Any tips for running hills?

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anutherfinemess

18 posts since
Dec 12, 2006

Aug 8, 2007 12:40 AM

Any tips for running hills?

I'm a bit of a newbie runner. I started last September and made little progress all the way through January as I battles shin splints and a calf condition that, despite tons of advice to the contrary on this site, was actually stride-related. Once I fixed my stride in February I was able to really see significant progress in both distance and speed all the way through June. A cycling accident at the beginning of July left me unable to run for a few weeks and a major relocation thereafter kept me away even longer. I did not run at all in the first half of July and only 3 or 4 times in the last half, and none were more than 5 miles. By contrast, in June I was running 4 or 5 times a week between 3 and 9 miles each. Anyway, I moved at the end of July from relatively flat Florida to the Toronto area. I've been up here two weeks now and have really struggled to get back running again. My intention has been to take it slow since I've had so much time off and I'm still unsure of how well the knee has healed from the accident. Having said all that, I find myself quite surprised by how much I am struggling to run up here because of the difference in terrain. The area where I ran in Florida was really quite flat, whereas the area I live and run in here in Toronto is really quite hilly. Big hills. Like two and three blocks long at a fairly steep grade hills. I've grown rather frustrated as I keep plotting out 5 mile courses for myself and running out of steam after the second or third mile. I know that the obvious response here is that it will take some time to acclimate, which I realize, but I am wondering if there are any good tips to speed that process along. It's the little things that I am questioning. Is it better when running an area like this to try and maintain a constant speed whether I am going up or down hill, or should I allow myself to slow down as I climb the hills and then pick up speed on the way back down? I've tried both with little immediate success, but I'm wondering which is the better strategy to stick and grow with long term. Also, if I plot a course that is predominantly hilly on one side am I better off starting or finishing on the hilly section? Ok, really, just any hill advice out there would be welcome.

AKTrail

360 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

1. Aug 8, 2007 1:32 AM

in response to: anutherfinemess

If you're just running hills (vs a specific uphill or downhill workout), try to maintain constant effort - be able to talk. Take baby steps if you have to. Your pace will slow. Maintain good posture. Stay vertical on the uphills. Lift knees as needed. On the downhills, try to stay perpendicular to the slope by leaning slightly from ankles (not waist). Run relaxed both up and down. Your legs will strengthen over time - months and years. I've been working on hills for years and will be working with them for as long as I'm running.

If you have a course that's half hilly and half not, when I was first starting, I liked to have the flatter part first as warmup - both physical and mental. Actually, I guess I still do.

Although there's some cases where I might want the hilly part first to see if I can still maintain speed on the flat.

Enjoy! Learning to run hills well can be the ticket to some pretty country.

johanmeyer

73 posts since
May 30, 2007

2. Aug 8, 2007 2:09 AM

in response to: anutherfinemess

Yes, that's about it. To summarise, try and keep your cadence constant, but shorten your strides. If you get fit on those hills you will be one **** of a runner.

Gazelle2008

92 posts since
Oct 1, 2007

3. Aug 8, 2007 10:42 AM

in response to: anutherfinemess

I was just about to ask a question related to hill training and saw this thread.

For repeats...do you find a good elevation variance:distance ratio to see the beneft? I have a 1/2 mile stretch with a steady 150 foot elevation change that I could use, but not sure if that is good enough.

Is that good or are you looking for a steaper incline over a shorter distance?

Thanks!

AKTrail

360 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

4. Aug 8, 2007 12:28 PM

in response to: anutherfinemess

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Gazelle2007:
I was just about to ask a question related to hill training and saw this thread.

For repeats...do you find a good elevation variance:distance ratio to see the beneft? I have a 1/2 mile stretch with a steady 150 foot elevation change that I could use, but not sure if that is good enough.

Is that good or are you looking for a steaper incline over a shorter distance?

Thanks!

