First time in Madrid. Actually day 2.
After landing I had to take a train to get to the apartment which is located out of the city centre and I really couldn't contain the excitement. After only half an hour I was cycling around to check some of the places I will be running in the next few days. The weather conditions are much better than those of Belgium. A steady 14 degrees/celsius and the presence of the sun in the morning can make the running experience just perfect. This is also the time for serious training sessions due to the fact that the race of the year is much closer now (and I am really feeling it).
New place, new tracks, new distances and, of course, a new form of intensity training.
In fact I am experimenting another form of training in which the resting time is basically set to a minimum, sometimes even below the threshold governed by the heart rate monitor. This prevents me from running at very fast pace during interval training.
I believe this to be open to debate. I heard of runners training at a pace they will clearly not get to during race, not even in their last 30-second sprint. So what's the point?
Moreover, running at slower pace will give benefit to your ligaments and tendons and to your running technique in general, due to a better control in body coordination.
I believe this applies quite well to those who are training for ultra marathons, which is exactly what I am doing.
Running smart in Madrid!
