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HillRunning 

If you run in the PNW, you're going to run into,and over (and over and over) a lot of hills. You're also going to run in rain, wind, and fog but that's for another time. 

So when do you run hills? Only on Saturdays? Howdo you feel as you run the hills? Do you sail up them chatting the entire way,or do you pant and gasp up them? Do you see one coming and want to turn away,or do you yell, "I love hills! I eat hills for BREAKFAST!" and tear up them with glee? 

Well fear the hills no more. YOU are a Pacific Northwester! YOU know that Birkenstocks aren't just for summer time and it'sokay to wear socks with them. (Okay, maybe not.) YOU can handle...no master the hills! 

Why run hills: Hills make you stronger. They build your gluteals, quads, and strengthen your hamstrings. Doing hill work also mentally prepares you for hills both expected and unexpected on a race. 

Hill workouts: First of all, don't save hill work only for Saturday. You should be doing at least one hill workout a month during your midweek runs. (You are doing your midweek runs, aren't you? You KNOW who I'm talking to.) Find a local hill near you with an incline that you determine is a challenge, but not so challenging that you can't handle it at this point in your training. We are not Sir Edmund Hilary. 

Warm up for ten minutes on flats, then start at the bottom of the hill and perform your scheduled hill repeats. Start with running up and down twice, work up from there to three or four. 

Cool down with ten minutes of slow flat work. 

Hill form: Your goal is going to be even effort. That means you don't race up it gasping for air, then sail down. It means you want a strong, even cadence and to attempt to keep your heart rate elevated, but not into the danger zone. 

Uphill: Your inclination is going to be to lengthen your stride and try to get as far as you can with each step...wrong. You want to actually take "baby steps" up the hill. Shorten your stride and turn over your feet quickly. Lean into the hill slightly from your ankles and let your arms relax, bent and swinging easily behind you. Swing them with a little more exaggeration than normal, but let it happen naturally. Let your arms pull you up the hill. Concentrate on breathingnormally. Don't gasp. 


Downhill: Let 'er rip...but be sensible about it. In hilly races you can really waste your quads on the downhills thinking (mistakenly) that you're making up time. Take advantage of gravity, lean forward slightly and fall with SOFT steps onto the balls of your feet. It might feel like you're landing on your toes. Keep it light light light! Lengthen your stride and let it happen naturally Let your arms swing forward a bit more for balance, but again...keep them loose and natural. Feel free to say "Wheeeee" as you sail down the hills. Or if you must, hold your arms in the air and squeal like you're on a roller coaster. Okay, maybe not. (I did that on the Whidbey Island Half Marathon, though. You wanna talk about hills...oy vey!) 

Transition quickly and gently back into the hill. Don't rest at the bottom. The goal is to learn to run each "section" of up and down evenly with equal or negative splits. That means if you run your first total hill up and down in 5 minutes, you want to strive for the next one to be 5 minutes or slightly less. 

Finish strong into your warm up and picture yourself on the Seattle marathon, passing people on the right, passing people on the left, smiling and saying "I love hills! Hills build buns of steel!" 

Tory Klementsen - Coach of Journey Fitness Runners