I’d been planning to do some trail running while in Barcelona but then a combination of illness and laziness struck. I ran a shortened version of the “shoe breaker race”, didn’t enter the marathon I’d been planning to run but did enter the Antena Solidària trail race, which I’d also run in 2023.
Motivation was extremely low as the alarm clock wrenched us out of a deep sleep. Perhaps we shouldn’t have spent the evening in Barcelona on Friday evening, dining at a particularly tasty restaurant and getting to bed late. Or were my legs tired from running and cycling earlier in the week. They shouldn’t have been. Perhaps it was just laziness.
We quickly scrapped the idea of cycling to the start and we took the bus half-awake instead. An orange juice at the start line woke me up a little and at 9am I trotted off at the back of the field. I took it very easy as my legs were already complaining.
I didn’t really recognise the trail. I had another race in my head and it seems they had changed the race since 2023 anyway. It was a great Autumn day and the course took us through the Collserola forest with nice views into the valleys and even out to the sea. It was pleasant and sunny.
I hobbled around the course with the stragglers at the back of the field and in 3 hours something crossed the finish line, almost 40 minutes slower than my 2023 time. It didn’t matter. It was a nice few hours jogging in great scenery. It probably mattered a bit to Ari though who had finished her walk an hour earlier and had been patiently waiting for me at the finish line, camera poised.
We sat in the sun for a bit eating our bread with Catalan sausage before taking advantage of the complimentary leg massage. Then we headed back home for the lazy times.
https://strava.app.link/ZdS0g74DO1b
