Here we go! 21.1 k through the beautiful streets of Malaga! It was an exceptionally cool and overcast day, the perfect weather for a race. 7’000 runners were at the start at 9.30am. All the main roads in the inner city were closed which gave the runners enough space to run. It was a round course, with the start and the finish on the main promenade near the beach.
Here’s Kai in his green Torremolinos Halfmarathon shirt nervously waiting for the start gun:
Once again, I could not participate in this race due to my Achilles tendonitis, which was extremely frustrating. More on that later.
Here is the first runner coming down the street near the Alcazaba. This part of the course was laid out with a red carpet for the Malaga Film Festival. The organisation did very well with the course, with the police on motorbikes in front of the elite runners warning everyone that the runners are approaching.
Kai did well! 1h 34 minutes. The course had some gentle hills in it as well, so that was a great time! Below the organisation at the finishing line and Kai with a red post-run face:
I felt awful not being able to run this race. My Achilles tendon has been bothering me since January, so for nearly 3 months. I went to a specialist who recommended a strict therapy regime: 15 slow eccentric heel drops, 10 minutes of foam rolling the calf with the mini blackroll and 10 minutes of pinching the actual Achilles tendon to increase the blood flow. The whole session is to be repeated 3 times a day, morning, noon and night. I am now also wearing a therapeutic “Sporlastic” sock. All this should be supplemented with stretching throughout the day – think the downward dog yoga pose. Altogether the good old Achilles is getting about 2 hours of attention ever day. Let’s hope it helps, because NOT being able to run is the worst.
Time to say goodbye to Malaga! We had such a great time here and met many new friends with whom we will stay in contact.
Of course, we had to dig into some more food and wine before we left – below is the Antigua Casa de Guardia in Malaga. Legend has it that it is over 100 years old. It is basically just a bar (no seats) where you can order a glass of Malaga wine from the large barrels along the wall. The number of glasses you’ve had are chalked up on the rough plank at the bar. You can’t get a more authentic experience!
And then we went to one of the many restaurants along Pedregalejo beach of Malaga – fish and shrimps galore:
Goodbye, Malaga! We enjoyed our 3 month stay and are sorry to leave.
Back to Switzerland – a 3 day drive through Spain and France. Fortunately we will arrive to perfect Spring weather in Switzerland.
