52 Weeks, 52 Half Marathons - Stage 4
Stage 4 - Cascais - Carcavelos - Cascais
Run 4 - Cascais - Carcavelos - Cascais
February 10th, 7:10 am
Another major test of my willpower. I’ve felt terrible during the week, with a sore throat, runny nose, clogged ears, and constant coughing. The cherry on top of the cake is that last night I attended another birthday party, of my older sister (happy birthday K!), and ate too much, drank too much, and again, slept too little. During the whole week, the weather has been atrocious, cold, windy, and heavy rain. I had a helping hand, as my running window brought some sunshine and the wind was not too bad. The rain came right after I finished the run. No excuses!
With this route, I completed the whole coastline from Cascais to Lisbon (runs 1, 3, and 4).
The route starts again (see run 1), at the Cascais market, early in the morning, before sunrise. At the beginning, I planned a small stretch of the route inside Cascais aiming to complete the 21,1 km on my way back to the market. I also wanted to enjoy the view of the Cascais Bay right before sunrise. Unfortunately, that meant starting with a 300 m climb at 6.6% grade. That will wake you up immediately. I started at the top of the stairs (I am not that crazy).
Today, the saying was, what goes up, must come down, and as I reach the top, I am gifted with a resting descent through a park until I reach the postcard view of the bay.
The small fisherman’s beach was populated with a flock of seagulls.
I was really close from pulling off a Sean Connery-like run through group, but then I imagined a Hitchcock moment with the seagulls tormenting me through the remaining of my run. Next time!
The oceanic sidewalk never ceases to amaze me.
The streets are empty, and the sun is still down, I need to pace it up to get warm. It’s always difficult to pick the right apparel for the run. I don’t want to carry extra jackets that I know that I’ll likely need to remove mid-run. The chilly weather is not a friend of the ailments that I carried through the week.
The route goes along the ocean and the timing is just perfect to digest the sunrise in the horizon. There will be several small beaches along the way, beautiful rock formations, seawater pools that blend in with the rocks. Just beautiful.
The Atlantic, being the Atlantic, will quite often throw some good sized waves that can be dangerous. This morning, the storm was gone and it was completely safe, but there was some evidence of the walkway having been battered in the last few days. Check the weather and ocean conditions before running.
It’s difficult to put the camera away, the landscape is just breathtaking and the early morning light makes for some impressive photos (even while running).
More seagulls! Tempting…
I have the track all for myself, but with good weather, after 10 am, the place becomes packed, full of life, a gift to live here. The sky took a pink hue that was hard to capture on the move, but take my word, it was awesome.
The sun is coming up, and a friendly seagull helped me with the shot as I ran by.
The run is mostly flat, but there will be some tough on and off ramps and hills that I had never paied attention while driving. It is all so easy at the wheel.
This is where the walkway ends and we need to get to the sidewalk (and climb). As I mentioned before (run 3), I am not too fond of running in the sidewalk, but this early in the morning there is very little traffic and I was surprised that there were more guard rails than I remembered. Portuguese sidewalks, are known for 3 things: their beauty, being extremely slippery with humidity and rain, and sometimes quite uneven. So, while running on the sidewalk never let your guard down.
Fortunately there are quite a few trails and parking lots that can be used to get some distance from the road.
Most of the beaches are small but still some of them can be quite enjoyable even during the peak rush-hour of the summer. Arriving at the S. Pedro Beach, with the sun burning my camera lens.
There are plenty of spots where you can walk on the rocks during low-tide (and a calm ocean), the rock formations are a chef’s kiss.
It really is impossible to get bored with the scenery, and it is hard to capture pictures that do justice to this landscape.
Arriving at the beach in Carcavelos we are presented with a breathtaking view. The ocean was mildly rough coupled with the low-tide presented the beach in all its glory. I could stop here and enjoy a cup of coffee for a few minutes, but it’s not even halfway.
Before going back, to build up some kms, we will go around a nice spot called Quinta dos Ingleses (Farm of the English), a semi-wild area that has lately been under extreme pressure for some housing development. It will be a crime if they do it.
The place got its name for being a location of a re-transmission station for the first submarine cable linking London to Bombay.
You need to go under the road by using some graffitied under-passages that are intimidating but safe.
It’s an interesting easy loop that takes us around the Quinta dos Ingleses and back to the east end of Carcavelos beach.
At this time in the morning surfers apparently were still sleeping, or maybe the waves were not that good. A few dogs had the beach for themselves.
We are now heading back to Cascais following the exact same route that brought us here. My body is now feeling battered from the previous days, and I suffered through the remaining of the rain. The hills were higher and longer than I remembered and the wind started to pick up speed, and, as expected, blowing against me.
With the sun up and behind me, the light keeps uncovering some landscape pearls.
There are plenty of restaurants, bars and coffee shops along the way, gladly all are closed so I am not tempted to stop for refuel.
I miscalculated my distances so the 21.1 km run ends about 1km before the market. My initial thought was to keep going, but my body told me to stop and walk back. Mission accomplished.
The Cascais market is now open and highly recommended for fruits, vegetables, flowers.
At the market there are plenty of good restaurants. I am starving, need to head back home for a shower and breakfast. I never eat before a run. I carry a water bottle that I normally drink on the second half of the run.
Don’t be fooled by the seemingly flat profile that Strava shows. Some of those small climbs are cruel enough for a party fool.
Enjoy your runs!
One more photo of the Carcavelos Beach sunrise.
Beautiful pictures and inspiring willpower!