Hitting the Hills

Finally I did the hill workout I've been wanting to do. I basically switched yesterday and today's workout. Yesterday I ran four miles on the treadmill like I said and today I ran six miles with hills (many, many hills). The first time I came across this monster in the midst of a long run (several months ago), I turned the corner of the street and I think every single car driving in my direction could read my lips and it's not something I would repeat in my very innocent blog. :-)

It was a little over a two mile run to the spot. Typically I would sprint up the hill, jog back down and then rest but this time I pushed myself harder. As I approached the bottom of the hill I picked up my speed and ran hard (I wouldn't call it a dead sprint) to the top. Without rest I turned around and jogged back down. I think running down a hill is almost as challenging as conquering the upward of it. It takes a lot of muscle control and careful footwork. Anyway, I reached the bottom of the hill, did a sharp pivot without taking a break and headed right back up the hill. I did this for roughly half a mile.

On my way back I encountered many more hills in my route and on side roads stemming from the major road I was running on. My plan of attack ... whenever I pass a hill or come up against one - RUN IT! Steep hills, gradual hills, short inclines, longer sprints - you name it, I did it tonight. I found myself back at my apartment after a smudge longer than six miles of running. With hills and recovery jogs included, I averaged an 8.05 pace. Without the recovery jogs, I would claim to have averaged a 7.30 pace. Easy. I was cruising tonight and really feeling good. Water has crept up to the top of my priority list recently, which I think had a big impact in my successful workout this evening. Forcing myself to drink water has finally turned it into habit. I still have a cup of coffee in the morning and a diet soda during the day, but I've made progress. There's really nothing wrong with coffee or soda as long as it's all in moderation. But back to the water ... now that I've seen the outcome of it, I will be sure to keep including that as a major part of my lifestyle and diet.

That's actually a great example of something that often times happens to me, as well as many other runners and athletes that I know. People fall into ruts and goodness knows I have stumbled into my fair share of unmotivated holes. Sometimes it revolves around running entirely and then there are moments that it deals with various facets of running, like drinking water, working on core or eating healthy. You just don't want to. It becomes so much more than you want to deal with. It's understandable ... everyone leads a busy life. But all it takes is to see the results, to know when you put in the work a difference will be made. Running can feel like a nuisance but until you experience that one energizing run or if you see a pound shed, it becomes a different story. For me with water, once I felt the difference it made in a run I quickly realized it's a vital part of training. If you know in your mind it's good, there comes a point when you need to simply force yourself to follow what you know no matter how much it sucks at the time. It'll pay off. There's no secret to training or dieting success, it all takes a lot of effort, commitment and of course, heart.

I might snap a shot of some of the hills I ran tonight and post them tomorrow. Hill workouts help in significantly strengthening your legs. The extra energy your body uses to drive yourself to the top of the hill is a very rewarding exercise and acts as a weight room for the runner. Runner's World discusses four types of hill workouts and when you should think about doing each one of them. RW also suggests not incorporating hill workouts more than two times a week into your training since it's a very exhausting and demanding activity.

Thanks for reading!!

It's Raining, It's Pouring ... My Workout Just Got Boring

Flash flood warnings and storm threats prevented me from venturing outside for my seven to eight mile "quality" run this evening. Bummer. My previous planned was to run to an extremely steep and intimidating hill (about two miles from my apartment) and do some hill workouts and then run home. It sounds pretty horrible but I was actually looking forward to it. It's something new and a workout I've been thinking about doing for awhile. Since it was pouring too intensly for that, I changed right when I got home from work and headed to the fitness center at my apartment. A fast-paced forty-five minute elliptcal workout allowed me to break a good sweat, feeling like I got a sufficient workout. Even though I don't mind the elliptical, I'd rather the feeling of covering some ground and not being stationary. Oh well - you adapt and move on! FYI (because I don't think I've said it yet) I took yesterday off after running my long run on Sunday.

From experience ...
On another note, one of my biggest challenges lately have been drinking enough water. For some reason I get on these soda kicks - or anything with flavor. It is diet soda at least, but still ... not good when you are running and working out as frequently as I am. Drinking water has been a forced action for me lately. When I do get enough of that good ol' H2O I feel significantly better when I'm training; I even feel lighter. If you don't consume enough water, your body holds onto all the liquid it gets because it basically doesn't trust that it will get much more throughout the day (the simpler way of putting it). Well, put two and two together - that makes you bloated and gives you the feeling of carrying extra unnecessary weight. Soda also contains a great deal of sodium, which causes bloating as well.

That leads me into the fun fact I wanted to share with you! Next time you hit the pavement, max out at the gym or get a good sweat with a small home workout - grab a beer afterwards to rehydrate! Yup - a beer! "According to a research, a glass of beer is far better at rehydrating the body than water after exercise. The sugar, salt and bubbles in a pint may help people absorb fluids more quickly, the study claims." (Source) FoxNews only claimed it was slightly better than drinking a glass of water but hey - ever little bit helps, right? (Source) This makes sense when race organizers offer beer once you cross the finish line. I've heard that some races even offer a beer during the race but I can't imagine that. Beer isn't something that I would want to push me to the finish line; however, I would run faster to get to the finish line for that beer ... for the hydration of course! :-)

Hopefully the rain takes a hike so I can possibly fit in that hill workout tomorrow. If it's not raining too hard I have no problem running in the rain - even makes me feel like I'm working a little harder. But today was just too ridiculous to do anything outside. If I do get to do it, I'll definitely be sharing and hopefully I'll even get the chance to snap a picture of this monstrous hill to share as well!

Talk to you soon! Have a great night!