my runs normally consist of like 50% down hill (not steep) and rest uphill & flat, still really struggling with the slightest uphills, is this normal!? and is anyone else the same?
Uphills!!!!!!?????: my runs normally consist of... - Couch to 5K
Uphills!!!!!!?????
jodymac1983Graduate
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jodymac1983
Graduate
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11 Replies
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mrqwestGraduate
yes, completely normal!! I hated hills and even the slightest gradients wore me out when I started, and even to the point, when I graduated.
I used to plot out routes that where flat, or downhill with minor uphills but living in a moderately hilly (by my standards anyway) area, it's tough!
I graduated 5 weeks ago (ish) and only now am I working on hills, it's hard work but wait until you've graduated. You'll be more confident and stronger too! Once you're at that stage, find a hill you would normally avoid and attempt it once or twice. The more you do it, the easier it becomes...
and of course, a nice side-effect is that when you're working on hills, you're strengthening your leg muscles, and this generally improves your flat level speed.
didntrunthatGraduate
Yes!
I think it wasn't until I completed the programme and moved on to longer distances that I started to not notice the slight uphills. This year I have cut back on the distance and not running about 5k much, but going faster and guess what, I notice those little uphills again! I could just be because I am running less, but they do get better.
I have a short flat route that is under 5k which I have been running a lot lately. My 5k route has lots of lumps and bumps in it, but nothing soul destroying, I think the more you practice on the hills and same route, the more you get used to them.
OldgirlGraduate
I'm another one who could not do 'ups'. Once I had graduated I planned a route in the forest walks near to me which has 3 very steep ups and downs on it. It do this loop 3 times plus the jog in and home 10 minutes each way which gives me a good warm up. I have to say its helped me with the ups but haven't been able to do this run for over 3 weeks now as its like a quagmire at the moment after all the rain. Don't be put off trying them, they do get easier with practice and it doesn't matter if you have to walk some of an up one day you just try and extend that distance the next. Got good advice from one of the site runners which was do your deep belly beathing before you reach the uphill and during it as long as you can. It really does help to pump air through your whole body. Good luck.
DansmumGraduate
Normal for me, I still come to the top of some hills/inclines in what feels like a stumble, I'm very low to the ground and very, very slowly become more upright as the relief of the flat kicks in. The slightest incline can feel like trying to run through treacle the more tired I get.
But, having said that, I've just come back from R2 of B210k and I'm starting to notice that some of these little hills are not quite so 'stop you in your tracks' bad now so I guess I must be getting stronger.
In short, I think the more you do, the more you will be able to do, it's just a gradual process that isn't immediately noticeable.
Maybe one day we will get to the stage of saying, "hill? what hill?"!!
CaroleCGraduate
I think we all find hills tough to start with. I hated hills when I first started, but like mrqwest, it's hard to avoid them in my little town. However they are VERY good for the rear and thighs. Belly breathing before the hill starts as (it may have been me who advised oldgirl with this one) is a good tip. Pushing out your abdomen as you breathe deeply in gives more space in the upper chest for oxygen.
I have done two hard hill workouts the last two Fridays and the second one was definitely easier (I did a faster time too on that one). The more you do them the better you will get, and when a steepish hill holds no fears for you, you know that if you ever come across one in a race event you will be laughing. (ok, maybe not laughing, but you won't be panicking).
Try not to do hill workouts more than once a week, they are very hard on the body. However they are just as good a training aid as pace/interval/fartlek workouts and keeping up with them will pay dividends in your running times and pace.
CaroleC
shelleymcbGraduate
hills are hard. I tended to look downwards so that I couldnt see how big the hill was but that does nothing to help with breathing & running 
my trick was to run tall, breathe deeply & count lamp-posts & hope that each time I did the hill (I had a massive hill towards the end of my run) I could run to the next lamp-post without stopping. eventually I conquered the hill & the best thing was, if you go up you get to go down!!
good luck. x
sfb350Graduate
We had a hills session at running club on Tuesday and the coach explained the correct technique for hills. It was rather different to the rolling from the heel that Laura describes on the podcasts, there's more emphasis pushing from the ball of the foot. I'm not going to try and explain it properly as I'm not qualified - I'll try and find a decent description elsewhere and post a link. I found it made hills a lot more comfortable - I'm still slow but I did manage to do 1-2 more circuits than the coach expected from someone on their first proper hill session. That felt like an achievement !
It's very hilly around here so practicing to run up hills is pretty essential. If I need to have a short recovery walk I always try to take it on the flat and then run all the way up the next hill.
This link seems to describe the technique we were trying to use:
training-marathon.com/runni...
It's probably worth reading this section too as it describes the ball-of-the foot strike more clearly:
jodymac1983Graduate
Thank u all so much your all such a great help as always, look forward to the hills now ha ha ha NOT cheers tho!!!!
Thank you Jodymac - the answers to your question are seriously useful!
