The curfew is here – how strict it will be is still up for interpretation (and it will probably be fairly flexible), so this day may have been my last opportunity to go out on a properly long trail run in a while. So, I decided to use this opportunity to the fullest and I went on a long loop of the Káli-basin, the area we are currently in. Still plenty of kilometers to run in this week’s training plan (48 km in total this week to be specific) plus it is a good chance to climb some hills too.
The plan was simple, run across the plains to a steep hill, run up, enjoy the view for a little then turn around and run back across a different part of the basin, while avoiding civilization of course. Luckily the latter is pretty easy in this area, so social distancing doesn’t take much effort. It was also the first time I used poles for running, something that I will need on the Ultra Sierra Nevada (if that ever happens) – only on the uphills, but on the steep sections they were great! Definitely need some practice though, especially with the changeovers.
It seems excessive to run with a bulky DSLR in my backpack, but with the views from the top of the hill made it worth it – of course sunrise or sunset golden hour light would have been better, but I’m not going to get up at 03:00 or finish the run at 22:00, that would be excessive. Snacks, rest, many photos and I was on my way back. Total of about 22.5 km with some good elevation gain, at a reasonably easy pace, so it was great fun!
In the afternoon my parents came to visit us and bring even more food, as if we didn’t have enough! We will never starve, even if we are literally locked in here for the next month… But I guess my parents are worried that I will lose weight with all this running. They are absolutely lovely and have been super helpful with this whole process, so we really appreciate them. Hugs are still not happening, we haven’t finished our 14 days of quarantine, but it was great to sit down, chat, have a coffee and have a laugh about the ridiculousness of the state of our world.
In the evening Aisling started another lengthy kitchen project: making khinkali. These Georgian dumplings are super tasty, but let’s be honest, they are not the easiest dish to make. Of course, we opted to do two flavors straight away, since we never choose the simple route. 3 hours later (100% worth it!) we had some amazing dumplings to eat, but food coma + tiredness meant we passed out soon after.