52 Weeks, 52 Half Marathons - Stage 38

Another Brush In the Suburbs

Saturday, October 5,  6:31 AM

Today I started earlier than usual, while it was still dark, because I wanted to escape the forecasted rain expected by the end of my run.  I chose the Beloura Golf Course as the starting point. I could safely drive my nocturnal run because there are good enough light poles along the way.  I expected today’s run to have plenty of contrasts, and starting by a fancy golf course helped set the tone appropriately.

This would be the first long run with my fractured left pinkie finger healing inside a splint. The run was approved by my orthopedist, as long as I did not fall. I would be extra careful to keep my feet out of any holes.

It had only been a week since my MTB crash, the finger was still giving me a hard time. The trick was to keep all the fingers on my hand tight together to minimize free movement of the bogey one.

Starting by the Beloura Golf Course

During the Covid lockdown I ran a couple of times through all of the 18 holes in the golf course, it was fun and beautiful. Unfortunately, there are no lamp posts on the field so I had no green light for attempting to scramble through the fields (security might not have been as complacent as they were during Covid). We have 3 easy descending kms until we exit the Beloura neighborhood. The 15 minutes that I needed to get some daylight for comfort on the main roads. It’s a very quiet, fancy neighborhood with good sidewalks for running. But, this early in the morning, the middle of the road it is.

Good enough light, and empty streets 

Our first contrasting moment happens right in the middle of the Beloura neighborhood. The quiet area and golf course are sliced in half by a 6-lane tollway connecting two of the main arteries that go into Lisbon, the A5 and the IC19. It’s a shame that it has been built, and the proof is how very little traffic flows through it - sub-par planning. 

The gated neighborhood borders an old industrial and warehouse area. We are very close to the natural park of Sintra-Cascais, I truly hope that the once polluting industries in this area never come back. The sky was covered with clouds, so my plan was somehow flawed because it remained way too dark to capture proper photos on the run.

Still moving through the dark

After following the road that fractures the industrial and the residential areas, we have a reinvigorating  climb up to the Albarraque village. It’s normally a very busy road during the rush hour on weekdays. It’s a large residential area with very little commercial activity. Urban planners have not been doing a great job in the area. From the top of Albarraque we start descending for about 3.5 kms on our way to another industrial area, Cabra Figa, where Philip Morris holds a tobacco factory. They are one of the largest industrial exporters in Portugal - too bad that it’s not a very enticing product. 

A green camouflage

As we leave the tobacco behind, we start a slow climb, progressively increasing our contrasts of the day. On the right side of the road we have a green landscape working as camouflage for what were once open-air trash deposits. The landfill is hiding a very sad reality of the past. I am glad that at least the view is slowly becoming more pleasant. As I have mentioned before in my posts, tourism is a bittersweet industry in Portugal. Lately, more on the sour side. 

It’s time for me to show the wrong side of suburbia. 

Not all is well

As expected, close to an industrial area and a landfill, we will not find the most desirable properties. My slowly climbing road starts to hurt not because of how hard it is but because of how hard the view becomes. I am now running by a precarious housing neighborhood. They are neighbors of one of the wealthiest industries in the country and not far from select neighborhoods, but their living conditions are harsh. And it’s not that they are hidden out of sight, this road gets plenty of through traffic.

There is poverty around the corner

It’s a gray day, in the sky and down by the asphalt. The scenery quickly changes back to residential buildings, and, to make sure that I don’t forget the difficult views, I have to tackle a reasonable ascent all the way to the 10th km. It’s definitely a much better area, there is a higher mix of residential and commercial. 

Residential buildings on the left, industrial area on the right

Our scenery again changes abruptly, we are at the limit of the suburban area. Random architecture single-family houses facing older properties trying to buffer them from the IC19 freeway noise. It’s the beginning of a mile-long descent to ease the burden of the black and white palette of today. There are some really nice properties along the way with walls beat up by the passage of time.

I can’t shake off the uncomfortable splint, it was a good choice of route for a grim weather day. 

Older properties bordering with single-family housing

The route becomes more interesting and challenging at km 11.3 as I face a 600m ramp hitting 10%. We are surrounded by fields on both sides, things look nicer but still not very inviting. We are approaching the IC19, one of the busiest freeways in Portugal. I have been catching patchy rain and drizzle for most of the route so far.  

This climb is hard. I am not in a great mood today, and the scenery is not helping at all.

Back-breaking ramp

It’s now time to cross to the north of the IC19 freeway. I think that by the end of my 52 runs I might have used all the bridges and tunnels for both the IC19 and the A5. The road is a lot busier than I expected so early in the morning. I had to navigate through a number of roundabouts, on-ramps and off-ramps to get to the other side. This is definitely not a running route (or biking). 

Crossing the IC-19 facing the Sintra mountain range hidden behind the cloudy sky

With the rain, it becomes very hard to shoot photos on my phone. The only way I can unlock it is by using Siri, and still the camera lenses keep getting blurred; it becomes a little frustrating. Not that I have been missing a lot of master-pieces but still, it is always possible to capture beauty if you look for it. We are running through the most uninteresting typical suburban area, with copy-paste shopping malls, gas stations, warehouses, and other boring buildings. 

Blurred gas prices, as they usually are

From km 12 all the way to the 17th km, the landscape does not change much. We run by all the convenient department stores for sports goods, construction, auto-repair, furniture, hypermarkets (yes, a lot larger than a supermarket), you can find everything in this dense industrial/commercial area. Well, almost everything. What you can’t find is order, architectural harmony, character, green areas, that become secondary when the main way to get to your destination is by driving your car. 

Of course, I like and use the convenience of it all, and if there had been a blue sky, I would probably not be as gray in my writing, but there is a better way. What comforts me is that I think nature is winning by exhaustion. We are all finding that there is more meaning beyond the abundance. We are all (well, almost all) understanding that sustainability must be our worry today and not left for the ones to come after us.  This area grew too soon, too fast, and too randomly. It will slowly undergo a metamorphosis into something better. I have been observing that in my runs, areas that many years ago seemed to be lost have been embellishing themselves. 

If I were in charge, it always would start with trees, they make all the difference.

Getting back to more familiar terrain

The last kms were flat easy, except for my eyesight, and now at km 17.5, fortunately, we have the Sintra mountain range partially covered by the clouds and a glimpse of blue sky. We will face a 2km climb, again through some peculiar contrasting locations. The roads lead to an amazing meadow. It’s an extremely beautiful place all year round. It changes dramatically with every season, and even each week with the rain and the sun. Sometimes it seems to take on completely different looks from one day to the other. It always amazes me.

It is a huge property surrounding… a large prison. It’s not the first time that I run by one and they all seem to have one thing in common - they are in premium property locations. I am sure this makes it even harder on those who have lost their freedom.

Sintra mountains in sight

We have to climb this backroad all the way to the main road at the base of the mountain. Peeking over the bordering walls, we can see a sea of green. After some light rain followed by a bright sunshine, the green instantly gets sprinkled by yellow spots. It does not look real. I am sure this place is under development pressure. I truly hope it can remain pristine.

A sight for sore eyes

I can’t get enough of this view

At the top, we are on km 20 arriving at the main road. Four lanes that run parallel to the 6 lane tollway and also cut through these magnificent meadows. There could have been another way. The next 2 descending kms leading  back to the golf course are a thrill to run. There are not a lot of cars on the road, we are escorted by beautiful trees, the sun is rising over the meadow, a dream scenery. 

Trees make all the difference

The sun is coming, there is hope

It was another brush in my suburbia mapping effort. I wish I could have used a more colorful palette.

I guess, or I hope, that this is only a hiccup in the evolving process, of the cities, and ours.

I could not ask for a nicer finish line than what I got. 

That always brings me hope.

Enjoy your runs!

-APF

Route and profile as recorded by Strava