Hills

L.Jenkins

They are usually the bain of most peoples existance in a race. I don't see much of a problem unless they are way to many. What I did notice today in the Dublin 5 mile is that many people struggle with hills alot. This could be caused by a lack of training, poor running technique or tack or even just general exhaustion.

Besides adequte training, I think people should be adviced on how to approach hills without killing themselves needlessly. My own technique, maybe similar to others or completely wrong but suits me perfectly, is to maintain a pace that is comfortable when approaching the hill and sticking to that pace. My pace might slow alittle in the climb, but I don't have to many problems when I reach the top. Then I increase my pace on the way back down and upon reaching the bottom, I resume a normal pace and continue on. Now I'm sure there are more educated opinions out there, but I just hate to see people give it there all and be wrecked out because of hills.

ecoli

ItsThatManAgain wrote: »

They are usually the bain of most peoples existance in a race. I don't see much of a problem unless they are way to many. What I did notice today in the Dublin 5 mile is that many people struggle with hills alot. This could be caused by a lack of training, poor running technique or tack or even just general exhaustion.

Besides adequte training, I think people should be adviced on how to approach hills without killing themselves needlessly. My own technique, maybe similar to others or completely wrong but suits me perfectly, is to maintain a pace that is comfortable when approaching the hill and sticking to that pace. My pace might slow alittle in the climb, but I don't have to many problems when I reach the top. Then I increase my pace on the way back down and upon reaching the bottom, I resume a normal pace and continue on. Now I'm sure there are more educated opinions out there, but I just hate to see people give it there all and be wrecked out because of hills.

An interesting topic i know there are a few schools of thought on this.

Personally i find shortening my stride and driving my arms and knees up the hill works best for me and i rarely fail to make ground on people on hills and then coming down i have always let the momentum of my body carry me so that i am expending as little energy as possible as it actually takes more energy to slow yourself down.

have heard other coaches saying that you should get up a hill as easily as possible so you are not increasing the effort and bring early on set of lactic acid

L.Jenkins

I know use the up hill climb to gain ground on people, but I use the increase in pace on the way down to make up for it. Gravity is a great thing. I agree with your method also. I ran a 10k a few weeks ago and found one hill particularly difficult and it caught out the majority of people but with my experience I made serious ground and finish in the top 20 thanks to that one hill.

Oryx

A few of the mountain runners on here should be able to advise on technique, but I think the best way to improve on hills is to include some tough ones in your training.

ocnoc

hmmm... how high is said hill? Or is it your standard bump in the road - like I've heard some people say that the bridge over the canal is a hill!!

When someone I think is a road runner mentions the word hill, a little part dies inside of me :P

shels4ever

I think its all about keeping the same effort level on the hills, When i'm racing you always notice people putting in so much more effort when they hit a hill and then suffer after that.

hot to trot

Any advice for coming downhill would be great .

I have nearly come a cropper on downhills where my body is going fast out of control and I can barely keep up with myself and I dread that I will slip and shred myself on the ground. I have tried stretching out( legs) to try to keep up with it and have also tried rapid small steps but neither seems to help bring things back together until the gradient eases.
I dread even small ones now but on the little ones there is not that far to stretch out and get it together. Am tempted now to just walk or run really slowly on bigger hills

What is the correct way to approach this ?

ThisRegard

I find the arms flailing wildly method helps me on descents Just try keep up with your legs and maintain a balance and plan a few metres ahead of you should do it. Easier said than done when on tired legs but you get there eventually.

claralara

I injured my ankle back in may and was off running for about 6 weeks. Spent the 6 weeks on the cross trainer and spin bike and I think the spinning really helped build up the strength in my legs. I find the hills I was running before the injury way more manageable (and perhaps enjoyable…:rolleyes:) now.

digme

hot to trot wrote: »

Any advice for coming downhill would be great .

