Getting over the hills

[Corarun]

How have folk got better at doing hills? I was improving quite nicely - I have park runs near me with hills on - but have now found myself struggling more/walking. I think because I walked them once and my time was actually quicker but I really want to run the full course and improve at hills. Is it just a question of keeping at it??

[SueAppleRun Graduate10 60minGraduate]

It might be a question of walking the flat bits and then running as slow as you can up the hilly bits do that a couple of times and your brain will know you can do it

I know it isn’t much of a hill but i ran over a railway bridge yesterday that once i would have got short of breath and achey legs just walking over

[Corarun in reply to SueAppleRun]

Thanks WillowandSola - I might try that. I feel I need a few sessions focusing on hills!

[Roxdog Graduate10]

Hills! What are they? (I live near London - not many hills). Just running up the bridges over the canal are enough for me! Hats off to you!

[Buddy34 Graduate10]

Hello Corarun, for me personally I started running hills on wk9 of c25k and yes the more you run them the better you get. Good luck 😊

[Annieapple Administrator]

Try not to overthink hills. Just keep running slowly & surely.. they are interesting & fun. Teeny slow steps & suddenly you are at the top still in control, not out of breath & a big smile to go down the other side..Enjoy they add variety & strengthen your legs like nothing else.

[Corarun in reply to Annieapple]

Thanks Annieapple. I’ll try and remind myself of the leg strengthening to see hills as A Good Thing 👍🏻

[sTrongFuse Graduate10]

Living where I do, hills are pretty much unavoidable, so I just kind of accepted them as part of the process. That doesn't help you, I realise, but I just shorten my stride, pump my legs a bit harder breathe more deeply and swear under my breath at them until Inger to the top...

[Corarun in reply to sTrongFuse]

Thank you - that sounds like the technique ‘powering up the hill’ 😁 Good to know - I think perhaps that is the only way

[ArthurJG Graduate10]

My first proper experience of hills was training for the EMF 5k last spring. The intermediate training plan on their website has three runs per week, one of which is hill repeats. So basically after a warmup run you run fast up a hill and recover by walking down the hill before repeating. I think the first one was 15 seconds uphill (yes seconds not minutes) six times and it progressed from there. I added to it in the fortnight before the race by deserting my flat home parkrun for a couple of hillier ones. By race day I was able to do the 1km continuous uphill near the start without walking.

Also: the best advice I ever got about running uphill (might have been on here, not sure) was this: yes you slow down, sometimes you need to slow down a lot, but you do that by shortening your stride while keeping your cadence (steps per minute) the same: shorter strides NOT fewer strides.

Hope that helps. Also, if it’s a long hill you may have to continue the slower pace for a bit on the flat afterwards to recover before you speed up again.

[Corarun in reply to ArthurJG]

Thanks ArthurJG that’s really useful. I realised after posting I should probably google hill repeats! I think I instinctively take those shorter strides when doing a steeper hill (as you say without increasing steps per minute) so I can give some thought to that on the gentler ones too. I’ll give hill repeats a go - although the thought doesn’t fill me with joy! Thanks 👍🏻

[ArthurJG Graduate10 in reply to Corarun]

It’s actually fun to begin with as the hills are so short. It does get more like hard work as you progress though. Do have a look at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival website and navigate to training plans > 5k > intermediate. Basically three runs per week, one intervals one hill repeats and one long slow run. Might be what you’re looking for.

[sTrongFuse Graduate10 in reply to ArthurJG]

Having run up round and down Arthur's Seat for the Edinburgh Race for Life last year, that's really not a hill you want to cut your teeth on. Fantastic views though.

[ArthurJG Graduate10 in reply to sTrongFuse]

The EMF 5k is basically one lap of Arthur’s Seat. But I’d followed the aforementioned training plan for eight weeks before, so it was fine, except so many people in my start pen were walking the hill, chatting four abreast and not giving way to runners, that I was even slower than I would otherwise have been. But I got it done with no walking. I have the same hill to look forward to again this May as it also features in the EMF 10k.

[sTrongFuse Graduate10 in reply to ArthurJG]

I think the Race for Life follows the same route. I'm trying to talk myself into the EMF half this year. Doing the Kilomathon from Ocean Terminal to Murrayfield at the start of April

[ArthurJG Graduate10 in reply to sTrongFuse]

Some friends of mine are doing the half. I was tempted myself but Sundays don’t suit me. It’s twice as far as the 10k but it’s not twice as hard because it’s downhill then flat with no uphill to speak of. The one thing I’ve been told about the EMF half though is you pass very close to the finish at the 9 mile mark so you see and hear faster runners finishing when you yourself still have four miles to go. I suspect it’s one of those things that’s easy to deal with if you know it’s coming but might be demoralising if you weren’t expecting it.

