3 Jan 2010

Wednesday, 11 November – Remembrance Day

After two days of rest I was back at it today but I am reduced to running laps at the Fornaca. It could be worse. The park at the Fornaca is a strip of hard packed sand about 300 metres long I estimate. The strip is not straight but gradually curves round a sort of terrace that overlooks Vilassar de Mar and the sea beyond. From one end of the curve Barcelona and Montjuic are visible more twenty kilometres away. It is not a bad view. The Fornaca is lined with pines on both sides. At one end of the curve is the municipal football stadium. At the other end is a trio of skylights that look down onto the ovens or forns that give the Fornaca its name. The ovens or rather kilns, discovered several years ago, were used by the Romans to fire ceramic objects.
Now that it is dark so early and colder there are few people about while I run back and forth. It is going to get very boring by the end of winter but if I want to run on level ground I have few options. The run down to the sea is only for daylight hours as the Passeig Maritim is not lit. The municipal running track is being rebuilt. Its construction was delayed when workmen found more Roman era remains under it.
Tonight I ran for 61 or 62 minutes at times with a good pace and I think that if I can train up to it I could break four hours or even three and a half. After about half an hour I realize chaffing between the legs is still a problem. My shoes are well past their prime and need replacement. The sides are split and I have calluses on my bunions as a result. By quarter to six it is full dark and I am thankful that I did not try running up the mountain. It would have been miserable coming down in the dark.

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