Long Runs: Hills vs Flat

Notwork Error

This is probably a basic enough question but I'm struggling to find an answer and could quite possibly be overthinking it and making more complicated than it is. I'm running a fairly flat spring marathon and live in a quite hilly area where no matter what way you go, it's all hills including long mile plus climbs and downhill and not one section that could be called flat.

I'll be running these by effort so I am not worried about overdoing it on aerobic effort but more about muscular endurance as the uphills and downhills will be using different muscle groups to the ones I'll be recruiting on raceday, will this make much if any positive/negative impact on raceday performance?

I'd also be a little concerned about the stress of running the long runs over this terrain every week from a recovery standpoint, would it be wise to do so every week? I'll also never be able to hit MP on this route and while I know effort is key, will the strength gains from hills outweigh the lack of recreated stride length and cadence that I will be running on raceday? All my medium longs and tempo/steady/MP workouts would also be on hills with the only exception being speedwork if that helps with an answer.

Am I just overthinking, should I mix up the terrain I run on each week or will I be better off to just keep going on the hills?

nhunter100

I can only answer from my own experience. Like you I live in a hilly area.My first marathon was April last year and I trained on the same route all the time.Although Connemara was my first marathon the training I engaged in was a great help.I have ran many relatively flat marathons since and my times have improved.I think the hills make you stronger and boost endurance. Mixing in the speed work will improve your time obviously. Probably not the technical answer you want but it's just my experience.Train hard race easy.

demfad

Notwork Error wrote: »

This is probably a basic enough question but I'm struggling to find an answer and could quite possibly be overthinking it and making more complicated than it is. I'm running a fairly flat spring marathon and live in a quite hilly area where no matter what way you go, it's all hills including long mile plus climbs and downhill and not one section that could be called flat.

I'll be running these by effort so I am not worried about overdoing it on aerobic effort but more about muscular endurance as the uphills and downhills will be using different muscle groups to the ones I'll be recruiting on raceday, will this make much if any positive/negative impact on raceday performance?

I'd also be a little concerned about the stress of running the long runs over this terrain every week from a recovery standpoint, would it be wise to do so every week? I'll also never be able to hit MP on this route and while I know effort is key, will the strength gains from hills outweigh the lack of recreated stride length and cadence that I will be running on raceday? All my medium longs and tempo/steady/MP workouts would also be on hills with the only exception being speedwork if that helps with an answer.

Am I just overthinking, should I mix up the terrain I run on each week or will I be better off to just keep going on the hills?

IMO as long as you can get the odd well scheduled run on the flat then positives of hills greatly outweight the negatives and your location is an advantage. You get a lot of muscular endurance from the hills anyway. The downhills in particular really toughen the legs up in that unless your technique is perfect youll get mild muscle damage. That damage is actually identical to the damage you get late in long races (particularly if the legs aren't toughened).

Edit: From the recovery viewpoint, the downhill specific adaption from the first long hilly run or two will mean that subsequent hilly runs wont present a recovery issue.

It is good to do the odd long flat run on the flat for the reasons you outlined.
I would be inclined to run these at a steadier (faster) pace to maximise the cadence / specific muscular endurance benefits. You could start at 90 mins steady and build up.

As regards quality: hills 'make the bed' for the faster marathon paced work.
So for example running the uphills on long runs with effort every second or third week will prepare you for marathon paced work on the flat. Running long on a hilly course and then finishing hard up a hill will prepare you for a long run on the flat with a fast finish.

Use the flat for some of your faster sessions too.

IMO the first thing to do in any good marathon preparation is to have the muscular endurance to avoid a fade. You make time by avoiding losing time. Long runs on hills are great for this. If you can do some medium-long to long runs at the faster steady pace youll teach your body to stretch the energy too.

KielyUnusual

No matter the profile of the marathon I was running, I would always try to run my long runs on the hills if possible. To be honest, the main reason was to have an interesting profile for what is otherwise a very uneventful 20+ Mile run.

I would make the effort to find a spot that is closer to the marathon profile for the tempo and marathon paced stuffs. I used to have a 1k loop on tarmac that was ever so slightly undulating and this was perfecr training for London and I'm guessing a marathon like Rotterdam. Worthwhile sourcing a decent spot local for these types of sessions and get used to that steady paced running on increasingly tiring legs.