Addition to Hill Repeats

Hill running also strengthens fast twitch muscle fibers, according to the University of Virginia, increasing speed without the need for specific speed workouts. Thus hill repeats can be substituted for sprint track work if you choose to go that way.

I found three different kind of hill repeats. These three depend up three different kind of hills.

Steep Short Hill Sprints
Short, intense hill sprints increase the power in your running stride. This is a tough workout, so start slow and increase the intensity gradually. Choose a steep hill and run as hard as you can for eight seconds. Walk to the bottom of the hill to recover and repeat. For your first workout, complete two repetitions of this workout. Gradually increase the length of the sprint to 10 seconds, and work up to 10 repetitions.

Moderate Grade Runs
Use a hill that is long enough that you can run for one to two minutes before reaching the top. The hill should be steep, although not as steep as the one used in the first exercise. Run one to two minutes, turn and jog to the bottom of the hill to recover. Work up to 10 repetitions of this exercise.

Long Hill Repeats
Long hill repeats improve running economy as well as increase leg strength. Long hill repeats are also an excellent tool for building mental toughness. Running long hill repeats increases your speed on flat ground as well. Finally, running long hill repeats teaches you to increase speed when heading up a hill, enabling you to pull away from others during a race. Long hill repeats are at least two minutes long. Jog to the bottom of the hill to recover and build up to 10 repetitions.

At this time I think I will be concentration on the Long Hill Repeats, as the hill closest to my home is best suited to this kind of strategy. But I hope to find other hills around Madrid that can be used by the other two strategies. If anyone knows of some good moderate or small hills in and around the center of Madrid (that are runnable) please email me.

Ciao

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