5 x 1/4 mile Hill Repeats (2:21, 2:20, 2:22, 2:19, 2:21) + 25 minutes easy @ Pineridge
For todays hill repeat work I wasnt quite in the mood to hit the roads, and I didnt have the time to head out to Towers, and the weather was nice so the thought of running a hill climb on the treadmill was out of the question. So, after doing some thinking of where I can get in some fairly short hill repeats, on trail, that are fairly close to town, one hill that I had forgotten about came to mind.
There is a trail that climbs up the West side of Pineridge and is located just off the dirt parking area. It offers somewhat technical (loose rocks and uneven footing....nothing major) and is about 0.28 miles long and gains about 250ft of vertical.
Sketchy footing combined with a decent amount of vertical makes for quite the hill repeat. When run hard this little forgotten about trail can really be a lung buster!
I didnt know this little extension trail had a name but it does.
Starting at the "Starting Pole", as I like to call it. I took off for 5 up and down repeats. Effort was hard, but not all out. Got tripped up a few times on the loose rocks while pushing up the hill.
the starting pole.
After my 5th grunting repeat, I jogged an easy 25 minute loop down on the Pineridge trails.
Felt good to get in a nice jog on rollers after pushing hard uphill. Great way to loosen up and cool down.
--- Tuesday - 01/31/12 ---
Track Workout - 6 x 400m - (71, 66, 68, 66, 66, 67) - 200m recovery
The first repeat is usually just a "feeler"to kinda get a feeling for pace. The rest of them were right on target. Weather was nice and not too windy. I'll take it!
6 repeats still isnt very much in terms of overall volume of a workout, but for mid winter right now, its not an issue. Come this summer, my weekly track workout volume will increase significantly.
Legs are feeling good.
--- Wednesday - 02/01/12 ---
Pine Ridge - 40:20
After a couple of hard running days, I am glad to make this mid-week workout nice and easy. Nothing impressive, just a nice 1.5 loop jog in Pineridge.
--- Thursday - 02/02/12 ---
Pine Ridge - 39:15
Mondays and Thursdays, generally speaking, are my hill climb/repeat days. However I decided to move my hill workout until tomorrow and make Fridays run (an easy workout), todays workout.
I should have checked the weather first...more on that in a bit!
Basically ran the same loop as yesterday. Legs felt good and overall another easy day out on the trails.
--- Friday - 02/03/12 ---
Well, I was planning on running my hill workout today instead of yesterday. However, after waking up early to almost a foot of snow on the ground, that plan was out the window.
My next thought was to head to the Rec for a treadmill climb...ahh the easy way out! This sounded like a good idea since I actually haven't ran a treadmill climb in several weeks. I have instead been running hill repeats on trail or on Centennial.
But then I realized that most people would also be choosing the easier of the two options, and then the thought of heading out in the snow actually sounded like a fun run! (not too mention a grunt of a workout)
So I headed out to Maxwell TH to take on 3-4 foot drifts of snow along the Foothills trail.
No sux-trax...err yax-trax, no poles, no snowshoes....just my everyday trail shoes, with a side of grunt! After all, workouts are supposed to be just that, a form of exercise that works you over and builds character. I guess if I wanted to make my workouts easy I could just rent a snowmobile and call it a day. But I would rather just run up and over and through whatever the trail (or weather) has to offer on that day.
Anyway, I love running in the elements: snow, rain, mud, hot, cold...etc etc....kinda makes me feel like a kid again.
Workout went like this :
Ran up the hill behind the stadium, crossed over Centennial, ran down to the shore, and then turned around and ran back the same way. Temps were a balmy 20'ish degrees with a solid head wind on the way out. I could only muster looking up for a few seconds at a time, as the horizontally blowing snow felt like pellets hitting me in my eyes. fun times.
Total Time : 50:20
The hardest part wasnt actually running in the snow. It was the rocks and uneven footing under the snow that made for a tricky time trying to stay upright. No face plants on the day, so all went well!
--- Saturday - 02/04/12 ---
Pine Ridge - 55:25
Officially, my slowest time for one lap around pineridge. Although in knee deep and higher snow...doesnt quite make optimal PR conditions!
Another fun run venturing out in the snow. Todays run felt like a winter wonderland. Dozens of kids sledding, 20+ people cross country skiing, 10+ people snowshoeing...and myself running.
Workout went like this:
Starting at the Horsetooth dog park I ran up to the ridge and then ran one counterclockwise loop around Pineridge.
Running in the snow is a great cardio workout. The effort it takes to hold any sorta pace in snow this deep really works your legs and lungs pretty good. I am pretty sure my calves are going to be fairly tight in the upcoming days, as my calves were doing most of the grunt work. And because I was doing "high knees" for about an hour, my hip flexors also got a nice workout.
As I know these trails pretty well, I am fairly certain that there were sections of the "trail" that werent even close to being the actual trail itself. Basically, I followed the ski tracks and snowshoe tracks of the people who came before me, which was in some areas WAY off course.
--- Sunday - 02/05/12 ---
Easy neighborhood run - 37 minutes
Decided to take a break from the snow drifted trails and decided to go for an easy run throughout local streets in the neighborhood. Felt good to run on the flats for a change, without any kind of resistance or having to high knee the entire run.
After the run, headed home to watch the Super Bowl.
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What a week of running!
Warm weather track workout and mid-thigh snow drift trail runs in the same week!
The snow, followed by mud most likely, will be around for some time, which will make track sessions and trail runs pretty interesting in the upcoming winter weeks.
I might head to the Rec at least once next week to get in a solid long hill climb for a change, over hill repeats.
I was happy with my 400m workout earlier in the week. Felt great running mid to high 60's without feeling like I was sprinting or on the verge of red-lining it. I am hoping I can keep up this kind of leg turn over the rest of the winter, and then increase the volume come spring/summer. Should be great!
My new shoes should be here on Monday. I went with the same shoes I have been wearing for over a year now. New Balance MT 101's. I will post a few pictures of how a fresh, out of the box, pair of running shoes compare to that of the same pair with 1,000 + miles them!
until next week....wishing for summer weather!...ahhhh :-)
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