[Corarun in reply to ArthurJG]

I have family in Edinburgh and did my first park run by the sea there - which was wonderful. I have restricted my running to the bottom of Holyrood park so far. Arthur’s Seat is far bigger than the hills I’m talking about...agree sTrong I’ll build up to that tho. Maybe the Edinburgh half one day tho...amazing city

[Corarun in reply to Corarun]

Also - I know what you mean Arthur JG - on my more hilly local park run I was surprised how many stopped to walk and stopped me powering though (that’s fine - im not complaining as it’s park run and everyone should do it at their own pace) as it meant I couldn’t get past at my slow jog so walked too and I think my mental block started as I felt it gave me more of a carte blanche to walk rather than run (I’d previously determinedly run that hill).

[ArthurJG Graduate10 in reply to Corarun]

Yes but it’s manners to make way for runners when you’re walking. However, near the back of the pack where I usually am there will be a lot of newbie runners who don’t know the etiquette so I suppose allowance can be made. People who haven’t done it themselves don’t necessarily get how much energy it can take to get running again if you’re forced to stop in an uphill section.

[Corarun in reply to ArthurJG]

Ach, I’ll start nearer the front next time or do the route not on a park run. I have no complaints on a park run where volunteers make it happen - just happy people are park running tbh 👍🏻

[ArthurJG Graduate10 in reply to Corarun]

parkrun is a run, EMF5K is a race. But even in a race, yes there’s etiquette but surely part of it is making allowances for people who don’t know the etiquette. Nobody in my starting pen is going to get any prize money regardless 🙂

[Speedy60 Graduate10]

I got up to 10k all on the flat, but I've decided its time to get to grips with hills. There are plenty near me, but there's one particular one I want to conquer. It's not hugely steep, but it goes on - and on - and on. I don't really know how to do it, except to attempt it slowly and consistently, say once a week. Instinctively, I feel that my other running with distance and intervals must help. I'd be interested to hear anyone else's tips.

[ArthurJG Graduate10 in reply to Speedy60]

Here’s another strategy: after a ten minute jog on the flat, run up the hill for fifteen seconds. Stop and notice where you are or make a chalk mark on the ground so you don’t have to keep timing the 15 seconds then WALK back to the bottom of the hill. If the walk isn’t enough for you to recover it’s OK to wait till your ready. Then run up to your mark again and walk back down. Repeat till you’ve done the uphill six times then cool down with another ten minute jog on the flat.

Only do this once a week: let your other runs be longer but easier. As you progress you can change the uphill to 20, 25, 30 seconds or increase the repeats to eight or ten. You’ll be surprised at the difference after a couple of months. It’ll even improve your speed on the flat because it builds fast twitch muscle fibres more than running in the flat does.

[Speedy60 Graduate10 in reply to ArthurJG]

Thank you, it's a bit more structured than my 'just give it a go' approach. It may be my new Friday morning activity for the next few weeks.

[ArthurJG Graduate10 in reply to Speedy60]

Everyone is different but it worked for me ... using the EMF 5k plan I mentioned above.

[Grannyhugs Graduate10]

I do circuits in a local housing scheme built on a steep slope, each circuit I go higher then leave the scheme after 20mins for long very steep hills. Not sure about whether I’m improving as only done about 4 times but haven’t walked yet and last one I stretched out to 10k. Good luck

[Reverie1 Graduate10]

I have to say that it was only when I moved to a hilly area a few months ago that I began to work on hills (actually that's a bit of a lie - I hardly ran at all because I found the hills so off-putting until a couple of months ago, when I realised it would be a real shame if I stopped running just because of my wimpy-ness about them!)

I'm now managing to run further than ever (6-7km) and so glad I didn't give up. I guess what I did was to find a route where I could do a smallish hill at the start of the run (which is always hard), and tell myself that if need be I can always slow down/walk for a bit rather than not start the run at all. Then later on in the run I can also force myself to tackle another hill knowing that I'm on the home strait, and have by then hit my stride more.

The hardest thing has been trying to find circular routes that have a good mix of hills/flat bits at roughly the 'right' places. The hills are gradually getting less fearsome, and I am definitely enjoying the flat and downhill bits more in contrast! : )

Very good luck with your efforts - stick at it and you will see an improvement. I will never love hills, but I am not going to be beaten by them (well, only the really long/tough ones - when it's perfectly okay and sane to slow down to a walk ; )))