52 Weeks, 52 Half Marathons - Stage 20
52 Weeks, 52 Half Marathons - Stage 20
Suburbia Olympics
Saturday, June 1, 6:11 AM
Summer is arriving fast. This weekend might have been the first rehearsal of the heat to come. I have close to zero tolerance for running under the sun, a result from having had a heatstroke on a 10k run more than 10 years ago. If it looks impossible to you… it isn’t! I was in close to perfect shape back then, and out of nowhere at the 8th km my mind wondered someplace else. It was serious and unexpected. My message to you is: be extra careful running under the sun, and hydrate, always.
Today’s route explores a suburban area right at the border with Lisbon. We start in Algés, at an easy parking spot where we had already started on stage 11.
Algés is right by the river/ocean, the perfect example of a commuter town, high-rise apartment buildings, and an ocean of cars parked on the streets that come and go just like the tides. These are the kind of neighborhoods that will make the transition to electric a serious headache.
Most of the time, we need to run on the sidewalk because the roads have way more traffic than I expected for 6AM on a Saturday.
It’s going to be a 5km climb through a canyon of buildings with a slope that keeps increasing as we go.
As I have worked for several years in the area, many memories are bubbling up in my head as the route develops. I find that to be another benefit of running through places where you lived or worked. Just let you mind roam through a familiar route, headphones free, and your memories will lift your feet of the ground, doubling the pleasure our run.
At the beginning of the second mile, the urban park of Miraflores softens the concrete landscape. Being on the 1st outer ring of Lisbon it is only natural that many business parks found their way into the area. This is one of those regions that grew too fast, too soon, and too freely. Time will repair it.
At the end of the 2nd km the climb becomes more challenging, for the next mile the slope keeps increasing. It’s still early in the run, the climbing becomes twice as hard when we have not yet warmed up to the pace. Still, piece of cake compared to some of the Everest ascents of previous stages.
At the of the climb, I am rewarded by the a building that was home to me for several years. Well, it was actually my work place, but for many reasons, I am lucky to be able to remember my workplace as home too. Well, that and the slope giving us some resting time. Just enough to catch our breath for the next stretch of fun.
I have two cherries picked for the day and the first one sits at the 6th km. There is an intriguing geodic marker on top of the hill, that for many years looked like Tintin had parked his moon rocket. It had been there lost in the middle of what used to be a meadow. Today, I found out that it is now surrounded by roads and brand new buildings still under construction.
It’s one of those stellar spots that gets me stoked on my runs. Not that it is an ultra special construction, on the contrary, it is quite simple but remarkably different.
Again, the memories of the past enhance the visions of the present and imprint even better ones for the future - it’s called running.
The view from the top is remarkable. I fist the conquer of the launch pad looking down at the 6km behind us. Glorious!
We made it to the top of the 1st hill, but there are a few more behind the photo, right in the front of our path. Time to pause the celebrations and head down on our way up.
As I glance back, I capture a lucky shot of the rocket’s target up in the sky - the moon.
If there was any doubt, it has now been cleared, this is indeed Hergé’s rocket from Tintin. He was a genius.
The climb is easy and pleasant snaking through a mix of business park areas, and land begging for new buildings - I hope not.
I was expecting a nice descent but was offered a stressing one. The road does not have any sidewalks and had rails on both sides. If there would be incoming traffic I would have to stop and step over the rail to be safe. Not fun. I sped down, always expecting for a safe harbor at the next turn, but the sea would be rough all the way to the end of the descent. So much, that I would miss a turn and add an extra km to my run.
The protecting dock comes at the 10th km, the view along the route was actually pretty nice, but my focus was 100% on the road. I was fortunate enough to cross a total of zero cars. That 5:30 AM alarm paid off.
We are back into the concrete canyon but not for long, as the route drives us to old-town Carnaxide, and we find our way out of town.
Many years ago, the Tour de Portugal road bike (Volta a Portugal) had a time trial stage (might have been the last stage of the race) that took this road. Me being me woke up before sunrise and road the exact same route before the pros. I will never forget all the cheering that I got from the workers that were preparing everything for the stage. But I clearly had forgotten that the road, while great for a road biking stage, just like the previous descent is not at all friendly for running.
It would be another stressful mile of full alert running, this time I crossed a few cars with no risk at all, but today I definitely made two wrong choices of roads. The landscape is nice but all I could see was the asphalt and imagine my road-bike from years ago. The way-out could not come soon enough, a steep incline to the bottom of the valley to cross a nice creek that brought me back down to Zen mode.
I was not oblivious to the hole that I was diving into, as the way out of the valley was twice as steep as the way in. I reached for my carabiners, focused on the second cherry , and clenched the climb. Coming back to the summer reference from the beginning, the day is a lot warmer than all of the previous stages, and it did not take many calculations to figure out that I would run out of water sooner than I wished for. All was good though, I just needed not to get carried away with the great finale.
We are now at km 14 and have 4 “easy” kms browsing the hill tops and descending back to another town. The sun is accelerating but today I can’t.
The route is pleasant, with very little traffic, and a few surprises. It is still a military area, with antenna towers and mystic fences.
My mind is set on Estádio Nacional, a large sports complex with infrastructures for pretty much any kind of sports. We run under the A5 freeway as a backdoor to enter the compound.
It’s the 18th km, I am way thirstier than I had wished for, and am punished by a 1km climb to my Olympic glory. Our milestone is the stadium, Estádio Nacional, where the footbal cup final was just held last week. The place has traditionallybeen very relaxed on keeping the entrances open to the public. Only during main events they setup fences to guide the attendees. I was counting on getting a free way in inside the “Olympic” stadium and got nervous as I saw fences all over the place…
Jackpot! The whole place is suspiciously open. Even access to the track is up for grabs. I do not succumb to the temptation and stick to my plan. I quickly climb up the stairs, away from any security that might show up, and go for my victory lap around the stadium from above.
I almost completed the possible “lap” before having to go down the stairs to track level. My thoughts are now on getting on the track but quickly fade away as I approach the second entrance to the track, and security guy is waiting not to greet me.
He is both puzzled and somehow angry to see me there, I greet him with a loud good morning and point my way into the track as I ask: “Do you mind if I go for a single lap?”. It was too funny, he was perplexed and almost got into position to tackle me. I was expecting that so I did not even try, but I am 100% sure that I could have gone inside, and he would not catch me before I exited on the other side.
My decision had been made before I was presented with the choices. Above all I did not want to jeopardize the security guy’s job so mission would be aborted unless I would have seen a smile on his face. All that I saw was his eyeballs popping out of his face. Sorry for the scare buddy, I am on my way out. I already have my cherry medal, it tastes a lot better than gold.
The Olympic lap lifted my thoughts away from the thirst. As they settle down once again, I start my calculus activities on estimating the remaining distance to the end.
The mind is stronger than the body. Or… a worried mind can weaken a strong body.
I am now sipping my rationed water, and it’s almost 4km to the end. And the end was again not a half marathon but a 23.5 km run.
I got some help from a number of runners that start their run 200 meters ahead of me. It’s not a race but of course I try to catch them.
I cross one last concrete canyon, and hop into the sidewalk that is well protected by the shade casted from the trees. I suffered a little bit on my last km because I was becoming thirsty and that messes with my mind. All was well and I collect my 20th medal of the year. Hydrate!
Enjoy your runs!
-APF
PS: On the day after, I moved that lactic acid from one area of my legs to the other with yet another marvellous MTB ride in Sintra. I need another weekend.
