the rain in spain

So, I don't know how this is possible, but it's been warmer in Waterville than in Madrid. That's just sad and it makes for very depressing running weather. Case in point - on Saturday I had to run part of my long run (15 miles) inside. Booo. I have decided there is nothing more depressing than a treadmill, even if it does make me run faster and doesn't have hills.

So after about three weeks of rain, the weather finally cleared today and made for a very excellent 8 mile. Here's the thing about Madrid, even with the lack of athleticism coming from the female sex, people still really do enjoy being outside, especially when its nice. Madrid has some of the best parks in Europe and madrileños really do take advantage of every free second to dar una vuelta around the city. So, instead of seeing rain and mud, today I had the joy of seeing many couples making out, tons of MEN exercising, and a bunch of hookers...let me explain.

One of the best parts about living in a new place is learning about things that locals consider normal that are so not normal. In Madrid, people generally live with their parents until they get married. This makes it very difficult for them to hook up at home, so people tend to hook up in public...a lot. Winter and bad weather have kept the parks pretty quiet over the past few weeks, but today I witnessed the joy that is the public make out sesh ALL over Madrid. It sort of reminds me of this day at Colby we used to call skirt day. On the first sunny, warmish day after Winter, all girls at Colby would collectively, unconsciously decide to wear a skirt. It was always the unofficial announcement of Spring and quickly reminded all Colby men that women do indeed have skin underneath layers and layers of jackets.

Along with seeing copious amounts of hooking up, I can safely say that I ran for over an hour today and did not see one female working out. It really is the strangest thing. In a country with good-looking people and really great football clubs, why do women just smoke and not eat? With the nice weather, a ton of people were outside exercising today, all of whom were men. This will make for a very interesting marathon where I hear about 10,000 people run, 500 of whom are women. Qué morro!

Ok, the last, and most interesting part of my run was the presence of hookers in Casa de Campo. If you ask any madrileño about Casa de Campo, they will first ask you about the prostitutes. It seems that this sprawling piece of land is the hooker capital of the city...day or night. Today, I had the privilege of seeing three prostitutes in white pirate boots on the side of the road with their pimp at about 5:30 in the afternoon. I have also seen such interactions on Saturday morning at about 11. Seems like there is no wrong time to walk the streets, even with children and bikers cruising around the park. I have never in my life witnessed such an odd social interaction where families and prostitutes accept each other without a thought. Hmmm, I have a feeling that wouldn't work so well in Dallas.

On another note, I recently received a note from Colby telling me that the current donation total is $1, 522! That is AMAZING, and I am so grateful for everyone who has given money and taken an interest in the cause. Please know that every little bit counts and it is especially motivating when I feel like my legs are going to fall off.

Besos,

Whit