How to prepare for a hilly race?

Training Advice/Discussion General

10 years ago 09/21/2013 11:57pm EDT

I live in a flat sea level city and just have flat paved trails to train on. There's a race in 4 weeks on the hilly Wayne Dannehl National XC course in Wisconsin that I want to do.

If I only have just shy of 4 weeks, what can I do to prepare for the repeating hills and inclines in the race, so I can try to run as normal of a time as I would on a flat course. I don't expect to run FASTER on this course, but I'd like to match my fitness and try to not let the hills destroy me.

Would I be looking to do hill repeats, and if so what kind of workouts? Or are there certain types of runs to do with hills that work best?

I CAN drive to a place with hills, but it's nothing great. I know a small incline that is not too far from me, but I don't have much to work with.

What should I do?

10 years ago 09/22/2013 12:00am EDT

re: flatlanderhelp

I would train on hill's.

10 years ago 09/22/2013 11:27am EDT

re: ddddddddd

10 years ago 09/22/2013 11:30am EDT

re: flatlanderhelp

10 years ago 09/22/2013 11:30am EDT

re: flatlanderhelp

10 years ago 09/22/2013 12:13pm EDT

re: ddddddddd

ddddddddd wrote:
I would train on hill's.

Train on hill's what?

10 years ago 09/22/2013 3:33pm EDT

re: flatlanderhelp

I bet you run past things every day that you could be running up and down.

10 years ago 09/22/2013 8:44pm EDT

re: Jardan Hasay

sigh...thanks for the wonderful advice guys. Can always count on letsrun huh..

10 years ago 09/22/2013 9:04pm EDT

re: flatlanderhelp

flatlanderhelp wrote:
I live in a flat sea level city and just have flat paved trails to train on. There's a race in 4 weeks on the hilly Wayne Dannehl National XC course in Wisconsin that I want to do.
If I only have just shy of 4 weeks, what can I do to prepare for the repeating hills and inclines in the race, so I can try to run as normal of a time as I would on a flat course. I don't expect to run FASTER on this course, but I'd like to match my fitness and try to not let the hills destroy me.
Would I be looking to do hill repeats, and if so what kind of workouts? Or are there certain types of runs to do with hills that work best?
I CAN drive to a place with hills, but it's nothing great. I know a small incline that is not too far from me, but I don't have much to work with.
What should I do?

1. Use the small incline, if it's all you have. Remember Henry Rono's advice about hill training -- "the hill; any hill".

2. Start doing workouts that emphasize uneven pace and effort. You want fartlek workouts in which you surge off a steady pace. If you can find someone else slightly faster to run with you, or someone to ride along on a bike, try a fartlek workout in which you surge when your partner says so.

10 years ago 09/22/2013 9:38pm EDT

re: flatlanderhelp

What about overpasses or bridges?

There is a park here in Houston that runs along a bayou, and there are several hilly parts along the bank that are long enough for good hill repeats. Would something like that be in your area?

10 years ago 09/22/2013 10:07pm EDT

re: flatlanderhelp

Two words

Busty Girlfriend

10 years ago 09/22/2013 11:27pm EDT

re: MojoNixon

You could do like virtually every other elite athlete training for a race that has hills far bigger than any where they live.

Treadmill

There are all kinds of workouts you can do.

1. Steady climb A good start would be 4% incline which will be 45 to 60 seconds slower than level. Go up to 8% and you will struggle to stay within two minutes of level pace.

2. Steady pace with hill intervals. Warm up a couple miles working down to a good pace. Increase the incline to 6% at the same pace and run until you get to the effort you want to do. You can repeat the same incline trying to go a little longer each rep or you can vary the incline and run them more by feel.

3. Steady effort with hill intervals. Mostly the same as above, but when you increase the incline, you decrease the pace accordingly. Each 1% incline is roughly 15-20 seconds per mile slower and it gets much harder as the incline increases. Going from 3-4% will be easier than going from 13-14%.

4. Race simulation. Get an elevation map of the course and do workouts that mimic the hills you will be running. Remember that unless you can put a treadmill up on blocks, you won't have any downhills so you have to adjust the pace on your recovery to compensate for that.

I had success doing this for a 16 mile race that 12.5 miles into the race had a mile long hill that gained 600 ft elevation. Knowing I could be in such agony at the top and still recover allowed my to finish the last downhill mile as my fastest of the race.

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