A few days away and an unexpected running streak

Another week has passed and I'm writing on Sunday, knowing Monday will be a busy day. I had a few days in the Algarve this week, staying at my Aunt's lovely cottage in a village called Almadena, near to Burgau. I usually run on Monday evening and had intended to run in the morning, knowing we'd be travelling later, but as always, packing took longer than expected and I ended up not running at all on Monday. The weather on Tuesday was dreadful, with a thunderstorm in the morning and continual rain, so we took ourselves off to the shopping centre in Portimao. There were a few bargains to be had, and I treated myself to new arm-warmers and a buff in the Asics shop, as well as some sweatbands, amongst other non-running stuff.

I'd put my running gear in the car, in the hope that the weather would improve, and it seemed to lift a bit when we called in at the supermarket on the way home, so I changed in the car and set off down the straight road from Lagos. Unfortunately the weather got steadily worse and it was also dark. I was feeling a bit concerned/lost when my aunt and cousin pulled up alongside me in the car after just four miles, so I abandoned the run (anything over 30 mins counts for Jantastic, and satisfying the five runs per week target was the main goal!)

We decided to check out a Zumba class later that evening, and, having read somewhere that dancing classes are good cross-training opportunities for runners, I have to say, I felt I'd had a good workout! 

On Wednesday morning my trainers were still damp from the night before but it was a dry day at least and so I headed down to Bergau to see the sea. I enjoyed the run though countryside and along the cobbled streets of the town as the sun tried its best to put in an appearance.

Later, we walked a few miles along the beach at Lagos and earnt our lunch of pasta and garlic bread, but probably not the cakes we bought at the bakery; good job holiday calories don't count!

Thursday's weather was glorious (for February!) so we drove to Sagres to visit the lighthouse there. Again I'd packed running gear and ran in the middle of the day for part of the journey home. Once showered and changed we went to Praia da Luz for a late lunch including the delicious sardines which are a speciality of the region.

We returned to our Zumba class on Thursday night and I pledged to include some more Zumba in my training plan on my return; it's a great mix of cardio, some interesting squats and lunges as part of the dancing, as well as being a good test of co-ordination and great fun! We popped to a local bar for a rehydrating beer afterwards.

Even though I'd already done three runs, I couldn't resist throwing in a last run in Portugal on Friday morning. I'd seen a road leading up from the village and decided to run to the top of the hill and back, just to enjoy a great view of a wind farm and the sunrise. I listened to the interview with Gemma Steel on Marathon Talk as I ran, and by coincidence she described her training in the Algarve over recent weeks and how it had reignited her love of running. It seemed entirely apt to leave on that note.

Back in the UK on Saturday I realised I was in the middle of a running streak as Friday would usually be a rest day. As I was in Wolverhampton I went to parkrun there and wasn't too disappointed with a 25:13 run after a week of eating and drinking, especially since I was chatting so much I ended up starting right at the back of the pack.

This morning I still had a long run to complete to meet my Jantastic target, even after running for five days in a row, which I never do. I met the usual crew at Drakes Cross and set off, planning on completing at least 15 miles. My legs felt sluggish for the first few miles, but as usual, the chat with my buddies helped to pass the time and I soon found myself at eight miles deciding it was time to turn around. Miles 13 and 14 were tough, but we got through it, trying not to think about our marathons and how we'd only be halfway at that point!

A bath, a generous application of Deep Heat and my compression socks were called for when I got home and whilst the mileage was down overall on previous weeks I reflected on a solid week's training. I'm still on 100% for Jantastic and feeling pretty good; looking forward to the arrival of Spring and some better running weather...