Racing and Training 2023

  Thursday 30 November 2023 Weather Today has started out nice and bright. Max temperature predicted to be 18C Barcelona yesterday was grey and driech in the morning but it brightened up through the day. I went out late (after mid-day) so I didn’t encounter any rain. I wore my GB Masters weatherproof. It did start to get a little bit chilly as the sun went down, late afternoon. I had 6 and a quarter hour’s sleep and my body battery is quite low at 68% and by evening it had dropped to 29%. My plan for today was to visit Park Güell and Montjuic.. Park Güell I booked my ticket for Park Güell on-line before I left the hotel. I got an e-mail with a QR code which would provide access to the park. I chose an entry time of 12:30. I was half an hour early but they let me in anyway. I left the hotel and walked for about 5 min, 300 m to Bogatell Metro L4 (direction Trinitad Nova) (8 stops) to Joanic and then walked for 2 mins and to get the V19 Bus at Pi i Margall - Pl Joani...

Wednesday 29 November 2023 Weather Barcelona – It was grey and driech in the morning but it brightened up through the day. I went out late (after mid-day) so I didn’t encounter any rain. I wore my GB Masters weatherproof. It did start to get a little bit chilly as the sun went down, late afternoon. I had a hotel breakfast. It was very nice, typical of a posh (ish) large hotel. It was a buffet breakfast with just about everything anyone would want, including a Nutella dispenser (obviously 😀 ) I just go for a "fry up" with a large pot of English Breakfast Tea. Bread & butter is my high-carb treat but it does me no favours, I may skip the bread tomorrow. I had café con leche (dos largas) for afters.  A note, that when I set out in the morning I was in real pain in my left hip. It persisted until I had walked for a couple of miles and then it eased. Before I set out, back in my room, I pottered around and tried to plan for the day. I decided to head for th...

Tuesday 28 November 2023 Weather It was a grey day in San Sebastian, it was raining while on the bus to Bilbao. It was sunny in Barcelona   I had 7 and a half hours sleep but my body battery was still quite low at 48%. I decided to get the 7am bus from San Sebastián. So, I set my alarms for 5:30. I let them snooze once. I had packed the previous night so it was a smooth getaway. It took me about 15 minutes to get to the bus station. I bought a ticket from the ticket office and had some time to kill so I had a café con leche. The bus ran pretty much to time which meant that I had an hour to spare landside at Bilbao Airport. I had a coffee and a croissant. The flight was on time too. At Barcelona Airport Metro station, I bought an L9S metro ticket with cash because the card payment slot wasn’t working. I used a €20 note so I got lots of change. I had to change to L1 at Torrassa. I also had to get a ticket for the onwards journey. I decided to get a T-Casual 10 ticket card. ...

Monday 27 November 2023 Weather San Sebastián – It was raining   AF I went to my usual breakfast place. I went back to my digs and programmed a new training programme on my Garmin. I did a benchmark run and then an easy run. Later, I went for some Tapas and I had some red wine and three cañas. I had some Tapas and Albondigas (the latter at Juantxo). I had an early night as I had to pack ready for an early start tomorrow.

  Sunday 26 November 2023 Weather Sunny day starting out at 8C and getting a couple of degrees warmer.   I had 7 hours sleep. I thought about doing 10K of the marathon course but I was still tired so I went back to sleep for maybe another hour and a half. I went to Maiatza for breakfast (bacon toastie) and then walked up to watch the marathon. I saw Tall Christopher Taggart from Teddington go through halfway and then watched the leader finishing the marathon. I walked over the bridge towards the Kursaal and headed South. I found a tapas bar and had a tortilla and a coffee. I carried on and crossed the river to roughly the 24-mile mark where I saw Tall Christopher again. I walked back to my digs. Later I went out and had a tapa (jamon iberico) and a Coca zero (pronounced “thero”) at the Irish bar on the corner. I wandered around the old town. I then had two tapas (Black pudding and Chorizo) and a red wine at a bar in the centre of town. I then went to Casa Alcalde and h...

  Saturday 25 November 2023 Weather San Sebastián – we had some overnight rain then some light drizzle in the morning. It was warm drizzle.   I was happy in my Cardiff 5K technical “T” shirt when I emerged in the morning to do the Gosaria 7K breakfast run. I had a decent night’s sleep and my body battery was well charged. However, I was very stiff and sore when I woke up and when I ventured out I decided that I needed to go back to Almeda and take some Paracetamol and Ibuprofen. I did a lot of stretching before the start of the run and that helped. The run was in a group doing 10 mm. I coped with it OK. We had a pause at half way by the w ind sculpture for group photos. I ran back with Chris Taggart (from Teddington), the conversation helped to pass the metres by. After the run I had coffee and pain au chocolate (free). Then I collected my Marathon race number and “T” Shirt. I had a late breakfast at Bar Maiatza, I had two English Teas with my Bacon Focaccia, I als...

