CATCH-UP CORNER . WEEK 3... Come on in...Everyone is Welcome!

[Oldfloss]

Hello Running family!

Here I am, a whole week of a closed Catch-Up Corner! I apologise for that. My whole Wi-Fi system decided to behave appallingly and having just got it all sorted, I am playing catch up.

My own little hill to get over!... which leads me into this ramble.

There have been a fair few posts over the last weeks, mainly from our new runners, about hills!

I remember, very, very early on in my running, when I queried/groaned/moaned about hills... a runner who I admired greatly, gave the priceless advice... “ Hills? We just get over them “.

Yes! I know exactly what you are thinking... the same thing as I thought I bet! But. It is right... we DO get over them and we do, many of us, learn to love the experience.

Hoping this may help!

Hill runs are, ( or may be for you), important for a number of reasons. Hills shake your runs up... they can improve so many features of your running. endurance, breathing, pace, control and strength.

Hills strengthen your muscles, and help improves your running form. Running uphill makes you lift up your knees higher than on the flat helping with strength and pace. Your muscles get stronger.

Now...that is all super, but, ( there is always a but, ), hills do increase the difficulty of a run. Climbing a hill naturally increases heart rate, which improves both your aerobic (endurance) and your anaerobic capacity.

So many things happening when we start some uphill sections...everything seems to change... physically and mentally ! Believe it or not, you are thinking faster, you will feel less tired.... because it is so different from your flatter runs.( Eventually).

This all sounds really positive, but there are 'down' bits as well...

When running up a hill, you’ve got to do extra work to overcome gravity. your body has to use more muscles in your legs to overcome that force and carry you up the slope.

Your foot strike changes, and your calves may feel that... ( a lot), especially the next day.

It is quite natural, when we start running up a hill, to feel that we want to lean into it, usually by bending forward at the waist. That slight forward lean is necessary when running up a hill, a lot of people lean much too far.

Running uphill alters the way your knee drives you forward, it stops you pushing off effectively and it can throw you off balance.... This is getting scary now!

So what can we do ?

We can...Stand tall! When you run up a hill, this is a good mantra to have; drive your hips, focus on them and use your arms to drive you too.

To push off the ground and use those calf muscles, effectively, then you need to fully extend your leg straight behind you, this can be achieved most effectively when your upper body is not slanted forward. By standing tall, when we run up a hill, it makes it easier for our glutes to extend the leg behind us! Sounds simple doesn't it?

If you are just beginning to run, and you do have a choice, then it is sensible to wait a while, before seeking some hilly sections out...and then, introduce slowly... your running body has got to be built up slowly, with regular, structured running progression, and with some core strength and stamina work running alongside that. This applies to those of us, also, who have no choice but to run up some inclines... long and steady or short and steep. But at least, we know now that there are things we can do to make it easier

I found myself in that position.. when I began in 2015... not huge hills, but lots of uphill and long slow inclines, whichever way I went...things that I felt were hills when I began. I realised as the months and years went on, were just gentle slopes... and as the years increased, and I ran more and more, I discovered that I loved the inclines, I loved the hilly bits and wait for it... I run faster on anything going uphill, even now at 72! Weird... yes... probably!

So if you are surrounded by hills... what do you do? ( Drive to the nearest flat bits)!

Nope... you learn, quite simply, to love, “... them, thar hills “ !

It will make you all the stronger for the other running that you will be doing eventually!

All a bit like life really, “...we won't make the top, by never going uphill “; and when we do... the view is just great.

Ramble over...

We all need now to know, please, where you are and what you have been doing, whilst I have been away... slip of your running shoes and take a rest.

Have you overcome any hills over the last few days?

Grab a cushion and share

Oldfloss x

PS

Running downhill.... that is a whole other post.... suffice to say at this point, keep it slow and controlled! x

[Running_at50 Graduate]

I haven't done any hills yet, had some long slow slopes that I thought would never end, but afterwards running on the relative flat felt really good 😃

Im currently on the injury couch 😞 after my wonderful longest run on Sunday my back really hurt so i have given myself time off to heal (hopefully ☹) feeling pretty sorry for myself, it seems every time i make progress i take 2 steps back.

Any how, im enjoying reading other people's success and cheering them on from the sidelines 😊 xx

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Running_at50]

Hello. Thanks for popping in! I feel long slow slopes are the hardest to begin with... but you are right... afterwards!!!

Sorry to hear about your back! Back pain is really wearing as well as painful. I know that feeling of just getting it all going and wham...something sets us back. The good thing is that the runs do wait...which is a very good job!

