Last night was the last hill repeat session on my current training plan. Two mile warm up, eight hills, one mile warm down for a total of 7 miles. I can feel some improvement - the first time I did a hill workout a few weeks back, I had trouble making it up the hill. Yesterday, I had no problems (other than equipment failure). Maybe I've slowed it down a bit going up the steepest part of the hill. Maybe I'm just better able to tackle the hills. Whatever it is, I feel stronger going up, and I know that I'm recovering by the time I get to the bottom without having to resort to walking (in either direction).
I was a little disappointed when I started analyzing post workout data this morning though. There are two reasons for hill repeats. One is for quad strengthening. The other is for VO2Max improvement. My legs are telling me that goal #1 is being met. VO2Max improvement comes from running at VO2Max, which typically happens at 90 to 100% MHR. The longer at that rate the better. When I look at last night's data, I put in about 11 to 12 minutes at the target rate. This is the same as the last time I ran hill repeats - when I ran fewer repeats. The next time I'll need to pay attention to my Garmin during the run to maintain my heart rate in the target range a little longer.
Oh - equipment failure? I normally take an iPod with me on my runs. I use a pair of Sennheiser PMX70 Sport headphones. Sound quality is great and they seem to hold up well to wear. But - the problem is when the earpieces get wet. The moisture must do something to the things that vibrate in the earpieces. All I know is it's a real pain to have one side of what I'm listening to drop out. I know it's not causing any permanent damage because when I dry the earpiece off, sound returns normally. The problem is really that I sweat like a pig! Honestly - those earpieces are in my ear and they manage to get wet?
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