It's all downhill from here...

[Caroliney]

Ran Week 5 run 1 yesterday and found it OK, until I realised my entire route is on a slight downhill slope.

Last week, I attempted a change of route. Usually I would run as far as the podcast took me, and then use the walk home as a warm-down and a chance for my face to look a little less tomato-like. The further I progress on the podcasts, the further I run in a session, and the further the walk home is!

So last week I decided to change it and ran halfway my normal route, then turned back and ran back the way I'd come so that when I finished I was a little closer to home than before. This was when I realised that the way back felt nigh-on impossible, and being in a bad mood in general ended up giving up with about 2.5 minutes of running still to do. I realised it was the incline that tired me out so much, and yesterday found that I was terrified to try another incline of any sort in case I gave up again.

Running downhill constantly feels to me like some sort of cheat... it's like I can run for 5 minutes non stop so long as it's downhill. Give me a route with hills and I can barely last 30 seconds. Has anyone else found this problem?

[HectorsHouse Graduate]

Hi Caroliney,

Don't be terrified! Hills ARE a pain. and you're not alone. Last night I was basically shuffling up what didn't feel like an uphill... but mapmyrun shows me I actually climbed 25 metres in 0.76km!

How does your pace change when you start going uphill? I tend to find I slow down when I go up hill and my jog becomes a shuffle with incredibly short steps - I'm not sure how intentional this is, but it seems to work. So far I've not stopped getting up them, but I have just thought about nothing else but how on earth I'm going to make it.

Before I started the program, I spoke to an ultra-runner, and asked him whether it was like cycling, where knowing a hill is sometimes half the battle of getting up it. He agreed that it was... Knowing each bit of incline and change can help prepare for the mental and physical challenge...

[Caroliney in reply to HectorsHouse]

Hi HectorsHouse,

Thanks so much, glad to know I'm not alone!

When I go uphill I slow down to a snails pace and then that thought comes into my head..."the slower I go, the longer it's going to take to get past this awful hill!" I suppose I just have to ban that thought completely and get on with it!

You're right, I think it's more a mental block than a physical one, and the more I know the hill, the more confident I will be that I can conquer it!

[sbhoa in reply to HectorsHouse]

My clarinet teacher who is a keen runner advised that on a hill you aim to use the same effort as on the flat....not the same pace.

[HectorsHouse Graduate]

haha, your quote reminds me of a difference of opinion a friend and I have about cycling up hills. He goes as fast as he can swearing into it, with the idea that the pain will be over quicker. I prefer the slower lower gear approach... at least I know I will get up it!

[vixiej Graduate]

my approach to cycling hills is to go into them as fast as I can but change down the gears in time to ensure I can reach the top, so a mixture of those two strategies.

Regarding running, I am very wussy, so far I have run only on flat and it really affected me a few weeks back when I ran in a different park that has a slight slope. I've decided I have to tackle my demons and just run even slower (if that is possible, lol) uphill when I do a hilly route I've planned around my local sports club (so I'm never too far away from resuscitation!!!). I think I will save that for post graduation though, as I'm only a couple of runs away. If I was mid course when I realised, I would have had a go before now.

It is not cheating. You are still moving from foot to foot for the required amount of time, it's time running that counts, you can work on the rest later! Don't let it get you down

[tantrumbean Graduate]

I did the whole of c25k avoiding hills completely, so by the end I had build them up into these enormous monsters I couldn't possible cope with, especially when I ran up some minor incline (hardly visible to the eye) and could feel even that in my legs. So, finally I decided to face the evil hills head on and to go to our local park and just do some hill training on the park run hill - ran up and down it 5 times and realised it wasn't as bad as I thought. Now, I don't worry about hills so much and on my run in Germany, I actually ended up climbing non-stop for a mile and a half - and about half of that was really steep!