Hills and Plyo

Whew. This week has been flying by. I don't know why I have been so busy but for someone reason it has been a crazy week. Fortunately, I only have to get through the rest of this week and next week and then I have off for spring break! Ah, the joys of being a teacher.

Anyway, if you live in the northeast you already know this, but this weekend it rained for 2 days straight. When I say rain, it down poured. Apparently, parts of New Jersey got anywhere from 4-7 inches of rain in one weekend. Crazy. And then, just as quickly as it came, it left and the past few days have been beautiful. It even hit 70 degrees today and it is supposed to stay this nice for at least the next 5 days. Thank you God.

So, after the race, my dad and I took off on Sunday and Monday from running and on Tuesday we did a hill workout. Since our usual hill spot was closed due to flooding, we went to our local "mountain" to run hills. It is technically a mountain but a very small one so don't be too impressed. A very small mountain, however, makes for very steep hills, and I got my rear kicked! I won't go into the boring details, but this hill was very different than what we usually do. Basically, the hill we normally run is longer (1/4 mile) but the incline is gradual. The new hill is shorter (about a .10 of a mile) and super steep. I couldn't run fast because I couldn't lift my legs high enough, but I was breathing hard and (according to the garmin) spent most of my time in zones 4 and 5. (Post to follow about what all this means). On a scale of 1-10 (RPE or rate of perceived exertion scale) I was definitely at a 10.

I have been reading the 2nd section of The Runner's Body, (you can read about part 1, here) and I was so excited about what I read, I couldn't wait for part 2 to share it with you! I always knew that plyometrics improved running performance. Plyometrics is a form of strength training which involves jumping drills. According to The Runner's Body, hill run counts as plyometric training! I am very excited about this because "plyometric training has been found to improve the running economy in a short space of time, probably by exaggerating and improving the energy return from muscle and tendon." I used to do plyo all the time, but I haven't done it in awhile, or at least I thought I hadn't. Apparently the hills count, who knew?! More on this later :) Have a great day everyone!