TIP OF THE WEEK . . . RUNNING HILLS!
How do you feel about running hills when they show up in the middle of your run or race? The general consensus (based on personal observations and conversations) is to condemn them. Many runners are already broken just by the thought or appearance of hills.
Whether it’s the bridges of an urban marathon or the hill(s) on Eagle Island’s cross country course, you can turn hills to your advantage. As in much of life, attitude is everything. Think of running the hills in a race as a place to make your move; where you demoralize and run away from your opponents. This is where you break them. Most people in races are not prepared for hills and will slow down as they trudge, grind, (insert expletive here that rhymes with side stitch) and moan their way to the top. It does not have to be this way. Racing or training, here is how to work with hills to turn running them into a positive experience/event.
Change your attitude. View running hills as a way to gain an advantage in a race, or a way to shake up your everyday run and challenge yourself. It is an obstacle to be overcome no different than getting through a tough workout or a 20 mile run.
Train on hills. This does not necessarily mean running in the foothills and mountains. This does mean running a relatively flat course with a hill or hills along the way or running repeat hills.
Push Harder. Tell yourself that from now on you are going to push a little harder as you run up hills. Knowing that is your new attitude will help you be more mentally prepared for the hills.
Pick up your pace. As you approach the hill, pick up your pace 40 – 50 yards before the hill starts. This way you have some momentum going as the terrain changes.
There are two ways to run a hill and make it work to your advantage:
- On particularly steep hills and in longer races, you want to try and maintain your pace as much as possible. Do this by leaning into the hill, shortening and quickening your stride, and most importantly, pumping your arms harder. Their function has now changed from providing rhythm and balance to providing drive, momentum and lift to help carry you up the hill. Now comes the most challenging part of learning to embrace, and love, running hills (I learned this from Mr. Olufs, my high school cross country coach). As you crest the hill, keep this extra effort going for another 40-50 yards before you settle back in to your pace. If you really want to test yourself and put the hurt on your competition, put an extra surge in at the top of the hill for those 50 yards. This extra effort does a couple of things. First, it forces you to continue concentrating and thinking about your run/race and second it continues the momentum you started on the hill and tests how tough you and your competition are. You’ve now shaken up your run or race, and made yourself a more aware runner.
- The second way to run hills applies to shorter, less steep hills and/or repeat hills done as a workout. Again, pick up your pace as you approach the hill so that you start up it with some momentum. As you start up the hill, tuck your butt in so you’re running tall, drive up the hill on your toes and pop your arms back so you get the full use of them to help pull you up the hill. Essentially, you are sprinting up the hill, working on your form to help you become faster. This is speedwork disguised as a hill workout. And, as above, used correctly in a race, it can give you that edge to weaken and/or break your competition . . . or at least a dread of hills.
Like all training methods, keep the hill workouts in their proper place/perspective and as part of a well thought out, long-term training plan. I still do my best to put an extra effort into every hill I run, just to challenge myself and to keep from feeling complacent. Mr. Olufs would be proud.
Rich Harris
|
