I originally chose to include hill training in my normal routine because I wanted to be able to reduce the intimidation hills created in my head during a race. The Boston Marathon is a very hilly race. The hill training I completed while preparing to run my first Boston enabled me to remove any doubt that I could crush the hills during the race. I took the time to analyze the course map for Boston and chose to run the hilly sections of the course during my 16 week training program. I ran the tough hills several times leading up to the marathon. When I got to the Newton hills, I felt confident and fully prepared for those hills knowing that I had practiced them during my training. Even if you can’t run on the actual course, you can find hills with similar elevations that will allow you to get race-ready.
After trying a few different hill workouts I found in Runner’s World and on-line, I settled on a hill repeat workout that has worked for me. It has definitely increased my ability to run hills without any noticeable reduction in pace. It is a very simple workout. After a brief active stretch, I head out to the base of one of 2 or 3 hills near my house that are about a 4 to 6% grade. I usually run for at least 9 minutes at a very easy pace to the base of the hill before I start my repeats. This gives me a nice warm up before the harder effort begins.
Once I am at the base of the hill, I run uphill for 2 minutes. I run it at a medium hard effort. I pay very close attention to my form. I keep my back straight, shorten my stride and keep my heels under my knees. I strive to keep my perceived effort at a 5K level just not the same speed. When the 2 minutes are up, I turn around and walk down the hill for 2 minutes to provide a full recovery before I start the next uphill repeat. I started this workout doing only 4 repeats and gradually built up to where I was consistently running 10 repeats per session. Once I have completed my final repeat and recovery walk, I then run back to the starting point at an easy pace. Overall this workout ends up being between 4-6 miles in total.
Recently, I decided to push myself a little harder. I have been consistently running 12 repeats to help prep me for my fall race in Colorado. And instead of walking down for 2 minutes to recover, I slowly jog down hill for 2 minutes. I make sure to take it slow as I jog down maintaining the same stride length. I let the gravity pull me down the hill. Then after each uphill repeat, I reduce the jogging portion by 15 seconds. This seems to be really helping me run any hills that are part of routes in my other training runs. This workout allows me to increase the intensity of my Monday run while running at same speed as a normal non-speed work training run.
I have been running hill repeats for a few years now and believe it has made me a better runner. It is nearly impossible to always find a flat training route in your neighborhood or where you get in your training runs. Incorporating some form of hill training in your routine will simply make you a more well-rounded runner who can take on any terrain during training or racing. The big benefit of running hill repeats is that it is an easy form of resistance training that helps to build the muscles in your calves, quads, and hamstrings. And as you know, these are the exact same muscles you use when doing speed work. I have noticed that my Tuesday speed sessions have become easier since I started doing hill repeats. Don’t get me wrong, hills are hard. But isn’t most of what we experience in life that makes us stronger hard. Get outside your comfort zone and add hills to your training. You will be surprised at what it does for you both mentally and physically.
Apr 27– 6.10 miles (1:03:13, 10:22 pace) – Hill Repeats
Apr 28 – 3.20 miles (24:19, 7:36 pace) – Speed Work
Apr 30 – 5.30 miles (43:14, 8:09 pace) – Tempo Run
May 1 – 6.20 miles (56:22, 9:05 pace)
May 2 – 9.20 miles (1:23:35, 9:05 pace)
May 3 – 6.20 miles (57:01, 9:12 pace)
May 4 – 6.60 miles (1:05:36, 9:56 pace) – Hill Repeats
May 5 – 4.50 miles (36:45, 8:10 pace) – Speed Work
May 7 – 5.70 miles (46:13, 8:15 pace) – Tempo Run
May 8 – 5.50 miles (49:02, 8:55 pace)
May 9 – 9.50 miles (1:28:29, 9:19 pace)
May 10 – 5.30 miles (48:32, 9:09 pace)
Total Miles: 73.30 miles
2020 Total Miles: 653.80 miles
