Madrid minus 13 weeks (I think)

[Riazor Blue]

Sunny and cold today. I’m lucky more or less in that I can train when I like at the moment. Put on my Stormy Pegasus this morning. Jogged down to Riazor stadium on the seafront, that’s where Deportivo play by the way. Turned left and jogged up past the Millenium Obelisk, a green glass needle in a pond that lights up at night, also known as the ‘Pacolito’ after the mayor – some reckon it’s his folly.

Anyway, just past there the esplanade climbs up steeply and just off to the side is a dirt track that leads up to a park called Mont San Pedro. Today I decided that I’d treat myself to some hill reps (since it’s my birthday today). The track is great at this time of year, nice and springy, it’s about 800 metres long and probably rises 100 metres. And it’s bloody hard work.

If you ask a normal person to describe that hill probably he would say, “well it’s a dirt track and it goes from the bottom to the top” and not much more.

If you ask a runner he’ll say “ OK, it starts off fairly smoothly, rises at about 1 in 10, after 300 metres there’s a sharp rise and the calves begin to pump a bit, at 400 metres you are starting to puff and pant then it’s even steeper for about 50 metres, there’s a flatter section where you can recover for about 100 metres before rising again to reach the car park at the top, by which time the legs and the lungs are fit to explode”. Or something along those lines.

So when you reach the top for the third time you think “That’s it, no more. When I get to the bottom I’m going home”.

Then at the bottom you think “Well, OK, one more..”

Next time “Bugger it, I can do another one”

And finally “ Oh well I’ll make it a nice round 6 (!)”.

Jog home and that’s me done for the day.


Whether this is how one’s supposed to do hill reps, I haven’t got a clue. Does it get easier? I don’t think so.

By the way, my girlfriend thinks it's abnormal to eat a whole 200g Toblerone in less than 1/2 an hour. What do you think?