Take it gently as you recover, and enjoy being inspired by our friends here... I know it keeps me going!

[IannodaTruffe Mentor in reply to Running_at50]

Back pain, especially if it seems associated with your running, can often be caused by poor core strength. I suffered from this as runs lengthened but soon got it under control with plenty of planks and bridges. dailyburn.com/life/fitness/...

[Running_at50 Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

thanks for the advice. It quite possibly could be core strength. I do a strength class once a week where we do quite a bit of core strength and I also do a yoga class once a week. Will keep at it!!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Running_at50]

Well done you... slow and steady.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor in reply to Running_at50]

I would have thought that you had addressed your core issues with the regular sessions.

Did you perhaps strain it in some other way?

Identification of causes can be so useful.........but sometimes impossible to pin down.

Just be gentle with yourself.

[Running_at50 Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Thank you. I do wonder if it's the menopause, I have had shoulder pain for some time now. Im waiting for results of an xray on it and then I can hopefully move forward.

[LiisaM Graduate]

Well, since I've confined myself to our own property during the never-ending pandemic, I've been running up and down my driveway. It slopes--so running downhill, I give it some gas--and when returning, I take shorter steps and it's almost like climbing a flight of stairs. At first, I hated going up the slope, but I've become used to it now. A lot of the time I try to time my runs so that I'm mostly running down the slope if I am doing c25k+ Speed because it is nice to try to run faster on the "speed" parts. So call me lazy! My slope is nothing like the hills I imagine others are experiencing--and btw, my nearby city is known for being hilly. Houses are frequently perched on a slope such that you can go inside on one floor, climb the stairs inside, and exit the house on another floor. They're called "walkouts." Coming from the flat city of Detroit, I had to learn this when we moved here. (And our house is a walkout....)

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to LiisaM]

So interesting! Proof too, that it gets easier? The more we do it the better we get!

You have had a real time of it, over these past two years, and certainly I and friends here woukf never call you lazy....never.

Thanks you, for popping in, and giving us such an insight into those, walkouts!

X

[Frenc Graduate]

Oooooh I love my hills OF! I can’t avoid them where I am really. Initially I found the flattest routes I could when I started out, but realised that I would bore myself silly if I just did these over and over. So I decided to just get over it (no pun intended) and tackle them. Well, I love them! And coming back down is pretty good fun too. There were a few slopes in my 10k race last weekend and I really did power up them, it felt amazing. Hills just make life more interesting 😁😁😁.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Frenc]

Exactly !

Well done you.... and your routes sound perfect for my kind of running too.

Coming down is terrific, ( only once did I make believe I was flying...) and always something to look forward to ! Your race sounded just super and you did so well.

It is good for friends here to see, that things do get easier, that if we persevere with things we may find that what we thought was tricky is suddenly becoming a lot more enjoyable and really does add to the running experience ?

Did you find flat running easy or hard... I always felt that I was a bit like a plane on a runway and could never get going? I had to do a flat Park run , my son in law came with me, to practice for my first HM... !

Enjoy those hills my friend ! xxx

[Frenc Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Thank you for your lovely positive comments OF! I’ve never done the plane thing, I always think I’ll trip myself up for some reason 🤣. It certainly does get easier but it does take some persistence doesn’t it, like lots of things really. But the rewards are very much worth it - the views for one thing, and it just feels more adventurous. Flat running I don’t mind here and there, but a totally flat run (especially if there’s no twists and turns) I find quite laborious - it must be a bit psychological too. I really do recommend hills to all of our friends! 😊😊😊

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Frenc]

I think that is what it might be with me... not having to try and getting a tad bored?

Mind, I loved running in France... along the banks of the Dordogne and onto Le Bugue on an early morning, with only me there... and the herons!

You are right it does take persistence,,, but the benefits are many!

If you have a few minutes and want a giggle, this was one of my early downhill runs//

healthunlocked.com/couchto5............

[Frenc Graduate in reply to Oldfloss]

Oh that must have brought a smile to your face! Hurdling over flowers - brilliant! 🌸🌸🌸

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Frenc]

Yes...much more sensible this morning! X

[IannodaTruffe Mentor in reply to Frenc]

Totally with you about hills giving variety and little victories throughout a run.

Don't forget though that coming downhill can push stress loadings in your legs to the equivalent of seven times your body weight and overstriding can become so much easier to do than on the flat.

