Forced Rest Day

I am forcing myself to take it easy today, even though I have lots of time to run and ice (and rest). But yesterday's first day back on the BIG HILL was tiring and difficult. I had to stop at the top of the 2k hill and pickup my lungs. It was as brutal and beautiful as I remember. I posted photos here and on Flickr. If anyone ever needs a good long hill in Madrid, this is the one for you.

Well, tomorrow I think a 7k slow and steady. I've got my eye on a back to back run for Thursday and Friday, with Saturday resting, and a "long" run for Sunday.

The mission continues...

BTW, my gf keeps telling me my pants (my FAT pants) are riding down. I don't think weight loss and waist size falls so fast (in 3 weeks) but she's doing her bit to keep my motivation high.

No Choice

If you have the choice between a totally flat course and one with some rolling hills, go for the hills. Your splits won’t be as fast, but it will pay off in the end.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Robert's Observations

Running uphill makes you stronger, it’s actually the most efficient form of strength training for runners since it uses all the muscles you activate when running on flat surfaces, but builds greater strength due to the increased resistance.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Hill Running Fact

Carrying extra pounds makes running harder and increases your risk of overuse injuries, particularly to the knees. But a study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that an uphill grade of just 3 degrees reduces leg shock by 24 percent.

 

D&D Approach to Hills

Attack a hill like you would a dragon—not by beating at its tail, but hammering away at its head. Attack the head! Surging at the bottom of a hill can leave you fatigued before you reach the top. Save your speed for the last third. You’ll have a better chance of maintaining your momentum up and over the backside of the hill. Time it right and you’ll be flying downhill while your competition is still chugging up. Conquer the hills AND the warriors in your race!

 

Hill Running Fact

Swedish researchers found that marathoners who ran hills for 12 weeks improved their running economy by 3 percent. This translates to a 2-minute reduction in your 10-mile time and 6 minutes off a marathon—without exerting any more effort in the race.

 

Newbie: After Three Months

I told my gf that after two or three months of hitting the road, at least three days a week, she should take it to the next level and try some hills.

Why? I explained that challenging yourself, working harder, stimulates you. It will improve your mind and strengthens your muscles. I don't know how much she believes me, but i am hoping that soon, she will put it to the test.

 

Here’s what I am asking her to add to her normal weekly routine...

 

HILLS

• Hill workouts improve your leg strength.

• Start with a hill that is about 50 steps in length. As you approach the incline, slow your pace and shorten your stride. Maintain your leg cadence, and you’ll find yourself going up with confidence. Maybe even a smile. Walk back down for recovery. Do two hill repeats on the first session, adding one every workout until you’re up to six.

• Once a week. Try different hills each time.

 

For the future, I will ask her to add tempo runs and maybe further out a long run.

 

Hill Running Fact

A study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that an uphill grade of just 3 degrees reduces leg shock by 24 percent. Hill repeats are better for your knees.

Hill Running Fact

Researchers at the University of Georgia found that uphill running activates 9 percent more muscle each stride compared with exercising at the same relative intensity on level ground.

The Wonderful World of Hills

Hills kick my ass, and i do mean "kick" my ass. They also serve to remind me that I've got a long way to go in my training. I can run 30k without much of a problem, but a few hill repeats and I'm on the ground fighting for air.

 

I've read that the Kenyans consider hill running one of their primary forms of training. They talk about how their form becomes more precise as their bodies needs to flow in an optimal fashion charging uphill. As they win race after race, they must have it right.

 

Fortunately for me, I've always had a love affair with hills. When I was younger I remember a field trip to Washington D.C. and the bus climbing a long hill on the highway. I wondered if we would be allowed to run the hill on the shoulder. Later, as I was older, when I am in a car and on a hill; my mind wanders to what it might be like to run it. The challenge of a hill calls to me. I like nothing more than painful challenge of wrestling it to its knees.

 

But hills are the bane of the running world. A place of pain and challenge. Nothing will test you like an sharp incline. A runner's fitness is tested as he or she struggles to the top.

 

And it's always the same with me. I have to meet that test, head on, teeth gritted. I feel a need to confront the hill. I even need to sprint a little, push my pace, as I head to the top. I fall inside myself and think of nothing else but the climb.

 

Even if you’re running with a group, there’s no place for chitchat. The mind turns inward. The outside world is replaced by the hill. What matters is the simple pursuit of doing your best and slowly getting up the hill, one step at a time.

