Hills At The Benicia State Park?

What is your favorite workout at the Benicia State Recreation Area (sometimes referred to as the State Park) — biking with the kids, blackberry scavenging, hiking the wetlands and trail views, walking the 4.8 mile paved route, running the trails? We are blessed in Benicia to have a jewel like the state recreation area with its scenic views, natural habitats, peaceful environment and plenty of training options for fitness enthusiasts. 

 My favorite training ground there is the rolling hills above the native plant botanic gardens. At the two-mile mark there is a circular drive that leads up to the  gardens; to the far right is a dirt trail. The manicured path has a variety of trails that offer beautiful views of the straits, Port Costa and both bridges  — Carquinez and Benicia.  The terrain provides a soft training ground that your joints will thank you for;  a great reprieve from pounding the pavement. The rolling hills are a perfect choice for hill training. 

Hill training is a another alternative to the gym and weight training that strengthens the leg muscles. Whether you are a walker, run/walker, or runner, hill training will improve your strength, endurance and speed.  Start slow with mild ups and downs. As you get stronger, increase the length of the hills, do repeats and find steeper grades to run.

When adding more challenging workouts make sure to follow the hard/easy principle. If you train hard (faster, longer) one day; train easy  (slower, shorter) the next one or two days.  The day before a hard workout train easy.

Benefits of Hard /Easy Training

• Reserves strength for hard training
• Allows for recovery and rebuilding
• Avoids injury and burnout
• You get fitter and faster

Hard workouts include:

• Long distance (1.5  times more than normal distance)
• Hill training