week five and hills!!…

[Mamablue2]

well i am buzzing tonight! Week 5 completed! Yay! I got totally in the zone and the 20mins flew past. I was amazed how my breathing was under control! If i had tried to run 20mins 5 weeks ago i would have been admitted to hospital with my breathing being out of control! 😂

anyway i live in a hilly rural area…i may have cheated and planned my run tonight on a relatively flat bit but my question is how do you deal with hills?! I just run out of juice every time and i just totally loose my flow if i slow down! Tips please?!

[Annieapple Administrator Graduate]

runnersworld.com/uk/trainin...

🍏Congratulations this is a milestone run!!! Well done!! Week 6 is perfect to start on a few of your more gentle hills as it’s back to interval running for the first two. The above article has good advice about tackling hills. Determine to enjoy the challenge of them as hills strengthen your legs and your heart & lungs! Have a read & come back with any questions xx

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Hills? You just get over them ! That is what I was told many years ago!

Seriously. they are our friends... and many of us live in areas where inclines and hills are the only options.. You just take them gently... making sure you don't lean forward too much and try . Annieapple has given you a link and you can adapt as you move on...

Well done you!

[Cmoi Graduate]

Hi     Mamablue2 , well done on completing week 5.

You might like to read my reply re running hills in this thread two days ago: healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

I don't really understand what you mean about losing your flow if you slow down though? If you try to maintain your pace going up any significant incline, you're highly likely to run out of energy very quickly, and have to slow down considerably or stop. That's way more disruptive than learning to maintain effort and cadence, but not pace, when running uphill.

[Mamablue2 in reply to Cmoi]

By loosing my flow i mean i just feel like i come to a stop and might as well walk…its more a mental thing i think and my breathing goes all to pot etc etc and all it just goes “downhill” (i wish 😂). Guess i just need to keep working on them!

[Penwithpink Graduate]

I find just taking smaller steps helps you can always increase strides once yr back on the level again x I also stubbornly repeat my mantra “ I love running it’s my time the gain outweighs the pain” til I’m there x like u I cannot believe how far the prog gets you in the time frame it’s wonderful to b able to do this again xxx good luck xx

[Jools2020 Graduate in reply to Penwithpink]

I do the same as you, but my mantra is “Hills are my friends” usually through gritted teeth 😊