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August.
This month has been all about hills. How to maintain a reasonable pace going uphill without exploding, and how to bomb down the other side as fast as possible.
22nd August was the running of the Baiona 10k. The course starts sedately with a 1km amble along the seafront then rises about 250m over 3.5km. Next it's more or less all downhill until 2km from the finish, when we join the seafront again.
Last year I ran this in a shade under 47 minutes. This year I wanted to improve.
So I have been practicing hills. Short ones on hill reps, long ones on long runs, steep ones, little inclines.... You get the picture.
The half marathon in Betanzos in May was 'undulating'. Going uphill I was usually overtaken by a few runners, one of whome was at least 70 years old. Going downhill I didn't really gain much, it was only on the flat where I regained my position. So I wanted Baiona to be different.
For hill reps I have been using the side of Mont San Pedro. I think I have mentioned it before. The climb is around 60m over a distance of 400m. After a 15 minute jog from the shop to the hill I have been doing 6 reps. Hard running up, recovery on the way down. The best thing about this session is jogging along the seafront before and after the hills. Well, on the days when there is sun at least. Riazor Beach is a splendid sight on a sunny afternoon.
I have been doing another session in A Zapateira, which readers may remember as being a bloody great big hill with a load of posh housing estates. There's a road leading down the back which has very little traffic and lasts for around 3.5km. This is where I have been honing my stamina going uphill, and my technique for going downhill. I have come to the conclusion that uphill running is just very hard work, but downhill running is technique (and bloody hard work).
Some of my longer runs have been hilly affairs aswell, Bens Park has been built a little way out of the city and has been built on an old quarry/landfill site. There's a fitness trail there which is a 2km course which does quite a bit more than 'undulate'. Seven or eight times around the course is quite sufficient for a Sunday morning, but it does wonders for the appetite before lunch with the in-laws.
Soooooo... On 15th August there was a little 6km race in a little village called Oleiros. Beforehand I had no idea how the course was, but was pleased to see that it was a little hilly. There were only about 75 of us ranging from a 4 year old to an 85 year old. Most were from the village but there were a few runners I recognised either from other races or from the shop. The training obviously helped because I ran in 22' 40", finishing in a respectable 4th for the over 35s (it should have been 3rd but after racing against one guy for half the race, I let him pass me at the finish because he was slightly older than me - never again though).
The race in Baiona was on the following Sunday. The day before, ETA exploded a small bomb on the beach there. It was only 300grams and didn't cause any injuries or damage. But on the Sunday there were so many police there, understandable though.
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