Run 1:00:00 [3] 12.1 km (4:58 / km)
As my birthday usually falls during the peak of the European orienteering season (in most years, although not this one, it's during JWOC), I've spent it in a lot of different places over the years. Spain and, later today, France are this year's additions to a list which includes the UK, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Romania, Finland, Lithuania, Canada and Japan (and, within Australia, in addition to the obvious Canberra and Melbourne, Jindabyne, Newcastle, Bendigo, Warwick, Darwin and Dubbo).
This morning's run involved exploring the nice bits of Santander, especially the beach district about 4km east of the city centre. I wish I'd known about this (and the fact that it contains all the good places to stay and eat) 12 hours ago because I ended up in one of the worst dives I've stayed in in my 37 years - this sometimes happens when you enter a place without plans or information and take pot luck. I then decided I'd at least put the money I'd saved into eating somewhere decent but struck out there too. Hanging around the bus interchange was a more appealing prospect - albeit a decision assisted by the fact that it's a wireless hotspot. (I'm sitting there now). Hopefully I have better luck in the sleeping and eating department in Bordeaux tonight. (At least I slept well, perhaps because I didn't get any 1 a.m. calls on my mobile from Australian radio stations like I did on Sunday night).
The setting of the run was pleasant - for an urban centre it has some very good beaches (and although I didn't get that far, the municipal golf course, on the end of a headland, looks spectacular). The run was a bit more mundane, sometimes settling pretty well on the flat but rather weak whenever I had to go uphill (which wasn't that often). Achilles again a bit touchy.
Not surprisingly most of the main Spanish sports paper (there were copies floating around on yesterday's bus) was devoted to Wimbledon (I was a little surprised that there wasn't an outbreak of horn-blowing - perhaps they're a bit more sedate in La Coruna). The obligatory football coverage was devoted to what appeared to be a tournament for teams representing immigrants to Spain. Either there are not many Chinese in Spain or they're not very good at football (or both) because China's record was 0 wins, 0 draws, 3 losses, goals for 1, goals against 42. Not surprisingly Morocco is doing well. Australia doesn't appear to be represented; the most famous Australian immigrant to Spain (now deceased) probably wouldn't have been much help to them even when he was alive.