 

Now there's nothing more devastating than being passed by another runner on an incline, especially if he or she does it handily and with little indication of effort. It has happened to me and it will happened again. When my girlfriend asks me about my run, it will be the first thing I complain about: "I got dusted on a hill." It puts you in your place. You feel weighed and found wanting as never before in your training. Luckily, your passage of another runner on a hill will validate your training and time spent on hill repeats. It's more than a better ass, it's about a better stronger tougher runner.

 

 

Hill Repeat Thursday

So I got through 2 sets of five but I sure did feel it at the end of the second.  I am thinking tomorrow is going to go slow and soft.  At least the weather was nice, Madrid was cool and sunny.  I still sweated straight through my tshirt but I didn't feel overwhelmed by heat, as I will come summertime.

Sitting down to my second cup of coffee and reading up on US politics.  Then it is off to teach for a few hours, and then a welcome night of sleep.

Ciao people!  Hope you all had a good run today!

Thinking of Hills, and Asses

Waiting for my students to show up, and all I can think of is my workout. I have two sets of 5 short hill repeats to do, bracketed by 2 k run on either side. Not much on distance but the hill repeats just kick my ass. Literally. My ass hurts for days after. My lower back and upper quads just ache. I have said it before, and I will say it again, if you want to shape up your ass.... run hills.

Further Thoughts on Hill Workouts

My ass hurts!

I'm not kidding or trying to shock. It's been three days and three runs since my hill repeat Thursday, and I am STILL in pain. So why is that?

 

Well, gentle readers it takes more work. A lot more work to get up that hill. And that causes muscle fatigue. It will also come up on you faster. Further, as I've just read, an incline means shorter distance for your foot to fall so less energy coming from the tendons. So no boost as you would get on a flat surface. Ugh.

But why do it? Where's the pay off? Unless your "pain junkie" like me, you're going to ask yourself, how does this improve my running? Well... Hold on to your hats... The pay off is lotto huge! You will get stronger and stronger every week. It's like going to the gym with no gym. Your body adapts to the stress and then will be better ready to eat up those hills during a race. Trust me, you will love passing people on a hill. What a rush!

But, if you're not me and in love with hills, how can you make them easier to fit into your training? I use Interval Hill runs. After a warmup run, you need to start at the base of a hill about 100 to 200 meters long. Run up it at a high intensity, though not full on max. Jog or walkback down. Repeat. Now you can repeat until you think you've had enough, or say three times. I do a set of 10 and that is enough for me. I recommend slowly working yourself up to it. As you get stronger, increase the number of intervals up to eight or more. Another plan is Group Hill Intervals. Here you do the above but with groups of people to get motivation ratcheted up. The slow runners go first. Then the middle runners after 15 seconds. Then the fastest runners after another 15. The slow runners don't want to get passed. The middle runners don't like being in the middle. And the faster runners don't like being last. So everyone is nipping at each other's heels all the way up the hill. Then walk or jog down. Repeat.

For other strategies on hill running see my previous entry last year on the subject.

 

Learn to Love the Incline

Hill running is another type of intense training which can help you build stamina and improve running performance in the shortest time possible. Hill running also will boost your muscle mass, boost your speed and cardiovascular power, and improve your running mechanics.

As a result, make sure to incorporate hill training into your running routine, at least one workout per week. I make certain I have at least one a week, not including all the hills I normally have to climb in Madrid. Here is a good game plan: Find a good hill, 100-300 meters long. First, start with 3-4 intervals based on your fitness level and slowly increase your repetitions over the coming weeks. Now, it is vital to always start your hill running with a decent warm-up, and end it with cool-down jog. I generally take a 1.5-2.0k run before and after my hill repeats.

 

Post Hills

So after 2 cups of coffee and an afternoon of canceled classes, I am reviewing my workout. I took a leisurely, for me, run down to parque oeste. It was around 1.5 km. I stretched out. Psyched myself up. And started my set.

I raced up the first three without much of a strain. My watch told me they were all .8 kilometers. And I was making them in 32 seconds. I stayed in that ball park for the remaining runs of the set. They began to really burn after my seventh. I was grunting up and panting down. I had jogged the first four down to the base, but after that I was walking them. I was taking as long as possible to reoxygenize or breath like a dying man.

So I picked a fairly isolated hill. But even then there were people walking their dogs up and down the hill. Most got out of the way when I came barreling up, but one woman just didn't bother with her dog. Who decided I was nice enough to come up to and got a heel in his chin as I flew by. I felt sorry for him but I continued running up the hill. And cursed his owner.

