Running the hills on Sunnyside Boulevard

The ups and downs of hill training

Today's run (street): 5.3 miles

There's a time every day when runners have to face up to their workout. You know you're going to do it, but until you do, it remains unresolved. My plans for running this weekend were set: hill and speed practice, but I wasn't sure what I'd do on either day. My wife was already finishing up her treadmill run this morning when I decided to take on the challenge of the last section of the Greenbelt bike trail. A few miles running up and down the hills on Sunnyside Boulevard would be good preparation for James Street and Waterside Ave next week.

After a mile on relatively flat roads, I reached the start of the bike path. Soon enough, the road began to rise. The temperature was 57 degrees and humidity was a moderate 67%, so the level of effort felt manageable. The span of Sunnyside becomes steeper as you go south, and I kept a watch on my Garmin to see how it affected my heart rate. I managed to keep it between 80 and 86% of max for the climbs, even after two cycles.

I would have liked to follow the trail further, to the point where it parallels the LIE access road. It's there that the path undulates into a series of difficult, but useful hills. I didn't feel like negotiating the traffic to get across Sunnyside today, and I was concerned that doing too much might wear me out. I think the workout and the distance I covered today were just what I needed.

I'm going to focus on speed tomorrow and I'll probably head over to the high school track in the morning to run intervals. After that, it's more about cross training, core and at least two day's break from running. I may do a final base run on Wednesday, but if I do, it will be at an easy pace. Cow Harbor is less than a week away. I'm hoping for weather as good as today's.