past us.... Further ahead now than the chasing runners....
We ran above them as they raced along the beach below us, 'I want to experience that again' I said suddenly...
Inspired by the speed, the fitness, the running, running, running at the front of a field...
'I so love that feeling, leading a race, being out in the front, or in the leading group... I so love that feeling... I want to investigate it from a different position, free from tension, free from actually having any need to win for my ego... And not actually minding if I never get to lead a race field again...!
But I would like to investigate it again from this new place...'
'That's what you're doing isn't it' Anadi said....
'Yes' I replied... 'I'm intrigued what this body at 'level 56' can do....'
I read a post on FaceBook that said instead of saying 'how old' we are, instead we can say we are at 'level 56', or whatever level we have reached!
I liked it... And so level 56 is where I currently am....
The route we chose kept crossing the race path... The race leader further and further ahead each time, he looked like he was flying on land...!
All the runners, in their brightly coloured kit, looked engaged, focused... As if their were having a good time...
And then there was a magical moment on the bridge...
The runner right at the back of the field looked to be on around level 80 something...
And as he ran one way over the bridge, the winning runner raced towards him, and they crossed...
No other runners were there...
Just the two of them both leading the field, winning their own race!
