Friday 9th March MARATHON 49

9th March - Day 56. Down to cafeteria for dinner, full of workmen, not bad atmosphere and the football was on! I asked for the menu and the lady pointed to a white board with starter, main and desert, I presumed, written on it! Very pleasant, however very rushed waitress, pointed again to the board, I pointed to other tables and said, that and that! We ended up with Chicken noodle and egg soup followed by Gammon and potatoes, all accompanied with stale bread and butter! Oh also as much wine as we could consume! Passed on the wine, even if I was drinking, it smelled terrible and was being left by the locals! Water for me and a small bear for dad. Food was great but not enough for me so I asked for pasta, I tried to explain I need to eat a lot, the waitress pointed to the van and moved her arms like a runner. She said, Yes, Yes and disappeared, two minutes later she reappeared with a big bowl of potato chunks and spicy sauce! I nodded and thanked her. They were spot on, I ate every last one and felt full! We watched the football, what a dreadful display by Utd! We were in the minority of UTD fans in the establishment! Anyway well fed and watered we retuned to the very basic room. The washing I did earlier and spread out over the very hot radiators, was still there but rads were off! Big problem tomorrow if they do not come back on at some point! Massage legs and to bed at 12:00, Far too late again! Dad of course was asleep 2 minutes after we got back to the room and joining in the snoring chorus with next door! The walls are paper thin and we can hear every word and every snore from both sides! Not a bad sleep all considered and up with alarm at 6:30, the rad's did not come back on, problem! Normal getting going routine with the legs, bathroom and kit on. Early run along a main road, can't wait! I ran east past the lorry's and the rising between the two petrol stations! The road was very busy with construction lorry's, building a motorway along side this main road N634. There is not enough traffic on the existing road to warrant a motorway being built! Back to my run, I turned off the road to see if I could run through a little village, no luck but I ran along a road that was no more than 7 feet wide, I assume 2 way but I did not see a vehicle. It was different scenery again, I saw the sun rise above the mountains and light up the valley. The railway went across, above a river some 100 feet below and it was filled with trees. A scene from Gorillas in the Mist! Quick pause to take it all in and a few photos taken and off I hobbled back to the main road and the lorry's! Back at the Transport Cafe, dad was waiting outside, I think he was hungry! 7.5k done in just over an hour, including all photo stops, left achilles very unstable and painful! Back to the room, tried again to rotate the washing without anything being any dryer than when I put them on the rad's! Quick shower and down to breakfast with my tupperware box full of  porridge oats under my arm. Managed to get a big bowel of porridge cooked up and covered in honey, it really does make a difference to have a good breakfast! Back to the room to sort out the route. I sat on the bed with the laptop, sat nav and maps, dad, my navigator sat next to me with his head phones on listening to Katherine Jenkins with his eyes shut! I could not get one of the names entered in the sat nav from google or the maps! I got a touch frustrated and asked, as politely as I could, if my navigator might be willing to open his eyes, take the head phones off and help! Quick exchange of views and dad joined in. The first name he said to try worked and he said he did not know what all the fuss was about! Quick leg massage and kitted up. Dad normally has a few trips to the van putting his bag, my medical kit, which is growing in size, and all the odds and ends away, normally using the lift. No lifts here and dad struggled, we both left with the last lot of kit and dad had a wobble! Quick rest on the landing and a few deep breaths and he was ok'ish. Paid and left for the start at 11:20. I drove and dad huffed and puffed next to me! I offered to run with a back pack and he could have a rest but he would not have any of it. Quick video taken and I set off, east along the N634. The wind was in my face from the start more or less to the end! I pushed on working hard against the wind and trying not to limp, my left achilles was not happy. All bedded in after 5k, I was moving at quite a click and felt quite good! I did not see any of the villages I ran through or past on the N634. The villages are off to one side normally or just a couple of buildings. The traffic was not too bad and the mountain views were again breath taking. I left the main road N634, red on the map, and joined the local road N634 yellow on the map! Anyway much quieter, steeper and with stunning scenery of the close mountains, the snow capped mountains in the distance and the coastal sea views. We planned our route with only 3 roads to travel along, dad had other ideas! Now much better than he was this morning, our interactions went very well up to San Vincent de la Barquera. This area is in the Parque Natural de Oyambre, unbelievable! The yellow N634 was hilly with great views, I ran down into San Vincent, dad rang and said the place is amazing, when you cross the long bridge take the coast road at the mini roundabout, I did he did not! Another phone call, a bit heated, and dad meant the next road in from the actual coast road! We met back at the mini roundabout and he guided me up a very steep hill! I asked if it was the road as planned, dad was adamant it was so I cracked on. It was not, he had taken the very steep hilly coastal road CA-236! It killed my calf's but the route was well worth it. It is very hard to explain how fantastic the scenery was. I seem to keep saying it but this road had the best of everything. Mountains, rugged coast lines and great beaches. This stretch of road will be very hard to beat! I managed to keep a decent pace, I think I worked hard against the wind and the hills, so did not think about time or distance! Anyway eventually joined the planned road, CA-131 and bobbed along past a nice golf course and across a pretty bridge that I had to lean heavily into the cross wind to stop being blown into the traffic. There was not a cloud in the sky and when, on the odd occasion, I was out of the wind it was very hot! I completed the run soon after running through the beautiful town of Comillas. Very quick run considering the wind and the hills, I think the first half was very flat which must have helped. Marathon distance in 3'40"48. Dad parked with the side door facing the sun and the van sheltering us from the seemingly increasing wind. After all the great scenery, we finished in an urban area with no views! Had my orange, sat in the sun, bathed my feet and iced my legs, perfect! Quick rub down with the sporting life, changed and back into Comillas to find coffee and accommodation. Very historic and beautiful place that must be great when it is open! We eventually found a great little cafe in the centre of town on a cross roads sheltered from the wind but bathed in sunshine! Great coffee consumed and off we went to find a place to sleep. Every where seemed shut, we gave up and decided to drive to the main road and another Transport Hostel. Just as we left the centre we came across another hotel that looked shut but had a man working outside. He was the owner, it was open, we booked in and it is very nice. Only snag, no Restaurant, that means a trip out we could do without! Anyway about to have a shower and ice again, legs and glutes very tired. Dad seems much better now, this place has a lift! A good day today, very tough as they all are but pleasing to find a rhythm and run almost freely.

Thank you again for all your great and funny comments. Unfortunately I have just been told the story will not now be going in tomorrows Mail! It is now scheduled to go in Mondays Daily Mail but no guarantees! Still all I can do is keep going and hopefully get greater exposure for the charity sooner or later.   Please keep on pushing it anyway you can. We will get there!