I arrived at the centre around 3pm it was warm and sunny although there was a strong wind which made it cold out of the sun. I have been upgraded to a 2 bedroomed apartment with a large living room kitchen and the balcony. It was too cold to sit on the balcony I did try. I unpacked my clothes putting them in the relevant three piles and then put the running gear on and went for a run. It is quite hilly here and my apartment is at the top of a hill which means it is okay running down to the shops or the café, but it is hard work coming up. I had a little 6 mile run though I did stop after 4 miles and sat outside drinking my coffee and enjoying the view. I have a running backpack so I can carry my Ipad so I have something to read at the coffee stops.
In the evening I watched the film Left Behind, starring Nicholas Cage which is about the aftermath of the rapture. It is based upon an airline pilot flying a plane when the rapture occurs and half his passengers disappear. It was quite interesting and after that I went to bed and did some reading. Linda may have changed her mind about not coming, when I was telling her about the nice view and warm weather.
On Monday I got up reasonably early and had my porridge for breakfast. The plan was to do some studying and then go for a run later. I am researching and reading the book of Exodus and writing some draft sermons. I made good progress. About 11 o'clock I packed my rucksack and went out for a run. Today was all about hill work, evidently it’s a good exercise to run up and down them, it uses different muscles to normal running, but it is hard work. It is recommended in all the book and training plans. I had planned my route and ran around the complex and then right down to the Mediterranean sea. The Calle de la Zorrera hill is a mile long and the uphill gradient was 10% this was challenging. On the way back I stopped for a jacket potato before returning to apartment to do is more studying.
In the evening I had a sandwich and then went for a session in the gym. I managed to finish my audiobook by Chris Hadfield called “An Astronaut’s Guide to life on Earth.” It was really interesting and lasted for 9 hours, I only listen to it when running, so that is a lot of running I average around 7 miles an hour, so about 63 miles to complete the book, but it was worth it. There is a good illustration with a snake I can use when I get to preach on Exodus 4.
On Tuesday I got up and had my porridge and looked out at the sun rising over the hills and then got on with my studying. The plan today was to go to La Manga town and run along the strip. It is about a 20 minute drive from my apartment. I found a parking space and then started running fortunately the strip is flat and very few hills. I ran 5.75 miles one-way stopped for coffee, read my paper and then ran 5.75 miles back. It was a good time to listen to some podcasts on Hebrews 5, to give me some pointers for my sermon. During the summer this area is very busy, but at this time of year it is all shut up including the supermarkets which was not very helpful when I needed some more water. I finished the run in the afternoon and returned to the complex. I was hungry so stopped at la Barra café on the way back. I had a nice chicken dinner although I probably smelt a bit as I needed a shower (I had changed my clothing). i then went back to my apartment and finished my draft sermon on Hebrews 5, this is for a different church. After this I watched the latest news and then went to the gym for a small workout. I rang Linda to tell her about the good weather, as she was walking around in the cold. She was worried about the dogs being cold, so she had put our heating on for them!
It was a bit disconcerting to read an article on BBC stating ‘Too much jogging may be as bad for you as not putting on your running shoes at all' a report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology says. If you do more than 4 hours a week a week you have the same death rate as someone who does no exercise at all. The happy median is 2.5 hours a week allegedly, so I am doomed. They studied 1000 people over 12 years to come to that conclusion, although actually all of the 1000 will die anyway, just some quicker than others! It was an interesting read anyway. It is windy tonight and the temperature will drop, so although sad to be going home but probably had the best weather.
On Wednesday I was up early and went for a gentle 3 mile run before breakfast. It was slightly cold and there is a very strong wind today, so can’t sit outside at my coffee shop. The flight is not till 2000 so i have all day to get back to the airport. I drove to Murcia which is an hour away, had a look at the Cathedral, took some pictures and stopped for coffee. I had an interesting sandwich for dinner which was ham, cheese, tomato and dates. The dates actually gave it a sweet taste. I then saw a sports shop, so I had a look round, my Spanish is improving I now know that rebajas means sale, when I shared the good news with Linda, she texted back saying I didn’t need anything. After about an hour and a half I drove back towards Alicante and the airport, its about an hour from Murcia so I stopped on route at another sports shop, just in case they had a sale. Then it was a final coffee and off to the airport, cold Southend here I come.
There are a few photo’s here, not many as David Bailey wasn’t with me.