Mini break to Lisbon for some sunshine and running!
A cheeky wee drive down to Glasgow after work on Tuesday, ready for an early flight on Wednesday morning.Off the plane, and into the sunshine in time for lunch! The marathon was not until Saturday, so we had a couple of days to explore.
After checking in to our apartment, we headed out for a sightseeing run/ walk. The city is so beautiful! I loved the patterned tiles, and pastel coloured buildings lining the steep cobbled streets (slippy!) stretching up to the blue sky. Finished off our tour with our first Pastel del Nata at Café Tradicional - wow!
Afterwards, we caught the train from Santa Apolóina over to the Marathon Expo at the Feira Internacional de Lisboa, to pick up our running numbers. A massive expo - 15,000 runners in the marathon on the Saturday, plus a half marathon and 8km on the Sunday!
Friday was another day for exploring, starting with the Botanical Gardens, a quiet haven amidst all the hustle and bustle of the city.
Then time for sampling of the Ginjinha, a Portugese cherry liquor which can be served in edible chocolate cups - drink the liquor then eat the cup.... a bit like the world's best ever chocolate liquor you get in boxes at Christmas. What a great invention!
Then a quick stop for a Pastel de Nata at Pastelaria Camões, and the conclusion of our ongoing Pastel de Nata weekend taste test:
- Café Tradicional - first pastel de nata experience, and therefore my favourite. And I learnt you can sprinkle cinnamon on top!
- Pastelaria Herculano - award for most creamy and vanilla-ry custard.
- Pastelaria Camões - a more mellow custard, went well with coffee!
Thus energized, it was time for a boat trip along the River Tagus.
The start area was also great. Loads of portaloos, WITH water AND soap - luxury indeed!!! Baggage trucks were available to take your bag back to Lisbon. There were 6 colour coded starting waves, and all was very well organised and smooth.
My wave started at 8.08 and off we set, heading out west first of all, away from Lisbon, for about 7 miles to Cascais before the route turned round and headed back all the way along the coast to the finish at Lisbon.
I was already feeling too hot when we started 🤣 My summer in the Highlands providing no opportunities for any heat acclimatisation! But coming somewhere hot was the point of coming here, after all, so no point moaning! And, it was very nice novelty to feel too hot. Until about mile 20, when I did a u-turn on this thought, and started dreaming of rain and clouds (even just one!) My dreams were answered! There were several shower points along the route, including some hoses from fire engines!
I'd forgotten that European marathons do distance markers in KM instead of the miles at home. I quite like this, as they appear more quickly, which is reassuring for progress. Until you reach the 26th one and realise that that's not the end, and there are still another 16 to go. To distract myself from this somewhat crushing blow (which is always a suprise however many times it happens), I played a game trying to work out who else running was from the UK by which other watches were beeping at the same time as mine on the miles, and not on the KMs.
The route was gorgeous; alongside the sea and Tagus river the whole way, with many interesting things to look at, including the Forte de São Julião da Barra, Torre del Belém, the Padrāo dos Descobrimentos, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, and then running underneath the Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge.There was a brilliant vibe and great support, and lots of water stations on the route with bottled water, and a couple with gels and power aid too.
The finish is amazing, coming back to the old town, looping under the Arco Triunfal da Rua Augusta, and over the finish line in Praça do Comércio. I finished in 3:43:33, and my happiness was increased further on discovering you were given an ice cream IMMEDIATELY after finishing! What a race!
