Basic suggestions for running hills...
Uphill
- Maintain the successful rhythm (not speed) you have established on the flat.
- Maintain the same effort level. Don't try to keep up the same pace on hills as on flats or you'll soon wear out. A good check on this is your breathing. Try to keep it even and not struggling. If the effort feels too tough, it is okay to slow your pace up the hill. Try to start picking up the pace once you get over the hill top.
- Focus your eyes directly in front of you, not down at your feet.
- Use your hips. Press them forward, leaning into the hill to avoid bending at your waist.
- Push your legs off and up, not into the hill (a knee lift of sorts). Shorten your stride and let yourself slow down gradually as you ascend. Keep feet low to the ground, treading lightly.
- Increase your arm swing as if you are pulling yourself up with a rope.
- Keep your arms at your sides, slightly lower than waist level. Let your arms gently help pull you up.
- Think of running over the top-you don't want to let down there.
Downhill
- Let gravity do the work. Gravity and increased rhythm should pull you downhill, with little energy required.
- Don't let stride length get too long. If it becomes too long, you can loose control, expending energy to slow down. Too long of a stride can really be hard pounding on your feet and knees.
- Keep feet low to the ground, with a light touch. Keep your arms slightly above waist level.
- Experiment with stride length going down. Practice will show you the length that lets you take maximum advantage of gravity, yet be controlled.
- Lean slightly forward if you are going down a slight incline.
Specific hill work suggestions:
Hill workouts can be hard on your body, so you don't want it too close to your long mileage on the weekend. Tuesdays or Wednesdays are the best. Monday and Thursday may be a bit close to the weekend long miles.
There are two types I recommend starting out with.
- Hill repeats: Run a mile or so easy to warm up. Then, find a hill that is 100 to 200 meters long (or one to two minutes in duration to climb) on a sidewalk or wide road in an area that doesn't have much traffic. (You don't want to be worried about cars while you are doing hills.) On the first day of hill repeats, do just 2 to 3. Run the hill at a strong, steady pace, but don't try to sprint. At the top of the hill, turn and jog very slowly or walk to the bottom, being careful about the impact force. Then, repeat. End your training with about a mile cool down. Do this workout once a week on a scheduled day, adding one more uphill repeat every week. You can do hill repeats on a treadmill, too. Just increase the incline to a number that feels comfortably hard and run at that incline for 1-2 minutes, lower incline to recover, then repeat.
- Run a course that is rolling to very hilly. This is probably more enjoyable than the hill repeats. It is not quite so hard on your body and can be a bit more flexible with when you schedule it in your training. Try to map out a 3-5 mile route with some hills and run this on your hill work day.
General overview
Hills should be approached with the same effort as on the flat, so it will be slightly slower pace. On the uphill, run with a strong and steady pace reducing stride length. Don't sprint the hill--maintain a steady effort. Gently pump your arms to help drive yourself forward and upward. Try to run with a light touch of your feet. Keep your head/eyes focused upward, not at your feet. On the downhill, increase stride length somewhat (in response to the down slope), but don't over stride. Keep your stride under control by keeping your feet low to the ground.
If you have had a recent injury or are suffering from some unfamiliar aches or pains that you are currently working through, I recommend easing into the hill work VERY slowly or waiting until your aches and pains are gone.
Check out some more info on hill training at: http://www.runnersworld.com/subtopic/0,7123,s6-238-263-264-0,00.html
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