Day one of week four means I’ve moved into a new cycle in my training plan. I’ve entered the first part of the strength phase (Phase 2) and have added a second quality workout to my week.
Oh, those hills!
Monday runs now incorporate hills followed by kettlebell strength work. The hill I run is about a half mile long and somewhat steep. I’m not sure about the exact grade but if I were to guess, I’d estimate it around 8% (give or take). It’s about a mile away which works out really well for calculating run time and distance. I can warm-up jog for a mile, do my requisite number of hill repeats and run a mile back.
The week started off easy, just one hill run. Normally, these are called hill repeats but I only ran one long hill, so I guess it’s not a repeat. In a couple of weeks it will bump up to two hills. The half marathon course I’m training for has more of a long, gradual incline so it’s not as imperative that I get a lot of steep hill work in. However, hills are great for strength training and steep hills force you to use good running form. I don’t think I’ll need a lot of repetitive hill work in order to get out of my training what I need for the tune-up race.
Running form and tracking method
Although this run was not meant to be at conversational pace, my goal was to keep my pace manageable while running up the hill. I wanted to be able to continuously run without moving into a heart rate zone that would require me to walk and catch my breath. Before my run, I set my Coros watch to track percent of threshold pace based on my aerobic power range. I preferred this setting over a specific pace range for the entire run. This way when I dropped my pace to get up the hill my watch would not penalize me by alerting me that I was going too slow.
I’ve gotten better at running up this hill since I’ve been practicing on it since earlier this year when I was training for a hilly 8 mile race. When I first ran this hill I could not complete it without walking no matter how slow I tried to run. Over time, my form and pace have improved. I now know how to gauge my energy output in order to make it up the entire hill. I take quicker, shorter strides and focus on my arm swing. I also focus my gaze up the hill and not on the ground in front of me. This is especially helpful as I gain on the top of the hill.
I always try to save a burst of energy for the top and pick up my pace to crest the hill. The words, “finish strong” flash through my mind as I get close. Sometimes it’s a real struggle. Not gonna lie!
Kettlebell strength
Once I completed my three mile run with the single hill I headed to the living room for kettlebell strength. I had a bit more time today and increased my rep count slightly on a few moves but not too much, knowing that my run mileage is increasing tomorrow.
My workout consisted of 14 exercises that I performed 10 to 15 reps for each. When I first started using kettlebells I had a lot of problems with the bells causing pain and bruising on my wrists where the bell would rest. My hands would also get irritated and sore from the texture of the handle while swinging and shifting them in my hands.
I would turn my watch face to the inside of my wrist so that the kettlebell would not scratch or break the glass. However, they would still rest on the band on the back of my wrist and cause bruising and pain. I had to figure out a way to make the bells less painful if I was going to continue using them.
I found some inexpensive weightlifting gloves at Marshall’s that don’t have fingertips and they have helped immensely with my ability to hold the bells and swing them without tearing up my hands. Then, I found a package of good old fashioned wrist sweatbands to protect my wrists and watch. Such an inexpensive and easy product has made my kettlebell workouts so much more enjoyable and pain-free. Of course, I had to get the purple wristbands!
Workout
- 3 mile run with 1 hill
- 20 minutes kettlebell strength