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Hill Work - Treadmill?

skingszoo
skingszoo Posts: 412 Member
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I posted this on the boards too but thought I would come to the experts :)

I signed up for a 10K named Hospital Hill Run. Apparently there are a lot hills. :D I have 5 weeks and live in Iowa so not alot of natural hills I can train on so will be stuck on a treadmill. Any suggestions on hill work on the treadmill? What incline, how long, what speed, how many reps etc? My race pace is 10:00mm and mileage is not a concern for this race. I mean it's "only" 6.2 miles but the hills worry me ;) TIA!

Replies

  • vmclach
    vmclach Posts: 670 Member
    just run on an incline of 2-5% variying for your entire run.

    You could do hill sprints (200-400 meters)... I'd but it at 6% for these... Jog inbetween on 1%

    I would just do your long runs with "rolling hills" (varying incline on TM)... I live in MN... There are quite a few hilly areas around where I live. I'm sure you could find some in Iowa ;)

    Maybe trails?!
  • kristinegift
    kristinegift Posts: 2,406 Member
    WOOOOO Iowa!! IDK where you are in Iowa, but here we have PLENTY of hills. I'm doing some hillwork on my run this afternoon to prep for the Bix 7!

    If I'm doing hill practice on the treadmill, I put it between 2 and 5 % incline. I adjust it every .25 or .5 mile or so, to simulate the variance in hill incline outdoors.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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  • Linli_Anne
    Linli_Anne Posts: 1,360 Member
    I found a pyramid hill interval program that I really liked, and you can repeat/adjust as needed.

    Basically 5 minute warm up on flat/0.5% incline
    1 minute at 4%
    1 minute at 5%
    1 minute at 6%
    3 minutes at flat/0.5%
    1 minute at 5%
    1 minute at 6%
    1 minute at 7%
    3 minutes at flat/0.5%
    1 minute at 6%
    1 minute at 7%
    1 minute at 8%
    3 minutes at flat/0.5%
    1 minute at 8%
    1 minute at 7%
    1 minute at 6%
    3 minutes at flat/0.5%
    1 minute at 7%
    1 minute at 6%
    1 minute at 5%
    3 minutes at flat/0.5%
    1 minute at 6%
    1 minute at 5%
    1 minute at 4%
    5 minutes cool down.
  • DavidMartinez2
    DavidMartinez2 Posts: 840 Member
    http://www.runnersworld.com/treadmills/how-can-i-simulate-races-hills-treadmill
  • skingszoo
    skingszoo Posts: 412 Member
    http://www.runnersworld.com/treadmills/how-can-i-simulate-races-hills-treadmill

    Sweet!!! Thank you for the article. Im wierd and need to know specifics. The race is out of town and I have never even seen the "hill" before so that worries me. It looks like (based upon my own map my run of the course) the biggest hill will be an incline of 182 ft in 1.33 miles so on the treadmill it would be 2.56%. I will just train between 2-5%
  • skingszoo
    skingszoo Posts: 412 Member
    I found a pyramid hill interval program that I really liked, and you can repeat/adjust as needed.

    Oh I like that I might just tone down the incline and use this once a week.
  • RunFarLiveHappy
    RunFarLiveHappy Posts: 805 Member
    http://www.runnersworld.com/treadmills/how-can-i-simulate-races-hills-treadmill

    Sweet!!! Thank you for the article. Im wierd and need to know specifics. The race is out of town and I have never even seen the "hill" before so that worries me. It looks like (based upon my own map my run of the course) the biggest hill will be an incline of 182 ft in 1.33 miles so on the treadmill it would be 2.56%. I will just train between 2-5%

    I would kill to have this problem. I have run so many courses where you can gain 182 feet in 1/4-1/2 mile. I'm sure you'll be fine. I do variable incline hill training on my treadmill similar to the pyramid mentioned previously. You can also do hill sprints on short steep hills, it won't emulate the course but it will build endurance and stamina. Good luck on your race!
  • skingszoo
    skingszoo Posts: 412 Member
    WOOOOO Iowa!! IDK where you are in Iowa, but here we have PLENTY of hills.
    LOL should clarify since yes Iowa is kinda hilly. I live by the Missouri River next to Nebraska/work in Nebraska.
  • skingszoo
    skingszoo Posts: 412 Member


    I would kill to have this problem. I have run so many courses where you can gain 182 feet in 1/4-1/2 mile. I'm sure you'll be fine. I do variable incline hill training on my treadmill similar to the pyramid mentioned previously. You can also do hill sprints on short steep hills, it won't emulate the course but it will build endurance and stamina. Good luck on your race!
    Thanks! Im lucky I guess my normal runs have gains barely hitting 30ft at the most. Hence why I have no training for anything above that and "hills" or what I call hills scare me :)
  • kristinegift
    kristinegift Posts: 2,406 Member
    WOOOOO Iowa!! IDK where you are in Iowa, but here we have PLENTY of hills.
    LOL should clarify since yes Iowa is kinda hilly. I live by the Missouri River next to Nebraska/work in Nebraska.

    Ah, I'm on the other side of the state. Half of my city is flat as a pancake, the other half has gigantic hills (and gorgeous houses, which serve as an excellent distraction). Having driven through the Nebraska side, I will agree that it is pretty darn flat over there. Treadmill workouts may be the best method to train then! Good luck with the race! :)

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