  Friday 24 November 2023 Weather Cloudy with some rain – but I missed all the rain. I managed 7 and a half hours sleep and charged my body battery up to 91. After breakfast at Maiatza (I paid cash) I went for a walk up and around the local hill. I had some tapas at Casa Alcalde. I went back to my digs for a while and ventured out later for two cokes and some tapas at Loretxu Gastrotaberna (Empanada and a queso pintxo. I then had Albondigas and a coke at Juantxo Taberna and a coffee at a burger shop which faces on to the boulevard.      

  Thursday 23 November 2023 Weather It’s a nice sunny morning in San Sebastián, but about 4 degrees Centigrade cooler than Barcelona. I had nine hours sleep and my body battery charged to 66%. The maid knocked on my room door at about 11:30 so I hurried up a bit and went for a walk. I went to Bar Maiatza for my brunch, as recommended by my pension owner. I had bacon egg avocado and squished tomato on bread. I had an English tea with milk to start and a café con leche to finish. I then walked to Zurriola Beach. The beach café is derelict. There were a few surfers there. woke just before 6am our time. I walked up to Pension Ondarra and had a coke zero and a jamon y patatas bocadita in the corner café opposite. I walked up to the river and headed South to the next bridge where I crossed and walked down through town. I meandered through the old town and had a tea infusion with milk at Bar Maiatza. I returned to the Pension where the owner put new batteries in my valuables s...

  Wednesday 22 November 2023 Weather It’s a nice sunny morning in Barcelona. I woke just before 6am our time. So, I had six hours of decent sleep and my body battery charged to 43. There is a main road outside of my hotel so it was a bit noisy. It is lucky that I am hard of hearing.   Hotel breakfast was buffet style and it was good. I have to eat in order to take my meds!   I had low carb bacon sausages and eggs and naughtily indulged myself in some gorgeous Spanish crusty bread. I also had fresh melon and fresh pineapple for afters. I caught the 10:30am airport shuttle bus to terminal 1. I self-checked my bag in OK and went through security OK. Barcelona Airport is a shopper’s paradise! The shops are amazing. It’s a good job I’m not a compulsive shopper. I bought a bag for Kay that I spotted in one of the shops. Also, the FC Barcelona shop had a really nice light blue junior top at the on-line store the girl’s version is sold out.   It was a shor...

  Tuesday 21 November 2023 Weather I woke fairly early at about 4 am. This gave me a good amount of time to get ready. I had steak for breakfast! I got a taxi to the station and a train to Paddington. Then Farringdon, then Gatwick Airport. I then got the shuttle to the North terminal. I was at bag drop pretty much spot on the three hours before the flight which is their (easyJet) limit for checking the bag in. I had plenty of time to kill airside. As I am on antibiotics no alcohol was allowed. I had coffee, crisps and coke zero. The plane was on time and the flight was very quick. We actually landed 35 minutes early which meant that I had one hour to kill before the first hotel shuttle bus. I had coke zero and a hot dog sitting outside the airport terminal. I checked in at the hotel and booked a place on the morning shuttle bus back to the airport. I had a meal in the hotel restaurant which was very nice. A reminder: I weighed in at 11st 9.5 lbs. This is my lowest weight ...

  Monday 20 November 2023 Weather Typical UK Autumn weather, but a little drier and brighter this morning. I did Pilates with Claire. My left shoulder is aching. Ann from Caerleon complimented me. She said I looked fitter than the last time she saw me. I have a massage with Daniela at 13:00. Later I went to see Wales v Denmark (U21 International) Emmie was a mascot (representing Newport & District Schools). I weighed in at 11st 9.5 lbs. This is my lowest weight for some time. I need to continue with the effort to get fit.      

  Sunday 19 November 2023 Weather Typical UK Autumn weather I did swimming at Caldicot Leisure Centre. My shoulder feels better, my right inner thigh / groin also feels not too bad. I have started to pack. I have packed some clothes. I have printed lots of paperwork, including all my boarding passes.      

  Saturday 18 November 2023 Weather Typical UK Autum weather. I did Newport (Tredegar House) parkrun. I “ran” for about one mile then I did jog / walk intervals. My time was 38:28, but at least I was not in any pain.

Friday 17 November 2023 Weather A rest day today, my left shoulder is still a bit sore.

