Hills are the scourge of the running world, a place of private inward pain and challenge where every runner is equal, forced by the incline and their own relative fitness to become a better version of themselves on their journey to the top.
-- Martin Dugard, To Be A Runner
Many runners love to hate hills. I have a slightly different relationship with them...give me hills any day. That doesn't exactly mean I love them, I just don't mind the feel of the strain in my legs during that upward journey. "Are you crazy?" you might ask. Well, yes, but hills aren't the reason why.
Let me tell you something about me and hills. Hills are a mental game, as much as a physical game. If your head is in it, the hill just never seems all that bad. If you go into a hill workout thinking it's going to hurt and not wanting to do it, well, then, the hills may ultimately seem impossible. Since I like being challenged in my running, the mental game is in the right place.
Also, hills, on the up, require more hamstring than quad. Down hills require more quad and concentration (especially if the grade is steep). While I have more frequently injured my hamstrings (usually the left one), they are much stronger than my quads on the average day. I often find myself powering up a hill and being overly caution on the down.
Funny story...a couple years ago I was running a 10 mile race south of Annapolis. I kept leap frogging this pair of runners, and it always happened on the hills. I would gain speed, and distance from them, on the up hills as I powered through. They would catch, and pass me, on the down hills. After about 8 miles of this, they both commented on how it was strange to them that a runner could have more speed on the up than the down.
So fast forward to this past week...hill work on the agenda. YES! (Well realistically, almost every run on or around this base has some hill work in it because nothing is flat....NOTHING). But, there's a particular run we do in one of the neighborhoods that involves first climbing up to the "main' street across the neighborhood, then sprinting uphill to each cul de sac off the "main" street and recovering on the down hill and over to the next cul de sac. This goes on for 30-40 minutes.
A note about hills - hill workouts are a great effort workout in your training plan (and they really make your glutes look nice come swimsuit season). Many runners know that they are a staple of a well-trained runner, but not many of them know why. So, here goes.
If we want to get stronger and faster, we must increase the force requirements of our workout. Tempo runs, time trials and fast reps on the track are good, but they don't generate maximum force. Hills do.
"Running up hills forces the knees to lift higher, one of the most desirable developments for any runner, because this governs stride speed and length," wrote Lydiard (with Garth Gilmour) in his book Running With Lydiard. "It also develops the muscle fibers, increasing power."
In fact, we can target all three types of muscle fiber (a "fiber" is what we call a muscle cell) with hill training: slow-twitch (Type I), intermediate fast-twitch (Type IIa) and fast-twitch (Type IIx). Slow-twitch produces the least force of the fiber types, but it works aerobically and takes a long time to fatigue, making it perfect for endurance activities. Intermediate fibers produce more force than slow-twitch, creating the long, powerful strides associated with middle-distance running. Fast-twitch fibers produce the most force of all, but they function anaerobically and are useful only for short bursts.
So next time your coach (or the training plan you got from a friend or other resource) calls for a hill workout, dig deep, put on a determined happy face, and tackle that beast with a smile. You'll be surprised how much better hills make your running overall. Happy trails!!!
2017 miles to date: 618.24 miles
Observations: I'm battling a tendon issue in my lower left leg. It can be pretty painful, but once I get moving, the pain almost entirely dissipates. Battling my inner self that says I don't need to have it checked out to make sure it isn't something worse. Who's going to win this one.
Recent workouts:
Monday - easy run
Tuesday - mile warm up, 2 strength exercises, treadmill mile (repeat the exercises and treadmill mile for four rotations)
Wednesday - hill workout
Thursday - mile warm up, 2 strength exercises, treadmill mile (repeat the exercises and treadmill mile for four rotations)
Friday - easy run
Saturday - rest
Tomorrow - long run (so long as my leg holds out)
