Saturday 02 March 2024 to Saturday 09 March 2024

We have been to this part of the world before for spring marathon work, ostensibly training like a professional for a week. Our favourite hotel was full so we opted for the Oceanus Aparthotel in Olhos de Agua at £388 per person B&B for two sharing through Jet2. We landed on our feet on arrival as we were all upgraded from studios to one bed apartments.

Training followed a simple pattern with a shorter, easy run at 08:00am whilst in the afternoon there was something more constructive. In between was free time with a small gym and swimming pool. For the marathoners the week ended with a twenty mile long run. We usually go to Falesia but Olhas presented a different landscape with plenty of trails and quiet roads for our morning run with a commute to the Track and Cross Country Course for other sessions.

With so much mileage, let’s talk about food. Buffet breakfast meant no real need for lunch with evening meals on a “Come Dine With Me Basis” and each room taking turns to cook.  Except one room opted to go out to eat one evening and then paid someone else to cook the other night. With two vegetarians meals were surprisingly healthy including Hoisin Tofu, Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese x2, Lentil and Chick Pea Dhal finishing off with left over Tangine using up all the vegetables. The Friday night we went out for a slap up meal.

So far this all seems oh so mature and sensible but true colours were shown on Monday night when the hotel had its weekly karaoke. The thing is, none of the participants appeared to be embarrassed or the least aware of what a racket they made. It is suspected that alcohol probably had a large influence on proceedings. After that things began to fall apart, literally in one case, with one having to resort to ice pack and tubigrip. Disturbingly, he didn’t seem to mind sitting in the bar all day or skipping the evening session.

 

Athletes are invariably competitive so antics can be distilled into a little quiz with answers withheld to protect the guilty:

Who had the heaviest suitcase? (19.7kg). Who brought the most running shoes? (Five). Who went to bed the latest? (02.00am) Who went to bed earliest (8.00pm), not the same as who slept the most? (All day possibly). Who ate the most pasta? (Strong competition). Who ran the most miles? (115). Who screamed the loudest when we saw a snake? (Very loud). Who drank the most alcohol? (Drinks wine). Who spent the most time by the pool? (Except when raining). Who moaned the most? (Oldest). Who took a rest day and went on a coach trip to a vineyard instead? (Had prosecco for breakfast that morning). Who managed to get the most on their breakfast plate in one go? (Ate most pasta too). Who took the best selfie? (Receives good training as runs with one of the club’s most accomplished athletes on Wednesday evening). Which pair didn’t do any cooking? (Should we be grateful?). Who was late for the coach Saturday morning? (Went to bed at 02.00am).

The schedule, roughly easy day/hard day, went something like this although we didn’t all do the same sessions and certainly not the same distance.