  Thursday 16 November 2023 Weather It is typically autumn weather in Newport, there is wind and rain! I have started my San Sebastián blog early as I have several busy days before travelling. Hence, I need to start final preparations and packing early. Today I had a Yoga class. My left shoulder is aching after Tuesday’s swim fit class at Caldicot so I cancelled my Free NISV swimming booking.   Also today, I started taking prescription drugs for my stomach pains and GORD (reflux) symptoms. I am taking Omeprazole once a day and Mebeverine twice a day. Before starting on these drugs, I had to do a poo and hand in a couple of samples to Beechwood Surgery. I have done that.   In the afternoon I went to Rogerstone Library to get Zoe’s library book. Zoe has COVID and could not collect her book. I delivered it. I called in at the Greyhound on the way home.

  Wednesday 15 November 2023 Weather Typical Autumn At Monday's weigh in I was 11st 10lbs. A pound and a half lost so that is good news. I had an appointment at Beechwood surgery on Wednesday with the practice nurse. The background is that for the last couple of months, I have had some stomach problems. My symptoms are: bloating, burping and occasional stomach pains after eating and drinking. I saw the practice nurse. I have been given two test kits to "do" stool samples which I have to return to the surgery. They have taken blood samples to send off to do blood tests. I have been given two prescriptions, one for Omeprazole which treats stomach reflux and Mebeverine which is a treatment for symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). If I have caught a bug, the likely culprit, which they will test for, is H-Pylori https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/h-pylori-helicobacter-pylori It could be something more serious, we shall see when I get the results...

Tuesday 14 November 2023 Weather Typical Autumn I weighed in at: 11st 10lbs. A pound and a half lost so that is good news. Following on from Bradley’s Body Conditioning session yesterday, I did his Bootcamp session today. It was good too. In the evening I did swimming at Caldicot. I concentrated on FC because I have a slightly tweaked groin (inner right thigh). I have an appointment at Beechwood surgery on Wednesday with the practice nurse.

  Monday 13 November 2023 Weather Typical Autumn I weighed in at: 11st 10lbs. A pound and a half lost so that is good news. I slept better last night. I went to Body Conditioning (because I didn’t get booked to Pilates). It was a really good session (led by Bradley). I am going to try to implement intermittent fasting. I’m thinking of an 11:00 – 19:00 window. I need to make some bone broth. I have an appointment at Beechwood surgery on Wednesday with the practice nurse.        

  Sunday 12 November 2023 Weather Typical Autumn I am feeling quite poorly. I got very little sleep last night due to abdominal pain, trapped wind and bloating. I slept for an hour in the afternoon before I went to swimming. I took paracetamol and ibuprofen before I went swimming. I felt better after swimming. I came home and had a steak. I shall have more pills before I go to bed. I have an appointment at Beechwood surgery on Wednesday with the practice nurse.        

  Saturday 11 November 2023 Weather Typical Autumn I did nothing. I was feeling quite poorly.

  Friday 10 November 2023 Weather Typical Autumn I did Pilates with Claire

 Thursda y 09 November 2023 Weather Typical Autumn I did a free Over 60s swim at the NISV pool (12:00 – 12:55)

Wednesday 08 November 2023 Weather Typical Autumn I did Yoga at Bannatyne’s with Chris

Tuesday 07 November 2023 Weather Typical Autumn I had a swimming lesson with Lorraine. Part of it was learning how to dive.

  Monday 06 November 2023 Weather Typical Autumn I did Pilates with Claire and then I had a sports massage with Daniela      

  Sunday 05 November 2023 Weather Storm Ciaran’s aftermath I did swimming with Lorraine

Saturday 04 November 2023 Weather Storm Ciaran’s aftermath I did nothing today; my left knee was a bit sore. This is a bit worrying, even though I have aches and pains in many other places.       

  Friday 03 November 2023 Weather Storm Ciaran’s aftermath I did Pilates with Claire followed by a short swim. My left knee felt a bit sore afterwards. Leicester v Leeds was on TV in the evening. Leicester lost 0 – 1. I had some red wine and a crunchie bar (and some peanuts). This was very detrimental to my night’s sleep!  

  Thursday 02 November 2023 Weather Storm Ciaran! I did nothing today. Except… I got tickets to see Bruce Springsteen in Cardiff in May.  

  Wednesday 01 November 2023 Weather Typically, Autumn and maybe getting worse later in the week. I did a Yoga class with Chris. I phoned the doctor at about 10:30. I related my symptoms. I was told to expect an SMS message (in about 1 – 2 weeks) with an invitation to see Lisa (Advanced practice nurse) I was also told that the local pharmacy might help by being able to supply treatments such as Gaviscon.

  Tuesday 31 October 2023 Weather Typically, Autumn and maybe getting worse later in the week. I did a swimming lesson with Lorraine.