Hybrid run: Trail & Hill
As one of my two weekly hill specific training sessions today I decided to mix it up a little compared to the pure hill repeats I did on Sunday.
I did go to my usual training spot “Hoge Bergse Bos” and started with some hill work but decided to switch to the harder mountainbike paths as that would also provide some interval stimuli (and was great fun). The last 20 minutes I did almost all the routes in the area so I decided to use the remainder of my time to make a strong finisher with some hill repeats.
The constant shifting between speed and climbing and descending was fun but also intense! Specifically running up and down the stairs of the view point!
Halfway through I found some cool off road paths which during this time in the year looks amazing!
Appearantly I had sone equipment issues on Sunday as one of my soft flask was punctured. With the warmer weather today I thought that 1 soft flask would not be enough, so I picked the bigger bag (1,5L) to train today. While I didn’t drink too much this run, it was not too bad to start getting used to this as I will be using it for the Jungfrau aswell. Furthermore, 1 caffeine gel (sis double espresso) around 40 min gave a nice mental boost but I think I will do without it next time as I could had handled it without it aswell.
Overall, beautful weather, lots of fun and 730 m of climbing.
Happy Running!
Wow!! That is more running than I would do in a month!
With that level of activity on Hive, have you ever used @actifit? That is no normal fitness level activity...looks more like you are training to be competitive in a marathon! I will have to check out your other blogs to catch more of the story.
Nicely done!
Thanks! Yeah, I try to do 2 - 4 marathons a year. While my country is very flat, I am currently preparing for a mountain marathon in Swiss Alpes in September! So I try to do hill sessions 2x a week to get used to climbing a bit
Oh WOW! That will be an adventure to follow!
Oh you have some beautiful landscapes and paths there, with a great sun shine
Up and down on the hills is intense for sure
What a fantastic session! 🙌 I love how you turned a structured hill workout into an adventure—that's the kind of training that keeps the fire burning. The mountain bike paths sound like a brilliant addition; mixing in those technical sections really forces the body to adapt and react, which is exactly what race day demands. And those stairs? Oof. Respect! 🦵🔥
Also, smart call testing the bigger bag now. Jungfrau is no joke, and having your gear dialed in months ahead is a huge confidence booster. Better to discover the punctured flask now than halfway up a Swiss mountain, right? 😅
The fact that you're already reflecting on the caffeine gel—"I could've handled it without"—shows real self-awareness. That's how champions are made: experimenting, adjusting, learning what your body truly needs.
730m of climbing, beautiful weather, and trails looking amazing this time of year? That's a perfect day in my book. Thanks for sharing this—it's inspiring to see someone blending hard work with genuine joy out there. 💪🏔️
How are the legs feeling now?
Tnx man! The legs are feeling fine, I tried to speed up when going down hill rather than breaking a little. Therefore my quads are noticable but that is about it!
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You covered almost every inch of that park. You must be getting well known in that area. There is this Belgium Ultra runner that won the Big's back yard ultra and they renamed his training hill in Belgium after him. Hoge Burgsche Bos could soon be called rainbowdash. have you done a back yard ultra yet? 6.7km on the hour
Haha yeah, we have a group of ultra runners training here. At first you just say hi once during a hill repeat but last Sunday they started chatting which is pretty fun.
There are some guys that train weekly 40k >2500 hm so I am just a rookie compared to them! Only difference is that most of the ultra and skirunners power hike / use poles and run down, while I am just running both.
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