I'm traveling in Spain for a week and a half and I'm determined not to let myself get out of shape during this trip. So, I've been heading out for runs every chance I get. Today was Christmas, and since most museums and other tourist attractions are closed, I figured it would be a good day to get in a relatively long run.
I started down the streets in Cordoba, where orange trees line the road. It made me wonder if it's okay to pick and eat them!
Note the foreboding clouds above |
But quickly I reached the edge of this city of 325,000, and soon found myself running on a rough gravel road.
Notice the ruts in the road |
The road is hiller than it looks in this photo -- I'm about to head up a doozy:
I can do this! |
Now things are starting to look bleak! |
But when I turned around, after 6.25 miles, things really started to get tough. I was now running in to that 20-30 mph wind. One thing I try to tell myself when I'm running in the wind is that I'm not running "against" the wind, I'm running "through" it. It does seem to give you a bit of a psychological advantage. Otherwise, the wind can be damned depressing. I really felt like this attitude helped me think about the wind going around me, rather than pushing against me. Still, the wind created a fearful roar, and raindrops slammed into my face. I wasn't exactly cold, but it certainly wasn't comfortable. The road was just uneven enough to require a bit of concentration to avoid a fall.
Hard to believe I'm within a mile of a mid-sized city |
Finally, the city came back into view and the rain tapered off. The sky was really quite dramatic!
Crossing the Roman bridge, headed towards the Grand Mosque |
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