Hill Workout

I did a quick hill workout yesterday morning on the treadmill so I'd be able to control the speed & grade. I ended up with a total of 6 mi with 4 x 0.25 mi @ 5% grade @ goal marathon pace. I was pleased with this but next time I do a hill workout, I really want to bump up the length of my hills so instead of 0.25 mi maybe try to do 0.50 mi (or split it with 2 x 0.25 mi and 2 x 0.50 mi). The hills don't really seem too big at Boston, but what kills you is the fact that they come so late in the race (there are 4 right in row that start around mile 16 and end around mile 21) and you've just come off a huge downhill that literally destroys your quads. I didn't even run fast last year as I was trying to enjoy the race with my 3 friends but my legs were dead by the time Heartbreak Hill came around (not to mention a few days following the marathon!)

Yesterday's workout also included an evening group exercise class at the gym. I'd been wanting to take this class for some time now but I really struggle with working out after work (especially after I run/work out in the morning) but I somehow found the willpower to go. It was called Cardio & Strength Combo, which I thought would be a great class because it would keep my heart rate up with bursts of cardio but help with my strength training at the same time. Overall, it wasn't too bad but I don't know if I'd go back again. First of all, I am not coordinated in the least bit...hence, the reason I run and teach spinning. So I basically felt like a fool during the warm-up because I could not keep up with the instructor and her intricate steps. Second of all, I was really hoping for more bursts of cardio during the class but there were really only 2 or 3 that lasted a few minutes. The strength training part was good but I'll probably stick to doing that on my own. I was happy I finally forced myself to go though to check it out!

This morning I did some cross-training which included 45 min on the elliptical & 10 min on the stepmill. I had to cut my workout a little short because of a snow storm that is heading right towards Columbus as I type this. I know rush hour traffic will be terrible so I will have to leave a little earlier. Hope the weather stays nice your way!