Hi all -- I am training for my usual Spring half marathon(s) now in CT, where we got around 2 feet of snow over the weekend. This means that my usual venues for tempo runs and intervals -- the local bike path and high school track -- are unavailable. Now, I could try to find a nice, long, flat route, but my area is very hilly and it's easier run right out my door than to drive somewhere.
Although I don't currently have access to a bike path, I DO have a Garmin 630 and a heart rate monitor. The reason I bring this up is because my heart rate is fairly consistently around 156bpm during tempo runs (at least during the first few miles, before I experience "cardiac drift") at a fairly consistent pace on a fairly flat course.
So: here's my plan, and please feel free to poke holes in my logic: if I was to run a hilly course for the same distance as my tempo run at the same 156bpm as my tempo run, obviously my pace would be somewhat slower than running on a flat course, but I would get the same AEROBIC training effect from the run (although the physiological/muscular effect might be different).
Agree or disagree? And please show your work.
Thanks in advance!