Weblog Alex Reuneker

10K, workout #4

As I live in a really flat place, doing hill workouts isn't an easy thing. However, I live near a tunnel, which I use for 1:30 minute hill 'sprints' and I can use a treadmill at work.

enter image description here Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash

The workout So, today I'm going to do a hill workout, consisting of 2x2000m at 8% incline at an easy pace – easy on flat grounds, which really doesn't mean easy running uphill. Between the two efforts 1x1000m at 2% incline and to complete, a warming-up and cooling-down, resulting in a workout of 12K total.

Afterwards I can't say I really enjoy running on a treadmill, as it is very, very boring. But I see that as a positive thing, too – running longer races, like a marathon, tends to test your mental capabilities too, so being used to doing workouts alone and inside kind of prepares you for that. Anyway, the results... Well, the first 2000m at 8% incline were hard, so the 1000m at 2% felt like a welcome recovery. The second 2000m at 8% were too hard, I'm afraid. I completed 1500m and then set back the incline to 6% – which is still a lot compared to flat roads. This helped and as my watch and footpod were way off (registering 'merely' 11km instead of 12,6km the treadmill indicated at a steady pace), I think I did too much incline. Still, I just couldn't keep up at the 8% incline and as I felt my form deteriorating, I decided to take it a bit easier. Afterwards, I think it was a good, pretty hard workout that I could definitely feel in my upper legs.

Workout data If you want to see the workout, check it on Garmin (you can see it without an account) or on Strava (you need an account).