Running Advice Please!

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yallcallmedeb
yallcallmedeb Posts: 294
in Fitness and Exercise
I am looking to run my first 13K in 4 weeks, 6 days. This is a significant challenge for me. I am 47 years old and ran 1 mile ONCE in my life before I began running this past May with C25K. I completed that program and am now working on Hal Higdon's 15K training program which has the longest run at week 9 with an 8 mile run. I planned on repeating week 9 as I have an extra week to train before the race. My longest run to date is 6 miles which I completed this past Thursday. I am now on week 7 which is a step-back week. I have 3 mile runs today and Tuesday and a 4 mile on Thursday. The 13K is a flat course. As such, I have been sticking to flat runs since mid-August. I definitely find hills to be challenging. Today I ran a hilly course and my 3 mile pace was 1.5 minutes SLOWER than my 6 mile flat course pace!

Question: Should I do a hilly course this week or stick to a flat course for the rest of the week?

My goal for the 13K is to finish the race (hopefully not dead last) and run the entire course. It is a charity fundraiser race to raise money for research for a genetic syndrome which my daughter has. So, even more than the goals that I have stated, my ultimate goal is to show her that I can do this and that, while we may face difficulties, we can change our health and fitness levels.

Replies

  • kfesta52
    kfesta52 Posts: 98 Member
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    I would keep the hilly course in your rotation permanently. The slower pace is no big deal, and running hills really gets you in great shape. Yes, tough, but so worth it. If you keep running hilly courses you will find that your pace on flat runs drops down like some kind of magic happened! Keep the hills up, and you'll find that your upcoming race on a flat course will be a breeze.
  • RunXstrong
    RunXstrong Posts: 73
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    Yes, run the hills at least once every two weeks at a minimum. At lease once a week would be even better. Don't worry about the fact you are running more slowly than on flat routes. That is to be expected. If you get your mind into it then it starts being fun. I know it is ridiculous but a running friend always says "good morning hill" out loud every time we hit a challenging hill. I started making that silly positive statement, "good morning hill" and "the right effort, and I'm over the top" and it helps me be happy in the toughest hills.

    Oh, DON'T run the hills in the week prior to the race. Take it easy that week.

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