<HR>

That's about 5.7% slope and is pretty good for general purpose hill work - steep enough to provide some resistance but gentle enough that your form isn't altered much. Steeper inclines, shorter distances have their place if you wanted to get more anaerobic or work on more power. I'll use bigger and longer for race prep because my races are hilly. If I'm doing short hills, I really like to do Lydiard hill drills rather than reps.
There's other hill links with video in the menu at right of this.
http://www.lydiardfoundation.org/training/drilltraining.html[/URL" target="_blank">

anutherfinemess

18 posts since
Dec 12, 2006

5. Aug 8, 2007 3:28 PM

in response to: anutherfinemess

Ok, not to sound like a div, but how on earth do you guys get these measurements? 150ft? 5.7 degrees of slope? Are these just visual estimations or are you getting these numbers from somewhere? I use yahoo maps to plot my runs and have to say that I've never noticed elevation on there before, but then again I've never really looked for it.

AKTrail

360 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

6. Dec 26, 2007 5:21 AM

in response to: anutherfinemess

quote:<HR>Originally posted by anutherfinemess:
Ok, not to sound like a div, but how on earth do you guys get these measurements? 150ft? 5.7 degrees of slope? Are these just visual estimations or are you getting these numbers from somewhere? I use yahoo maps to plot my runs and have to say that I've never noticed elevation on there before, but then again I've never really looked for it.<HR>

I'm not sure where Gazelle 2007 got his estimates, but the 5.7% (note it's percent, not degrees - almost a 2:1 difference) was a simple calc from his numbers and I was too lazy to round up or down.

Where do I get my numbers? In my job prior to retirement, I used to have to estimate slopes with a clinometer (or by eyeball), so I've got a good handle on approximate slopes for our little rolling hills routes. My hrm has a barometric altimeter which helps me log total amount of "up" in a run and may not be too far off on individual hills. On long runs, I may stick a gps with barometric altimeter in my pack, and I can do some calcs later if I want. I can generally get the elevation and approximate distance from topo maps beforehand if I'm planning a long run to be sure I get the elevation profile I'm looking for for particular kinds of training (usually specific to a race).

Hills are fun, and I like to maximize my enjoyment of them.

PS: I should add that I generally don't trust maps for elevation for rolling hill terrain where the hills might be less than 100 ft high. There's too much error in route placement and who knows what's between the contour lines. This is why I finally went the barometric altimeter route. I've got an interesting 38-mi gps track from Saturday. It shows up one way using only gps data and quite another if using something like National Geographic maps. I'm going to try to upload it to something like MotionBased and see what happens there.

http://This message has been edited by AKTrail (edited Aug-08-2007).

Gazelle2008

92 posts since
Oct 1, 2007

7. Aug 8, 2007 8:36 PM

in response to: anutherfinemess

quote:<HR>Originally posted by anutherfinemess:
Ok, not to sound like a div, but how on earth do you guys get these measurements? 150ft? 5.7 degrees of slope? Are these just visual estimations or are you getting these numbers from somewhere? I use yahoo maps to plot my runs and have to say that I've never noticed elevation on there before, but then again I've never really looked for it.<HR>

I don't know how accurate it is, but I use Mapmyrun.com as a general idea of the elevation after plotting a run. I figure it is close enough to see what type of hills are part of a run.

anutherfinemess

18 posts since
Dec 12, 2006

8. Aug 8, 2007 11:21 PM

in response to: anutherfinemess

mapmyrun is pretty cool but evidently does not have elevation data for the Toronto area. It showed the elevation to be a constant 1 foot throughout. By contrast I mapped a few of my old runs from Florida on there and found that I was going from a high of 44 feet to a low of 13 feet. As I said, very flat.

GOLFNSKI

104 posts since
Oct 28, 2007

9. Aug 9, 2007 12:03 AM

in response to: anutherfinemess

I'm a tech junkie and get my elevations from my GPS watch.

Aug 8, 2007 12:40 AM

Any tips for running hills?

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