I have nearly come a cropper on downhills where my body is going fast out of control and I can barely keep up with myself and I dread that I will slip and shred myself on the ground. I have tried stretching out( legs) to try to keep up with it and have also tried rapid small steps but neither seems to help bring things back together until the gradient eases.
I dread even small ones now but on the little ones there is not that far to stretch out and get it together. Am tempted now to just walk or run really slowly on bigger hills

What is the correct way to approach this ?

small steps

RoyMcC

Do too many runners actively avoid hills? Certainly in the Dublin area you can train all year without ever going near a serious climb.

The real running animals on here will say seek out the hills and know that they pay back much more in terms of strength and endurance than flat miles. Also, come race day, they're no longer an issue and you can deal with them perfectly well.

ThisRegard

digme wrote: »

small steps

On a steep descent ? You'd be tripping over yourself trying to maintain small steps I think.

Edit: To clarify, small steps and skips are good on a very steep downhill section in order to maintain control but when the slope is less severe the hell for leather method works for me.

ocnoc

For climbing - keep the effort, not the speed, constant.
Doesn't matter how steep or big the hill is!

For descending - read and learn! http://imra.ie/forum/topic/id/2082/

digme

ThisRegard wrote: »

On a steep descent ? You'd be tripping over yourself trying to maintain small steps I think.

Edit: To clarify, small steps and skips are good on a very steep downhill section in order to maintain control but when the slope is less severe the hell for leather method works for me.

Ya small steps and bend the knees you'll fly down

xebec

For me, uphill is all about effort over pace. I shorten the stride and try to maintain my effort, I ignore my watch until the top of the hill so no worries about pace, I look about 3-4 metres ahead (if I look up it feels like the top will never come) and I drive my arms. Don't feel that hills are a problem for me any more either in races or training...

Coming down hill it's all about the controlled fall and trying not to hammer my quads while maintaining as much speed as possible.

2nd Row Donkey

Heidi got married to Spencer AGAIN!, then Audrina left LA and went to new yo... oh wait, you mean the other 'hills'

You guys sure do think alot about running.:)

The only thing you should not do on a hill is stop. Never ever stop and walk on a hill or thats the end of you.

token56

I've a love/hate relationship with hills. I'm not the strongest on them, hence my hatred of them, however do love the feeling after a hard training session on them. I think training over some decent hills can really bring a person on. If you have one good hill run a week you wont find them much of a bother to you during races.

iceage

As a mate of mine says.."I love hills" Just keep saying this mantra it works a treat.

Nice longish hill heading out of Clonmel for Cahir is part of the Boston Scientific HM route in August. I'm using this one quite a lot lately.

Butterbear

Good topic. I only recently started running properly and the 5 mile was my first race. I too noticed people walking on the hill.

I love hills. I actually do. I love the challenge of reaching the top and just keep on going. I find a run boring without then. I always incorporate them into my long runs and, where I can, most of the others.

This is how I approach but everone is different. I slow my pace down and take smaller steps on the way up, never stop, keep going. Then on the way down I employ the Chi method: legs kick backwards, lean forward and long strides.

Emer911

Oohhh! I love hills - not!
But yes, they are a valuable part of training and the more you do them the stronger you get and the easier they are. So avoid them at your peril, I guess...:D

There's some great ones around Shankill / Rathmichael / Kilteernan, if anyone is looking for some?!:P

MisterAdam

Emer911 wrote: »

There's some great ones around Shankill / Rathmichael / Kilteernan, if anyone is looking for some?!:P

Up until recently I lived halfway between Kilternan and Enniskerry - it's goat country up there. You can't step outside without climbing a hill. There's a slope in Enniskerry that the cyclists have nicknamed Il Poggio after a famous stretch towards the end of the Milan to San Remo bike race. I used to run up and down it twice a week.
Just shorten your stride and remember to save some energy for the way down. So many times I've pushed too hard on a climb just to find I've nothing left to take advantage of the descent. Just as I reach the crest, having done all the hard work, my legs quit.

I think you should train on the type of terrain you race on. If you're training for a hilly marathon, train on hills. But if you're going to Rotterdam...