The New York Times ran an article yesterday on the Incline, a killer trail used for workouts by athletes in Colorado Springs.
Brooklyn's got nothing like that, but the need for hill workouts, especially for those of you running fall marathons with some hills (think New York) or cross-country, is key.
So, where do you go?
-- the Bridges: Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg all have long stretches of uphill at a moderate grade (less than 5 percent) that can be used for a workout. A popular loop is the Brooklyn/Manhattan bridges, but why not make it a Brooklyn-Williamsburg run?
-- Zoo Hill in Prospect Park: A half-mile stretch that starts near the Prospect Park zoo and continues up, and up -- and gives you a great workout. Run six to eight of them. (Other places in Prospect Park include the trails - including the Stairs - and the hill on the other side of the park, Or run a fartlek on the upper meadow and power up the short, steep hills).
- Park Slope. The last thing you want to do coming after a 12 mile run is to head up to the park - a good 5-7 minute slog. For those of you who like Union -- head two blocks over to Carroll, which has much less traffic.
- Any place you can come off the waterfront. From Dumbo, from Williamsburg, from Red Hook you name it. The downside is there's often traffic that can interrupt your stride.
- Columbia Heights in Brooklyn Heights. In between the pier that has the Ice Cream Factory, and the Brooklyn Height Promenade, is a short, steep, 8 percent grade hill that stretches for 150 yards or so.
-- Indoors on the treadmill. Don't knock it - the treadmill can give you a great workout without the knee-pounding from have to do the downhills.
Got some favorites? Post them here.
3 comments:
All you had to do was say "ice cream" and now you have me clamoring to get down to Brooklyn and check out Columbia Heights. How many repeats will it take to burn off the calories in a few scoops? :)
Ice Cream Factory, which is on the waterfront (next to the River Cafe), has awesome, creamy ice cream. Worth the wait. (Blue Pig, which is on Henry Street, is pretty good too.
This particular hill is very short and steep, so it's not a huge calorie-burner (sorry). But, it is a great strength-enhancer.
I live on Cranberry Street right there and do hill repeats on the Columbia Heights hill a bunch both running and on my bike - it's really great for "strength enhancing" and the perfect "short but intense" morning workout.
A good warm up/cool down is to run along the promenade down to Remsen where it ends, run back up Hicks to Cranberry and across to promenade again = a perfect flat 1 mile.
Post a Comment