I have a choice of running on hills of ~ 7%, ~ 9%, ~12% and 15%. Default aim is just hill strides about 100m though just recently discovered a hill that I might be able to do 200m on but which would be 9 % first 100m and about 15% in second 100m.
Which steepness should I do? The steepest? Is it sufficient to just do 7% hills?
7% hill is fine. For hill strides you want to maintain turnover. You don't want to get bogged down and turn it into a grind.
If you're doing a different hill session or specifically training for a hilly race the steeper hills might be more appropriate.
It doesn't matter. Do em all.
Not sure thats feasible
WordOnAWang wrote:
I have a choice of running on hills of ~ 7%, ~ 9%, ~12% and 15%. Default aim is just hill strides about 100m though just recently discovered a hill that I might be able to do 200m on but which would be 9 % first 100m and about 15% in second 100m.
Which steepness should I do? The steepest? Is it sufficient to just do 7% hills?
How can you tell what grade a hill is?
Onthegomap.com
Online ordnance survey maps or apps also do incline.
Unfortunately the distance on these isnt as precise as google earth so I use both in tandem.
pretty steep
WordOnAWang wrote:
I have a choice of running on hills of ~ 7%, ~ 9%, ~12% and 15%. Default aim is just hill strides about 100m though just recently discovered a hill that I might be able to do 200m on but which would be 9 % first 100m and about 15% in second 100m.
Which steepness should I do? The steepest? Is it sufficient to just do 7% hills?
I use to alternate hills. A different hill each week. I can't tell you the incline % of each one. The shortest was very steep. Measured 100m and ran 10 reps. hard and fast. 4 minute recovery. The second hill wasn't as steep as the first one but was longer. Measured 150m and ran 12 reps. hard. 4 minute recovery. Third hill was 1/4 mile long but not as steep as the second hill. Ran 16 reps. @ survival pace. 4 min. rec. All recoveries included running back down the hill.
WordOnAWang wrote:
Onthegomap.com
Online ordnance survey maps or apps also do incline.
Unfortunately the distance on these isnt as precise as google earth so I use both in tandem.
Thanks
First, I'd like to thank the poster who suggested onthegomap.com. I hadn't heart of it, but I immediately went to a hill run that I've used many times, which happens to be a portion of Garfield Avenue in Oxford, Mississippi where I live. It's .08 miles long and has an average incline of 12.8%. It's a bit flatter at the bottom--4% or so--and at its steepest it's 16-18%.
My usual workout up this hill is to run 4 to 6 x 60 seconds or so. I don't sprint it, just work it pretty hard, lifting my knees a bit. First couple of repeats a little easier; the others harder. I've gotten huge bang for the buck from this workout. I run about 5 miles before approaching the hill--3 to 3.5 easy, up and down rolling hills; the last mile to mile and a half at something more like tempo. Then take a brief break and hit it. Then, when the workout is over, fartlek another mile and a half back to where I've parked my car, which happens to be at the top of a very long hill, a steady 5% grade, although I hit that hill real easy.
What I've found is that this 4 to 6 x 60 sec. steep hill, repeated twice a week for a couple of weeks, immediately results in my easy pace and all other paces speeding up by 30 secs/mile. I don't have to hammer the repeats, just work them in a skillful way. By the time I hit the top, I'm going to be hurting, but the point isn't to build and hold an anaerobic load; it's purely to develop leg strength. And it works.
As for recovery: I pause at the top of the hill, gasping. Catch my breath for 10-15 seconds. Jog slowly down the hill. When I get to the bottom, I turn, pause briefly, then hit it again.
There's another workout I used to do, up a hill that the XC guys & gals use: Thacker Mountain. It's about a third of a mile long (.37) and averages 9% grade, although some portions are steeper and the last bit is noticeably steeper. I'd do that 2 or 3 times at a steady but not fast speed, working into a heart rate right around threshold. I think I used to take around 4 minutes with those. Here again the point was principally to develop leg strength, but because of the duration, I was also working LT and, in that last steep stretch, getting some VO2max work.
Salazar stresses "callusing the mind." It definitely did that! I'd run 3-4 easy out to the hill and 3-4 back, for a total of 10 or 11. On the way back, I'd push into something more like threshold, really cruising, tired as I was. Hell of a workout.
I was once at a conference and Loren Seagraves said for optimal benefit the hill "had" to be 17 degrees.
The next speaker was Clyde Hart who started his presentation with "Well Loren, that hill right behind our stadium at Baylor must be 17 degrees because we run the sh!t out of it."
I used a Lydiard version for hill workouts with my teams. Find a 5-7 degree grassy hill that takes as close to 3 minutes to climb at a little faster than tempo pace. 3 minute jog rest at the top emphasizing perfect form (mid-foot strike, some knee lift, heel up toward butt, head tall, etc.). Down the same hill as fast as you can without over-striding or nose planting and maintaining some semblance of form. 3 minute jog rest with perfect form. 6 X 60-80 meter strides at about 80%. 3 minute jog with perfect form . 1000 meters at about 5K pace. That's one rep. The number of reps should not exceed two the first time, but can increase with time. These were fantastic for our HS team.
lol 17 degrees doesnt seem possible. where i live i can barely find a hill that takes a minute to run up let alone 3
WordOnAWang wrote:
lol 17 degrees doesnt seem possible. where i live i can barely find a hill that takes a minute to run up let alone 3
Yes, Clyde made it clear that common sense rules over science at times.
I had to keep searching but finally found a hill long enough to take 3 minutes. It also has to be grass so you can let loose down the hill without the pounding of asphalt or the repercussions if you go down. It's a great off-season workout if you can find the right locale.
Maybe, it's percents not degrees