On Friday, 27 November, I flew to Alicante, Spain and then made my way to Benidorm for the weekend to participate in my second half-marathon this fall.
Benidorm is on
the South Eastern coast of Spain ... and it is not very Spanish, from what I understand. It's actually, very British. It is a favourite spot for pensioners [retirees] to either spend the winter or move to after retirement. About every 10 feet there is a British pub serving a full English breakfast or beers! It's kind of like I imagine Destin, FL which is where it seems nearly everyone from Louisville goes, or so it seems.
In the afternoon, the rains came in, so we found a pub ... it was Irish, not British ... with some live music and spent the afternoon shouting out requests for the Grateful Dead, Counting Crows, and Pink Floyd. The two guitarists would just say, "Hey English! What do you want to hear?"
The start was a bit odd in that we were lined up in gated areas. All I could think of was that it wouldn't pass the Fire Marshall's test in the S
tates. When the gun went off to start the race, we took off under a banner and over the chip-reader [we wear chips on our shoes to keep our time and a few times during the race, you have to run over a mat that reads your chip] and down a red carpet. As we passed, lots of supporters were shouting and there were fireworks and confetti being blown into the air. It was pretty cool!
All-in-all, the race was flat [yay]! We basically ran up and down the sea-coast, going up into the Village to turn directions and go back the other way. Two things struck me as we ran:
Benidorm is on
the South Eastern coast of Spain ... and it is not very Spanish, from what I understand. It's actually, very British. It is a favourite spot for pensioners [retirees] to either spend the winter or move to after retirement. About every 10 feet there is a British pub serving a full English breakfast or beers! It's kind of like I imagine Destin, FL which is where it seems nearly everyone from Louisville goes, or so it seems.
It's only a two-hour flight and it's on the Mediterranean Sea so it is easy to see why it's a favourite place for Brits to escape.
I flew in on Friday, early, with my friend / co-worker, Ramu, and we spent the day exploring Benidorm. There is very little architecture that looks Spanish, or at least how I envisioned it. There are a lot of apartment-like high rises.
We sought out some non-British food ... grilled lobster, paella [chorizo, pancetta, rice, clams, prawns and squid], pancetta and cheese, and of course, Spanish wine. We had the red wine Rioja, which if you are Sp
anish is pronounced something like "ree-OH-ha" with a sort of hard "ha" ... like you have a fur ball. But if you're British, it's just "ree-AK-ka". When I first moved to London, it took me forever to figure what kind of red wine we were drinking when I was out with colleagues. I thought they were ordering a particular vineyard, not a region of Spain!
anish is pronounced something like "ree-OH-ha" with a sort of hard "ha" ... like you have a fur ball. But if you're British, it's just "ree-AK-ka". When I first moved to London, it took me forever to figure what kind of red wine we were drinking when I was out with colleagues. I thought they were ordering a particular vineyard, not a region of Spain! 
In the afternoon, the rains came in, so we found a pub ... it was Irish, not British ... with some live music and spent the afternoon shouting out requests for the Grateful Dead, Counting Crows, and Pink Floyd. The two guitarists would just say, "Hey English! What do you want to hear?"Anyway, needless to say, there was a bit too much Rioja on Friday so Saturday morning I had a lie in [I slept in]. Another fellow Humana worker, Mercer, joined us on Saturday. The longest distance he had run in preparation for our race was a 10k [6.2 miles]. We were going to run a 21k [13.1] miles. We found the Town Hall and picked up our registration packets. The race seemed to be well organised and a "big deal" as they were setting up for it.
We had a great [filling] breakfast at a Belgium restaurant. Omlets! Then off to explore the village and beach and look for a new set of I-Pod hea
d phones for Mercer. We never did find the head phones. We did criss-cross the Village and explore the full length of the beach.
d phones for Mercer. We never did find the head phones. We did criss-cross the Village and explore the full length of the beach.Okay, and check this out. This place is called the American Bar. It's on the beach. There is a guy in there playing the electric guitar and singing. He's British. And there are as many mobility carts parked out front as Harley's!
