Hitting the Hill - One Month Recap

I've been running hills once a week (usually on Mondays) for a month now. Instead of trying to find a hill in NYC that meets my specifications, I have been using a strict regime on the treadmill. By doing this I can stick to a specific pace and set incline. The program I was given was developed based on my resting heart rate (3 mornings in a row: 61, 60, 62), which was taken before I started the program.

So Why Hill Repeats? Hills are suppose to help the muscles become stronger allowing for high intensity running  during long periods without fatigue. This type of aerobic work in the quad muscles improves knee lift while running and accelerates the legs more quickly, which improves speed.

How Did I Do? For the last four weeks I have diligently ran the hills (well artificial treadmill hills). And the outcome has been pretty awesome. My heart rate is recovering faster and not hitting as high. Which means that my body is building stamina.I have also tracked my progress (except for my last run, I forgot my foot pod so the time isn't recorded in the graph) and it looks like I have gotten stronger ( I feel stronger).

I took time to graph the runs all together to have an easy side by side comparison.

So excited to see what my trainer has to say! It's funny how the first time I ran this program I thought I was going to die and now it feels easy!

I am also looking forward to seeing if the Hill Repeats and my Interval Work will show improvements in my next half (which is in 5 days!)

Be Inspired, Stay Motivated, Run Strong!