Labor Day Weekend was no work at all -

NHL my friends NHL - some people believe that this is the National Hockey League, they would be part right. In the CharityRacer world and in the running world NHL means NO HEAVY LIFTING! That is what this weekend was for me. I went out on Friday night for a little jog, probably laid down about 5 miles then I went out to dinner with my roommates.

Saturday, woke up, went for a morning walk, cleaned up the house a bit then hit the bricks with my roommate again. We did a 3 mile loop with a big hill at the end. My two roommates, who I am intensely proud of, are taking their first steps. I do not know what has motivated them, but they both decided to start running and I applaud the ladies fully. They actually get the gold star. They are doing the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k race. They are running as part of team Talbots and I know they will do great.

Sunday went out with my new found run loving roommates and one of the fiance (super boyfriend in my book) and did the 3 mile cruiser with the big hill kicker again at the end.

What is the training recommendation today?
HILL TRAINING!

Find a hill and hit it. Accelerate through the entire slope and use the down hill as your rest time. Do not slow it down too much because you want to stay warm. Later on when you get to be more a running hero, you can do what I like to do and push it down the downhill on ever other loop up and down to get the legs used to higher speeds.

I pick a hill where I can do at least 6 up and downs. If you are in the Boston area I recommend Summit Ave in Brookline. It is a monster. You lay down 6-8 of these bad boys and you are hill ready.

Hill training is great for strength building and assists with explosive power and speed. As well hill training is a mental readiness gold mine. If you can push it up the hill when you are beat, pushing in at the end of the race is much easier. As well, if you are doing a charity run and you encounter a hill in the course you are ready to go and stay sharp.

So moral of the story, take your first steps like my roommates, I already feel like we are even better friends and now we can spend some more time together on the weekends. Find a cause, meet some new people and become a charityracer!