Benidorm recognises siesta ... a short nap after the midday meal when the weather is warm. The weather wasn't that warm, about 22C [70F] degrees. Needless to say by 2 o'clock, most shops were closed ... even on a Saturday. We
went where every other Brit was, to the pub! We went back to the shops after 4 o'clock, which is when the shops would normally re-open. Nope. They never came back!
went where every other Brit was, to the pub! We went back to the shops after 4 o'clock, which is when the shops would normally re-open. Nope. They never came back!
We did find a pub called the Cafe Kentucky Rock. It stole the Harley logo, more or less. Had a live "band" [one guy singing with an electric guitar and synthesiser]. They didn't serve wine. You could smoke [holy cow!]. And there was rock paraphernalia around like if you were at a Hard Rock Cafe'. Most interesting "translation" of Elvis Presley's song, "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You". "Can't" doesn't translate. It's "cannot", so there was an extra syllable in every line which had to go somewhere. It was amusing!
Sunday morning was the run. It started at 10:30. As none of us were fluent in Spanish, we really had no idea what the announcers were talking about and basically had to follow the crowd to line up for the start. We figured out that we were supposed to line up by our race number, more-or-less, and that there couldn't have been more than 3,000 participants, which is a nice size.
Sunday morning was the run. It started at 10:30. As none of us were fluent in Spanish, we really had no idea what the announcers were talking about and basically had to follow the crowd to line up for the start. We figured out that we were supposed to line up by our race number, more-or-less, and that there couldn't have been more than 3,000 participants, which is a nice size.
The start was a bit odd in that we were lined up in gated areas. All I could think of was that it wouldn't pass the Fire Marshall's test in the S
tates. When the gun went off to start the race, we took off under a banner and over the chip-reader [we wear chips on our shoes to keep our time and a few times during the race, you have to run over a mat that reads your chip] and down a red carpet. As we passed, lots of supporters were shouting and there were fireworks and confetti being blown into the air. It was pretty cool!All-in-all, the race was flat [yay]! We basically ran up and down the sea-coast, going up into the Village to turn directions and go back the other way. Two things struck me as we ran:
Firstly, I was running along the Mediterranean Sea [!] and that the average age of this race had to be about 45!
Secondly, we were running on the roadway. The boardwalk between the road and the beach was occupied 
by some supporters, but mostly pensioners that lived there and it occurred to me ... everyone running with me was hoping not to be one of them in the near future.
by some supporters, but mostly pensioners that lived there and it occurred to me ... everyone running with me was hoping not to be one of them in the near future.The town turned out in big style to show support. I was amazed at how many people lined the streets, but then everything was closed, so I guess you either watch the race or TV, but it was too early for football [soccer] to be on.
I ended up finishing with
a time of 1:53:08. Ramu was just behind me. This was five minutes faster than our Dublin time. I lost him by a few strides at the last turn as we were approaching the red carpet to the finish line. And just as we got on the carpet, the guy running next to me tripped and did a face-plant on the carpet! I totally dodged to the left to avoid being knocked down with him. Ramu said it looked pretty funny! Anyway, I was 21st in my age rank and 92nd in my gender finish. And I'm not sure how, but Mercer finished 5 minutes ahead of me. I lost him at the start. Had I known he was ahead of me ...
a time of 1:53:08. Ramu was just behind me. This was five minutes faster than our Dublin time. I lost him by a few strides at the last turn as we were approaching the red carpet to the finish line. And just as we got on the carpet, the guy running next to me tripped and did a face-plant on the carpet! I totally dodged to the left to avoid being knocked down with him. Ramu said it looked pretty funny! Anyway, I was 21st in my age rank and 92nd in my gender finish. And I'm not sure how, but Mercer finished 5 minutes ahead of me. I lost him at the start. Had I known he was ahead of me ...So, it was a good run. Ramu and Mercer are busy looking for the next one. I told them I was out until the daylight returns. We are nearing the shortest day / winter solstice, and days are too short for training. I hate running in the dark. And the rain. I'll start again in April.
