Hey! Last few sessions have been hill work - either hill repeats or mountainbike paths. Today I decided to make my hill repeats a bit harder compared to my usual routine.
Normally I run a winding path that has 13% elevation gain up and down, by doing so you climb for 2 min - 2:30 and can catch a breath on the 1:30 min decline. Before going up again. Today I added the steep hill >30% in the mix to reduce the time to collect yourself. So the sequence was like this:
- winding path climb (+/- 2:15)
- steep decline (40 sec)
- steep climb (+/- 2:15 min)
- winding path decline (1:30 min)
Which basicly means cutting out 50 seconds of less intense time on the feet every 4 climbs. Plus running on the steep hill is a lot more demaning (both in terms of strenght aswell as technically).
After a strong first hour I did 19 climbs (normally 17) and was tempted to do a second hour of soley the winding path. i resisted that temptation and decided to go for quality (but hard sets).
The weather was beautiful again, lots of sun which had lured big groups of hikers to the area.
I did bring my camelbag with 1,5L of sis hydro with me (electrolytes) but as the time descending was shorter than normal I ended up drinking way less, something to focus on next time to try and drink during the climbs aswell. I opted out on energy gels today, didn’t felt like I needed it last time plus my run today was slightly after a heavier lunch so I managed without just fine.
Overall, intense season but also very enjoyable!
Happy running!