Sunday 26th February MARATHON 37

26th Feb
Day 44

Not a bad nights sleep, room too hot though! Alarm went at 6:00 I got up hobbled to the bathroom, hobbled back, got back into bed and set the alarm for 6:45. My legs were too tired for a long warm up run so up at 6:45 strapped ankle quickly and off I went for a short warm up. I left the Hotel, which by the way is the poshest we have stayed in so far, and headed up the high street towards the old town and Cathedral. Unlike all the other early morning runs, the people I saw this morning were not getting ready for the day ahead, they were finishing the night before! A lot of jaded and hung over people, looks like a great town for culture and night life. There is a big student population here, a friend of mine's daughter spent a year here finishing her Spanish degree, could do with a few translations Brooke if you have time? Don't let your dad persuade you to give me dodgy translations! Anyway back to my warm up run, I tried to see how we could drive to the Cathedral later but I could not see an easy way! Back to the Hotel, hobbled most of the way but a nice 2.5k leg loosener. Showered and down to breakfast in the Restaurant, very nice selection. I had fresh fruit, croissants, toast, muesli and a not so nice cup of tea! It was very nice but the waiter almost stood over you to take your plate as you finished your last mouthful! Back to the room, massaged my legs and set about strapping my left ankle and shin. Lots more tape to the skin first and finished with a compression bandage. Not a bad job! We planned our route and went through the possible problems to avoid any repeat of yesterday! Dads head cold unfortunately looks like it has moved to his chest, he has suffered with Bronchitis so he is taking Berocca in the mornings, eating loads of fruit and hoping for the best! We packed up, paid and left in the van to find the Cathedral. Dad and I, by the way, were both positive, yesterday's shenanigans shook us both up and we need to work together and look after each other more. We looked for a way to get near the Cathedral without success! We took photos from a far drove round and round and decided to give up as time was marching on and start from another church on the road side! This place has more churches than Cafe Bars! Took a quick video and got on our way. I limped for the first 5k but did not notice too much as we were trying to stay together and follow the Pilgrims Way cutting across the major roads and ignoring the sat nav! Even if I do say so myself, we did a good job. We were soon out side the City and on the N-643A Heading east to the Airport and the N-547 Towards Arzua. Dad stopped on a slip way leading on to the A54 motorway! I ran round the roundabout and back up the road to check the signs and established that was the correct and only way to get on to the N547! I ran on the hard shoulder for a few kilometres, took the required exit and met dad on the 547, all good! The rest of the run went very smooth regarding dad and me, my legs felt lifeless but I got a rhythm and let them go a bit more on the flats and downhill sections. The up hill sections, and there were a few, I dug in, shortened my stride and lifted my knees more with hardly any back lift to try and not use my lower calf and Achilles! It more or less worked up to the last 2k, I had a grabbing pain in my left Achilles area and had to readjust my style to enable me to finish! Anyway another marathon completed, number 37 I think? In a time of 3'59"07 Pleased but still not running properly, a manufactured running style takes so much more out of you! Did a quick warm down stretch session plus a 200m run. Had my orange, cleaned my feet gave dad a hug, strange I know! And set off to find a coffee. I tried to give up coffee without success, I know it is not great to drink too much coffee when you are doing a lot of running or any exercise for that matter, but will it do me any harm to have one a day after each run? That question is to the runners and diet experts that occasionally comment. I hope it is ok, I start thinking of it at about 25k and focus on it to help me get through. The coffee in Spain however is not a patch on Portugal's or Costa for that matter! Back to the run, we finished just passed the town of Arzua. Not a lot here but we found a nice roadside Hotel called Suiza, it is clean, warm, has lots of hot water and is not too dear! The route today was interesting through Santiago but a bit same'y after that. Still great scenery but now we are inland, it is not as spectacular as the coastal routes, weather also not as good! Still, first marathon of 19 on the Pilgrims Way completed! I think the coming marathons will get more hilly as the days pass and we approach the Pyrinese? Now icing and then eating, a lot, I am starving. I would like to thank all of you for your comments, I have not got the time or the know how to answer them individually. Hope you have had a good weekend.