We have for over a decade had a property in Estepona, 45 minutes’ drive east towards Malaga from our Gibraltar base. This may be the last year we own it as we’re thinking of selling up due to spending more time in the campervan and less time having ‘static’ holidays and breaks over the border. Thus our downtime spent there this week was poignant and full of memories, as we enjoyed the big real fire, the views across the bay to Gibraltar, and the imposing Los Reales mountain looming down on us, as ever, at the back (which I ran up once - another story!).
The weather was a mix of torrential rain and storms (we actually got official alarm warnings sent to our mobile phones from the Spanish authorities), biting winds, cold mornings but also patches of warm sunshine with some calm afternoons and the chance to soak up a bit of sun - as I say, a real mix. Of course we ran, but managed to walk the dog most days too, even though it was pretty muddy on the campo at the back - it’s all about to be built on, so change is a-coming.
Gibraltar gas works, circa 1900. We all did our bit, including a late night session by the kids after the rest of us were in bed.
The big indoors star of our very relaxed few days was a 1000-piece jigsaw of Gibraltar gasworks circa 1900, which we cracked open soon after my stepdad and his partner, David and Janet, arrived to visit on Boxing Day, and which we finished with some effort just before they left for home on 30th December - so much sky to fill out! However, we did enjoy it (we’re really not board game people, so this activity makes a good replacement) and we’ve decided to get one every year, wherever we are, from now on. A new Christmas tradition, to add to our Christmas Eve curry, Christmas Day tiramisu, and ‘smallest Christmas tree we can find’ (basically, a fridge magnet this year).
With a van full to the brim with food, presents, clothes, people and animals, we bumped back to Gibraltar on 30th December, ready for 2026, kind of…
The Running
Running together as the sun rose on our final day in Estepona.
My runs were strictly all recovery following the Malaga marathon, with my HRV still off-kilter, my Garmin stuck on a training status of ‘strained’, and my legs moaning at anything past easy pace. I did have a new HRV-600 heart rate monitor to play with though, which is going to help me measure and improve my running economy on my next training block. I ticked off an 8k recovery run east along the promenade, followed by an almost identical 9k recovery run a day later, and yet another on the same route two days after that, before mixing things up with a coast & hills 13k and finally a longer-than-advised 16k coastal run with Faye and our friend Yael who was staying nearby - obviously with all the inevitable catching up, this longer distance run actually flew by.
Faye, meanwhile, was piling on the distance overall - and then some. She did 18k in a part 1 with strides and a wet part 2, a 26k medium-long west towards San Pedro de Alcantara, a Christmas Day 16k, a Boxing Day 24k, and a 16k recovery before joining Yael and myself for our group run. (For good measure, on our return to Gibraltar, on 31 December she headed out for a 50k long run, setting a PR on that distance and taking her to 5,000km for the year. That’s ultra runners for you!)