Run the mountain

Workout of the Day:

Sacre Coeur stair sprints x 4… rest as needed.

I was feeling pretty sore this morning in my chest and biceps, confirming the effectiveness of yesterday’s dual session. It was a perfect time to run some vertical grade.

Today’s mountain was the stairs at Montmatre leading up to the Sacre Coeur Basilica in Paris’s 9^th district. 281 of them to be exact. Niels has been talking this spot up from our first conversations about the master program moving to Paris, and for good reason. It’s very beautiful, very accessible, and a long way up. My first sprint took me exactly 1:00 to reach the top. My second set took a few seconds longer (minus a clog up behind some tourists). The third trip really taxed me, and by the final few steps I was barely getting my knees high enough to skip steps. The fourth set was my slowest at 1:12. At this point I was practically cramping in my ass and hamstrings, so I knew the job was done. I didn’t ease up at all on any of these sets, though my legs were getting heavier quicker and quicker as the rounds progressed. Niels finished his rounds in good form as well, and is looking stronger by the day. Afterwards, we walked through the church, took a few pictures out front and headed back across town for breakfast. I’m looking forward to spending a lot of mornings here in the future.