Day 29 – EU – Spain [Torrox to Salobrena]

03/01/20

43.5km

  From Torrox (Spain) to Salobrena (Spain)

Europe

Scenic mountain road with awesome views on the sea, paced by four evenly spaced uphills!

I was looking forward to today. Following the rest day in Malaga and yesterday’s very uneventful and flat run by the seaside, I was eager for more scenic views, more variety in the route terrain and profile.

The day delivered! I got treated to a very scenic mountain road, wedged between the mountains of the Sierra Nevada range and the Mediterranean sea. With four major uphills, totalling above 900m+ elevation, the route was varied enough to give the legs (and the mind) a break from the repetitiveness that a flat route creates.

I had to go through 3 tunnels today, the longest being just short of 700m. Unsure if I was supposed to go through with a stroller, I asked a few cyclists on my way. They all seemed to concur it was absolutely fine. The road was very light in traffic and the tunnels were fitted with a side path that could be used by pedestrians. I tried my luck. If it had turned out it wasn’t suitable for me, I would have had to add about 10km+ to today’s run… Thanks god it was!

I also started to feel something wasn’t right with my shoes, about midway through the run. Well, it turns out I have broken the sole of both shoes, at the exact same point… at the exact same time! I am a mid-to-front foot striker: ie, I land at the junction of the first 1/3rd and second 1/3rd of my foot. This allows all the bones in my feet (all 26 bones that is) to perform the job they are designed to do: absorb the shock of the foot strike. Therefore it comes as no surprise that this is where my shoes get worn off the worst. Well, now I need a new pair!

Note: I started using these shoes prior to the world run, and I reckon they have close to 1500km in them. That should give an indication to how many pairs of shoes I will need for the whole journey!

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: