No. Kids need a pace. They don't need to necessarily hit it right on, but there is a diff between 5k pace and a hill sprint.
What would you guys consider an ultimate hill workout to prep for a cross country race where 1/3 of the 3.1 miles is at an incline? Let's just say you've found a hill with a similar gradient.
The thing is, we have probably 3 races this year that are on similarly hilly courses, so that's the best practice, and some other races with good hills, but quite a bit less than the big race.
Would you shoot for repeats of hills that are similar length to the ones in the race? Longer? Shorter? Doesn't matter?
Yea, i guess all running is global development, you still do what you do but if you have that super unique feature of running up hill for 500+meters in race, I would say doing some 400-600m hill repeats at 5 k pace is fine and specific and counts. If you can do interval day on a long hill, why not? It's more specific developing the relative contribution of muscles on an incline and still developing the CV system as you want. In other words its still race prep, just that much more specific.
Yea, i guess all running is global development, you still do what you do but if you have that super unique feature of running up hill for 500+meters in race, I would say doing some 400-600m hill repeats at 5 k pace is fine and specific and counts. If you can do interval day on a long hill, why not? It's more specific developing the relative contribution of muscles on an incline and still developing the CV system as you want. In other words its still race prep, just that much more specific.
Yes. 400-600m at 5k pace is perfect advice. Constantly remind them that all training / practice on hills -- it is important to stay vertical. Resist the urge to lean forward because of weak glutes. This helps strength gains, but also vertical torso is better for breathing.
If you have important end-of season races on an extra hilly courses with decent climbs - doing some repeat out-and-backs on hilly road section works well. No rest - it's basivally a long run. Just repeat the route. Teammates of different levels are seeing each other on the , so JV kids can simply turn around when they someone ahead do so. This keeps everyone finishing at the same time. Everyone gets out of it what they need and withing what they can handle. Varsity = slight pickup on the uphill, and extra easy on the downhill (especially if paved). H
If you have any useful grassy hills, it is helps to safely guide young athletes on the skill of downhill running with appropiate turnover. It can be practiced, but ease into it.
so...5k pace on 10 sec hill is OK? Full sprint on 1k hill? Got ya. Please don't ever think about coaching. Ever.
I would suggest thinking in terms of effort vs pace with respect to running hills.
Thats more realistic, but effort is implied by the hill itself. You start at the bottom and whatever you run is going to be the right effort. No one is intentially going to run up a hill easy.
I trained my daughter using an approximately 400 meter hill loop. Having the physical loop at perfect steepness going 200 up (40s) at 5k race pace and slightly longer coming down was fortunate. I styled workouts like alternating 12*200 going from 5k pace to tempo. I also did workout with 12 200s. First 4@5k pace,2nd 4@mile pace, last 4 200 pace with increasing recovery. Daughter got best 800 of her life. Then hs xc coach got her and it was all downhill. 2:22 in ninth grade.
You're going to ruin her. You don't run hills at a prescribed pace, steepness. You run them at whatever feels right.
You know how you know it's the right steepness? You look at the hill and you start salivating.
You know how you know its the right length and/or pace? The hill cries "no más!"
You must just like to stir up sh.t for nothing. This is always by feel and you always have to adjust according to the hill. Tempo just means tempo by feel. The emphasis was always on running easier and live another day. And it should always be that way regardless of whether it is hills or not.
No. Kids need a pace. They don't need to necessarily hit it right on, but there is a diff between 5k pace and a hill sprint.
What would you guys consider an ultimate hill workout to prep for a cross country race where 1/3 of the 3.1 miles is at an incline? Let's just say you've found a hill with a similar gradient.
The thing is, we have probably 3 races this year that are on similarly hilly courses, so that's the best practice, and some other races with good hills, but quite a bit less than the big race.
Would you shoot for repeats of hills that are similar length to the ones in the race? Longer? Shorter? Doesn't matter?
For xc i would recommend fartlek on hills with more emphasis at tempo or subtempo. We have some 2.5-3 mile trail loops that work for this. So something like like 2 mins easy 3 medium 1 easy 1 fast. Its good to reuse same loop so athletes learn to adjust pace based on hill. This is killer training for slow twitch muscle fibers.
Yep, they will go out and run as fast as possible and not be able to finish workout. They might even injur themselves. And the reason you suggest a pace and revovry is because you are trying to target specific muscle groups between slow twitch and fast twitch. Its not a random guess. Also pacing can just make the training more enjoyable.
You're going to ruin her. You don't run hills at a prescribed pace, steepness. You run them at whatever feels right.
You know how you know it's the right steepness? You look at the hill and you start salivating.
You know how you know its the right length and/or pace? The hill cries "no más!"
You must just like to stir up sh.t for nothing. This is always by feel and you always have to adjust according to the hill. Tempo just means tempo by feel. The emphasis was always on running easier and live another day. And it should always be that way regardless of whether it is hills or not.
For nothing? Nope. Your advice was terrible. You're the epitome of the helicopter coach. Gotta show your brilliance with overly complicated secret workouts. I corrected it. Dont make your daughter hate track. Sorry that bothers you.