[Frenc Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

Absolutely! So much more variety 😊😊😊.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

I remembered this running down my hill this morning..I was the perfect example of controlled movement!🏃‍♀️😉x

[Brixcos Graduate]

Like RunningAt50, I too am on the injury couch. I did a lovely parkrun on Saturday, no problems (and a PB of 42.49 - so I'm not going too fast 😂). But since Sunday my knees have been sore (too much dancing? Was my backpack too heavy? Am I just getting on a bit?!!) so I've only walked a couple of short distances to test them out. No, there's no way I can safely run at the moment. The worst thing is, I had just ordered a lovely shiny new Gymboss (as I'm jeffing) which is now staring at me from the table.... I can't wait to try it out! 😞🏃‍♀️🐌

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Brixcos]

Oh gosh...we have had a few , one step forward two steps back, at the moment

Are you doing the NHS knee exercises for runners to ease the ache? They will help. Our knees work so hard, and with even tiny meniscus tears, (which most prople over 35 get) , can cause discomfort.

Just rest up...do some gentle exercises and play with the new toy.

The runs, and walks will wait.

Keep us posted please x

[Brixcos Graduate]

Thanks OF, and yes I am doing the NHS exercises gently. The poor Gymboss is ready and waiting, at the door... 😞😂

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Brixcos]

You'll get there...we runners are made of strong stuff!

[MrBassmanjazz Graduate]

"...things that I felt were hills when I began. I realised as the months and years went on, were just gentle slopes... "

It's great when that happens

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to MrBassmanjazz]

Isn't it? I love my hills...character building...well, maybe, but fun too!

[AcryllicAfternoons Graduate]

There's an incline (can't really call it a hill) on one of my runs which when i run up it I like the burning feeling in my legs and the way I position my body forwards to get up it. I always feel good when I'm doing it like I've been patient and worked hard.

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to AcryllicAfternoons]

That patience pays off... and it makes you stronger. Very well done to you! I remember writing a post the year I graduated referring to a hill... it wasn't..it was really just a slight bump in the road!

[CBDB Graduate]

We all must have some runner’s hive mind, as so many have taken to the hills at the same time!

The hill run I did this morning ( healthunlocked.com/bridgeto... ) was brilliant and exhilarating, and finished my penultimate week of the 5k plan on the NRC app.

But I might just download and bookmark all hill runs available on the NRC app.

They are just so good, aren’t they!

Lovely post, as always! Especially for us, the increasing number of hill lovers!

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to CBDB]

Thank you...and after reading your post i am going to take a look at those apped runs, ( see what I did there)? 🤣

Maybe with a world in chaos currently we have, mamy of us, just decided to run for, and up those hills x

[Chinkoflight]

Hi again Oldfloss. Well today I was in my other place and as ever wanting to do my longer run today, Saturday. So a slightly new route to get the extra distance using a cliff top path parallel to the sea level path which is wonderful for shorter runs. Of course Cliff is more than a name, its somewhat elevated! Now a good plan would have seen me start on the flat at the top and finish on the flat at the bottom. Nah, it was a bit Duke of York ( perish the thought) so there were ups as well as downs. Now lets not exagerate, top to bottom of the cliff is about 30 metres or so but its enough to cause an odd spike on my tracker! But tiday was just a atunning morning, a cool, single figure's breeze, clear blue sky, a neap tide, and as ever brilliant Solent and The Needles views . Just so happy to be here and running. Oh I forgot to start my watch so I missed 0.6kms of the run including a slope. Its slow going up hills, but you freewheel down them! Love your post which inspired me to write this evening.

Screenshot

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Chinkoflight]

Just sounds absolutely great to me!

Sun, sea and a run to get everything pumping! I love the idea of The Grand Old Duke of York...Just happy to be running..i can see those views, and smell the sea air.

It doesn't get much better than that. Well done you...thank you for popping in xxx

[Chrissy2shoes Graduate]

Thanks for this. I live on a hill so I too have been cursing them, there’s no escape. However, I can feel my strength improving and my protests lessening. I started a mantra to help me on them. ‘I am the machine!’ I was so in the zone I ran further up the steep hill than I’d intended. Looking forward to a time when I feel strong and love them too! 😃

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate in reply to Chrissy2shoes]

I love that... ! A great mantra to have !

You are proof positive that hills do make us stronger... it is like all of our running, it evolves... we do get more stamina, we do, in spite of ourselves cover more distance and we do, generally, get speedier!

Maybe the love for hills evolves also... Well done you

[Hidden]

Thanks Sage of running. Alas I have no hills near by . So will cycle out and find one and give it a go. Be glad to know about technique for downhill as when on holiday found that more strenuous on the knees.