At my last two runs, I was hurting. I felt deep aches in my quads and my left arch had produced a strange pain in it. And I need to get home to shower, go to work, etc. So I digger deep. Deeper. And ran. I sprinted up the hill for the last two of the set at 7 seconds. Sweat just gushing off my face like someone had dumped water on me. This in weather that most spaniards were still in tights. I was stripped down to shirt and shirts, as I KNEW I was going to sweat a lot today.

As I finished my set. The thought of home and a warm shower beckoned me. I want this to be over. But I still had to run home. I decided with some fear to do a 2 km route home. As soon as I left the hill, my thighs shook like a bad nightmare. I couldn't remember ever feeling my skin shake like that, and it was a bit freaky. But I pushed it out of my head, along with the fatigue in my legs. And set off around the parque.

The sun shining down on me. I rounded my last straight away. A smile on my face. I had one more hill. And I was smiling. I marveled at myself. I was feeling almost euphoric. I took off up my street's hill. Faster than I had intended, but I didn't care. Hot scolding water awaited. And coffee. I smiled more. Not easy when you're panting for breath. Then my street levels off. It's flat until the door. I am grinning like a fool. Everywhere around me people are bundled up in clothes. Winter still exists for them. For me. Spring is here. And I am stronger than ever. Ready for it.

Hill Repeat Excitement

I must admit to a bit of excitement in my thoughts. I'm going off to run my first hill repeats in some time. I scheduled myself for 10 but I would be happy with 6. We shall see. I am still sore from Sunday thru Tuesday. Tomorrow will be a long soft run, something on the level of 10 ish or a first bridge run.

 

Right now I am eager to go. I've had my 3.30 canceled, so it is possible that I won't have a 1.30, as she constantly cancels, and then I can rest up for my 6-7. Also, tomorrow's 8.30am coverage.

 

So its a bit cold in the shade right now, but the sun is out, and so I am sure it is warm. I will run in shorts and tshirt. I'm going to see if I no longer need to use my long sleeve overtop. No more layering, as it is spring time in Madrid.

 

Madrid. Already it is very warm. I think high 20s and so I am apt to be a bucket of sweat by the time I get done with a run.

 

Can't wait to feel the BURN!!!

Working the Hills

When you run a hill, push yourself on the uphill, but save yourself on the downhill. The idea is to keep your speed the same going up as it is going down, as it is on the flats. But going uphill is all lungs and heart. And going downhill stresses the knees. You need to save your knees, so take it easy on the downhill. Lots and lots of pounding will do you in on the downhill.

Using a Garmin you can easily monitor your pace and maintain the same speed on the uphill. You need to focus on the crest of the hill. Keep your head up so you keep your windpipe fully open for much needed oxygen. You need to stare it down. Once you get to the other side, hit the crest, the downhill will feel like you’re floating compared to what you just put yourself through. There's this rubbery feel that comes from cresting a long hard hill that will make you want to relax. Take it. Relax on the way down the hill. Save your knees for the flats.

Shorten your stride and keep your pace even on the downhills. Fight the temptation to speed up on the downhills, save your knees. You don't want to race down the hill and do in your knees. It’s a long way to the finish line. Enjoy your reward of a slow leisurely downhill.

You'll be going back up the hill before you know it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Fun Hills

I've just written about how they can give you bigger, though firmer, butts. And I will follow this entry with one on weight loss. But I need to comment again on hills.

Hills are fun! Not only are they fun, they are vital part of any runners training. Especially if they want to lose weight and carve themselves a leaner, meaner body.

The awesome fact is that hill repeats use as many of your muscle fibers as possible. It’s like weight-lifting for your legs. Even once up a sizable hill will prove this point. Now, hill repeat intervals are short and so they’re considered alactic rather than anaerobic and teach your muscles to exert a tremendous amount of force very quickly.

At first these sessions have an inherent injury risk. After all, you’re sprinting at max intensity uphill. You need to be careful. Take it slow, work your biomechanics. Now, after 2-3 of these workouts, they will help you prevent injury. The adaptations from hill sprints help you build stronger leg muscles in a specific manner. These are highly recommended for injury-prone athletes.

Once your muscles have learned they will be better equipped for hills in the future or during race or better yet your legs will be stronger when you are running flats. You will be able to handle fatigue better. And finally, with stronger muscles, you will be less prone to injury.

So now don't you agree, hills are fun!?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad