hills... how often?

Hills have bit me on more than one race now.. how often should I train using hills? I am currently doing
1 day a week but am wondering if that is enough?
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Replies

  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
    Try to do all your long runs on similar terrain to the race you are training for.
  • michelleLynette
    michelleLynette Posts: 289 Member
    I live in the mountains and Im a runner so I get hills everyday. I notice in races I pass a ton of people on the hill portion of the race. I run them everyday except for my rest day.
  • Where I live it's pathetically flat so I have to do hills on treadmill (ugh) or
    drive to seek them out, which sometimes I just cant do because I dont
    want to run by myself - dangerous. So.. that is my predicament.
    Looks like the treadmill it is ;)
  • jturnerx
    jturnerx Posts: 325 Member
    If you don't have easy access to hills then the treadmill is a great way to simulate them. Just don't hold onto the handrails. Another option might be stairs like at a stadium at a high school or college.

    And I run hills all the time, multiple times a week. Where I live you can't get away from them.
  • cococa
    cococa Posts: 122 Member
    Hills are what get me too! Slows my average pace by at least a whole minute. I'm forced to run them more now because of where I moved (I live on top of a big hill). In the beginning, I tried to run down the big hill, around, and then back up it. That was too much at once. Now I'm essentially running around the top of the hill. I descend a bit, and then go back up, descend, and then back up. Lots of practice and repetition. In the beginning my pace was super slow going up, but it's faster now. I've been running the hills 1-2x/week for about a month now. I've shaved maybe 15 seconds per mile off my pace (progress is slow in that area), but I'm definitely more confident and I don't feel like I'm done by the time I reach the top anymore. Best of luck!
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    I don't have hills. So, I go over to the local community college and run the stairs in the football stadium. It is not quite as good, but it is only about three blocks from where I live. I tend to think that running hills is indispensable for getting better.
  • urbansmamma
    urbansmamma Posts: 202 Member
    Thank you for posting this! I'm incorporating much more hills based on the responses!! Happy training!
  • If you're running outside I would expect that there should be some hills on your other runs? I typically warm up for ten minutes then run up a big hill (that usually takes me anywhere from 45s to 1min to complete) then walk or jog back down and repeat 6 or 7 times before I cool down.

    I would say once a week is fine unless you're training for a race that you know is going to be very hilly. Or if you want to tone your butt a little more you can do more than once a week ;)
  • aldousmom
    aldousmom Posts: 382 Member
    I do hill sprints (sprint intervals on a short VERY steep hill) weekly, and then long hill runs pretty regularly, at least once per month on roads, and then I run on trails weekly as my second long run.
  • jamers3111
    jamers3111 Posts: 495 Member
    I live in Florida... aka flat. I run the bridges in our city 2-3 times a week. When I do I run them back and forth for about 5-6 miles. On my LONG runs I don't include them to get the miles in. I had a 5 mile bridge run on Saturday and KILLED the bridges! I passed at least 3 dozen people which gave me the confidence to keep up the pace for the remaining 2 miles.
    I am training for a 15K bridge run in 10 days, which is why I include the hills in the manor. When I'm NOT training, I still run the bridges but I do a 5-6 miles loop with 2-3 bridges, not worrying about the hill training.
  • jacquiroxx922
    jacquiroxx922 Posts: 36 Member
    There is a park behind my house that has a track around it, and even that has hills. Can't get away from them here, so I run them everyday :)
  • WhataBroad
    WhataBroad Posts: 1,091 Member
    2x aweek for me... crazy strength building!! =)
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    It depends on what you mean.

    There is hill training, which is to build strength and is usually done before the base phase of a 4 phase training program. You would probably only do this once a week as it takes time to recover. This is typically the "run up, walk down" type of hill training.

    Then, there is incorporating hilly routes into your regular routine. I try to do all my easy runs and long runs on routes that have hills. I know this has benefited me tremendously on race day. The only time I seek out flat areas to run is if I am doing very specific pace work.
  • linddavis
    linddavis Posts: 101
    So my 10k Trail Race w/ hills, probably snow and ice is Saturday. I am as ready as I will ever be.
    I have been doing tempo runs 2x /week and hills/1x week. I feel as if I am getting stronger/faster.
    So... if I finish I get the quarter zip. Actually I know I will finish :) but what will my time be?!!!
  • SteveTries
    SteveTries Posts: 723 Member
    Best of luck. Have a great time!
  • WhataBroad
    WhataBroad Posts: 1,091 Member
    head up and good luck !! =)
  • wassergottin
    wassergottin Posts: 154 Member
    I run hills every time I run, but that's because any time I from my house I'm on a hill. :D
  • 007bondage
    007bondage Posts: 631 Member
    I do hill sprints (sprint intervals on a short VERY steep hill) weekly, and then long hill runs pretty regularly, at least once per month on roads, and then I run on trails weekly as my second long run.

    Same, it has really helped my strength endurance.
  • jsj024519
    jsj024519 Posts: 400 Member
    Hills everyday. Literally. I like running hilly courses even for easy runs. But dynamic speed days, I hit hills at race pace! Happy Running!
  • My usual runs include a few hills, but they aren't very big. So, I usually go to the gym 1 day a week to simulate hills on the dreadmill.
  • Mock_Turtle
    Mock_Turtle Posts: 354 Member
    Noob question: what would be considered a 'big hill'?

    I've been running for about 4 months, but everything on the treadmill thus far.

    With the weather finally turned I figured I would start running outside. Visiting my parents for the holidays and there is a 10km route that I mapped out.

    view_route_elevation?get_profile=d088d37e56345c47bb39d6264fb4c22b&consumer_key=b513571b80685c74fa95b7755d916c24048889df4

    I used to rip this route on a mountain bike in my younger days, no idea what'd be like to run it.
  • Zekela
    Zekela Posts: 634 Member
    I do them whenever they come my way while running. I run wherever I go and at times this involve hilly paths. Never avoid nor look for them :-). My recovery rate is pretty quick so as soon as I touch flat again, my heart rate goes back to a normal run after about 10 seconds.
  • Mock_Turtle
    Mock_Turtle Posts: 354 Member
    Ignore my post above, i went ahead and made a MMR account and it looks like my route is a piece of pie

    Climb Information
    Climb Start End Length Start Elev End Elev Avg Grade
    Cat 5 1.01 km 2.18 km 1.17 km 198 m 243 m 3.8%
  • MartinaNYC
    MartinaNYC Posts: 190 Member
    Hills everyday. Literally. I like running hilly courses even for easy runs. But dynamic speed days, I hit hills at race pace! Happy Running!

    You're crazy buddy ;)
  • MarshmallowLegs
    MarshmallowLegs Posts: 51 Member
    What incline on a treadmill do you think is good for simulating hills? I am training for the seattle marathon and im expecting lots of hills... I can only run on pavement once a week due to my schedule.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    What incline on a treadmill do you think is good for simulating hills? I am training for the seattle marathon and im expecting lots of hills... I can only run on pavement once a week due to my schedule.

    Well, anything greater than zero is technically considered a hill. :smile:

    If you want to simulate the race course, check out the elevation profile for the race and adjust your treadmill accordingly.
  • DavidMartinez2
    DavidMartinez2 Posts: 840 Member
    For you flat-landers, a friend of mine use to go run a parking garage to get hill work in. Whenever I feel bad for myself as I'm running up a hill I imagine how much it must suck to run in a parking garage and push harder.
  • linddavis
    linddavis Posts: 101
    @DavidMartinez... that is hilarious. Yes, it does suck to to simulate hills for us flatlanders. I am doing a running camp
    in Sept. (CO) so have been taking my hills seriously. Have been running hills once /week for min. 5 miles. Its working.
    My 5 k times are improving! And hopefully I wont be the last one in at camp:) I have some tweaky knees so I dont want to do more than once/wk.
  • trijoe
    trijoe Posts: 729 Member
    I live in a very hilly neighborhood. So going for a run always involves hills. One in particular I use when I'm actually doing specific "hill work", or "hill repeats". It's perfect for repeats.

    All my races this year are flat. So, in an effort to train as I race and race as I train, I have to drive to a local park that's good and flat to get in my long runs. But for standard runs, yeah it's the hills.

    When you do hills endlessly, they just become part of your everyday workout life. I'm so much more comfortable and confident on hills than people who're faster and more talented than me, just because I run so many of them. At my last marathon, I passed tons of people the last 6-10 miles, who were wilting on the hills. I don't feel like I have an "edge" when I'm racing hills, but when the race mimics my normal running routes, I definitely feel more comfortable and competitive.
  • ameliaannakin
    ameliaannakin Posts: 344 Member
    Everyday :) I love in the Yorkshire dales and it is more than impossible to not go for a run incorporating a hill!