Hills kills

[Runsome]

Hi all just moving over from C25K pages. I am trying to follow the 10 is the magic number 10k plan and for my shorter run so I thought I’d have a go at some hills as most of my running so far has been flat or slightly inclined. Well had a go and I had to keep checking behind as it felt like I was towing a car, I was barely moving and could hardly breath. Then when I got to the top I was shocked how difficult it is running downhill every footstep seemed to jolt through my whole body changed my running style which helped a bit. Then turned around and went back up the hill and it wasn’t any easier. I guess it will come together in the end as did the C25K plan. 🤞😀

[cheekychipmunks Graduate10]

Good luck Runsome! I’ll see you over on B210K before too long! All sounds a bit scary at the moment so I’m biding my time and I’m going to log a few more 5ks first!

Hills! 😩😩😩😩 Have fun with them! Will follow your progress with interest! 👏👏👏👏

[Runsome Graduate10 in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Thanks, them hills are real nasty. Bash out them 5k’s and I’ll see you on the Bridge😀

[cheekychipmunks Graduate10 in reply to Runsome]

You betchya! 😀😀

[icklegui]

phew, good going on the hills! Do be careful on those downhills, they do jolt your body. Take small steps and maybe look up some tips for technique (I can't think of any, which tells you how much I do hills!!) But sounds like you're already smashing it!

[Runsome Graduate10 in reply to icklegui]

Hi icklegui they certainly do jolt, as you say there must be a technique to this. I will have a surf to see what I can find. I’m not sure who’s smashing who but I’m up for the next round and will deffo give as god as I get. Cheers 👍😀

[Hidden]

The thing with hills is to be philosophical, to go one step at a time and to use markers: I will run to the next lamp post, tree or whatever. Don’t think about the summit., just lean into it keep going streadily, one foot in front of the other. I learned this the hard way as I live on top of a hill in a hilly area. Now I don’t think about it and it’s easier to keep running than to stop or walk. With going downhill, again lean into it, shorten your stride a bit, let your feet land gently on the mid foot. If you lean back you will slam your feet down and jar your knees. Well done for tackling hills and take it steadily.

[Runsome Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Hi FlickM3 thanks for the tips. As you live at the top of the hill you’ve done the hard legwork and it great and very much appreciated that you can pass on you experience to a novice like myself. I will take the hill climbs steadily and hopefully they will get easier.🤞😀

[SaskAlliecat Graduate10]

Hills can be very challenging, especially when you first start running them, but they can do wonders for your running, building great strength in those legs. Flick has some wonderful advice for you above. The only other things I have come across is to is to also shorten your stride on the uphill, and to try and keep the effort of running up the hill the same as running on the flat (ie, your heart rate and breathing rate). In order to do this you're going to have to run slower until you get stronger, and that is A-ok. If you need to stop and walk for a bit to get your heart rate back down, that is also ok. Enjoy your hills 😁

[Runsome Graduate10 in reply to SaskAlliecat]

Thanks for the advice I shall try to put it to good use. I can’t promise to enjoy the hills but I will do my best👍😀

[Sandyscroll Graduate10 in reply to SaskAlliecat]

Anyone who can actually do this I'd love to hear from!! I don't belive it's possible. My heartrate walking up our hills is the same as running moderately on the flat. I tested it, over and over again. I can't keep the effort level anywhere near the same as on the flat, unless I'm going down. The only way I can get it about the same is to walk up slowly. 🙄 [sound of hair being pulled out]. My heart rate will regularly reach over 180, even up to 200 going up some bits, and I'm 46 so theoretically that's not supposed to happen. I've just learnt to get on with it. Willing to be a guinea-pig and try any (reasonable) suggestions offered. Could be fun! 😉

[SaskAlliecat Graduate10 in reply to Sandyscroll]

It's definitely not possible for all hills, especially steep hills, which it sounds like you have. I have found in training for my hilly trail race, there are some crazy steep parts where my heart rate is through the roof and my breathing is on the edge of obscene 😳😂 and all I can do is walk it and try to survive it. But on the less steep bits, I have found by not trying to power up them all the time, I can get further before stopping because I can run for longer since I'm keeping it aerobic. I love the feeling of powering up a hill but don't have the stamina to run the length of many of the hills yet, so slowing it down has helped. Now, when I find my run feels slower than my walk, I just stop and walk. I've been so focused on trailrunning this summer though, I'm curious to see what happens when I'm back to running in town and how my hill training on asphalt goes then. I came across an article about a bunch of different hill workouts, the "slow it down" advice I got from the long slow hill drill. runnersworld.com/advanced/a...

but there are other drills mentioned as well that maybe will help?

[Sandyscroll Graduate10 in reply to SaskAlliecat]

That's a great article. I'll have to study it carefully and work out how steep our hills are so as to use them more effectively. It reminded me of when I lived on the Thames in Twickenham and Seb Coe used to run along the towpath where our barge was moored. You'd think that might have inspired me to run...but no...running was still a dirty word back then....not any more though!

[Jay66UK Graduate10]

Hills? I’m not a fan! But they do make your muscles work differently and they do make flat runs feel much easier!

[Runsome Graduate10 in reply to Jay66UK]

I hope so😀

[GoGo_JoJo Graduate10]

That's all there is to it really, shorten your stride, both uphill and downhill. 👍

Bring your vision down to about 12ft in front of you when going uphill, forget the summit, just concentrate on what's directly ahead.

Increase your cadence going down, so it's shorter, faster steps. Going down is harder to crack than going up in my book but both are great when you do.

Most of all, keep at it. It does get easier with time. 😉

[Runsome Graduate10 in reply to GoGo_JoJo]

Thanks good advice. I’ll let you all know how it goes 🤞🤪

[Sandyscroll Graduate10]

The advice above is all good. Every route from my house is up, for miles! My regular 10k route is uphill for the first 3 miles. When the going is steep I keep my cadence high, both up and down, and keep strides short. I keep my hips forward so as not to hunch over, and I stick to concentrating on just 6 to 10 paces ahead, which many would find too short a distance, but I find if I set my goals too far ahead I feel they are unachievable and give up, but 6 paces I can do...then the next 6. The amount of places differs depending on the gradient of the incline. Downhill I change my running style to suit the gradient and surface: midfoot for good solid ground and not too steep, flat footed or heel strike with 'soft knees' to help with braking if it's steeper or less firm... I have no idea what is correct form for this, but on slippery surfaces it's good to have my whole foot in contact with the ground. I cannot keep the effort level the same for uphill as running on the flat (even if I walk), I just end up jogging on the spot. My first 'hill' was just 100 paces up. I had to split it into 25s to make it in one go. It took practise, but I got there. I have never found hills easy, and doubt I ever will, but I can do them and enjoy them now. You'll be amazed at what you can do! Just set yourself manageable goals and don't forget to do an easy run each week and take rest weeks every couple of months if you need to. Good luck and happy hill running! 🙂

[Irish-John Graduate10]

Going up hills I imagine I'm peddling a tiny bike - I keep the same speed but much shorter steps

Going down, I focus on keeping hips, knees and ankles smooooth and relaaaxed, and kind of lope along but at about 75% speed.

It's a learning curve, but you'll get there - and to 10k

Wishing you many happy miles in your future ☺

[Jundal in reply to Irish-John]

"peddling a tiny bike" 😂😂😂

[Irish-John Graduate10 in reply to Jundal]

It works