Make Hills Your Friends
By
Woody Green
of
RUNNERS NICHE
Many runners feel that hills are the enemy. Folks are always
searching for that FLAT fast course. Heartbreak hill is Boston's
infamous killer landmark. Cuss words often spew forth from runners
mouths as they attempt to climb that dreaded incline in the middle
of their training run.
Hills certainly do slow you down. That thing called gravity makes
sure of that. And, the sad fact is that the laws of physics make it
impossible to gain enough advantage running downhill to make up
for the uphills.
Still, hills should be your friend. Everyone has to run them, so why
not use them to your advantage?
Incorporating hills into your workout is a lot like doing weight
training without need of a gym. By overloading the legs, you actually
gain strength. This is especially true if you run hard uphill repeats.
An example would be to use a 2-600 meter uphill stretch that you
can accelerate up several times with a slow jog back down for rest.
This workout helps you both with strength and leg speed. Just
running a course with rolling terrain on your daily run will help your
strength, too.
Many runners have a habit of getting stuck in a particular rhythm on
their runs. This translates to being a one dimensional runner.
Varying terrain will help you learn to "shift gears" and run well at
different stride rates. That's important when you want to race past
another runner in the last few yards of a race, but it is probably
even more important in maintaining optimal pace in the middle of a
race, regardless of the terrain, weather or competition you might find
out on the course.
For those reasons, hills are really your friend. Don't avoid them, seek
them out! Embrace them, love them, and remember they make you a
better runner!
