Hills.  The dreaded HILLS!  No matter how many hills workouts I’ve completed, I always go into them expecting them to be brutal.  But enough of that.  Hills help you add strength, improve overall running economy, and throw in some variety to your training regimen.  Get excited about hills and incorporate them into your program.  If you want to become a better runner, it is my belief that you have no choice in the matter.

Here are some things to think about when it comes to hills:

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  Photo @ morebyless

  Devote an entire workout to hills about once every three weeks.  More experienced runners may go a little more frequently, perhaps once every ten days.  But for novice and intermediate runners, too much hill intensity can be detrimental and increase the likelihood of injury.

• Go out of your way to find some hills during your easy runs and LSD runs.  However, adjust your pace to account for the increase in grade.  This is the best tip anyone ever gave me about hills.  If your easy pace is a 9’00 mile and you are running up a quarter mile hill at a 4.5% grade, keep the 9’00, 0% grade effort level.  Your new pace may be closer to 9’30, but you are exerting the same effort as a 9’00 mile.
• Run stairs.  Stairs are a great alternative to running hills.  They don’t work exactly the same muscles, but will give you the same cardio benefits.  Be careful when choosing which stairs to run.  Some stadium stairs, for instance, require you to vastly change your natural stride because of the distance between steps.
• Learn how to run downhill.  Downhill running is a different animal altogether and isn’t really given enough attention by most runners.  But proper downhill running technique is just as important as uphill running.

Be creative when putting together your hill workouts.  Some of my favorite workouts have just been made up on the fly.  Here are some ideas that work great on the treadmill:

Hills Workout #1

1 mile warm-up

4 x 800m at marathon pace (MP) or half marathon pace (HMP), starting at 4.5 incline and increasing 0.5 with each interval; 800m recovery jogs

1 mile cooldown

Hills Workout #2

1 mile warm-up

Ten (10) 1-minute intervals at 10k pace and 5.0 incline; 1-minute recovery jogs

1 mile cooldown

Hills Workout #3

2 mile warm-up

Four (4) 200m hill repeats at 10k pace and 5.0 incline; 1/8 mile recovery jogs
Four (4) 400m hill repeats at HMP and 3.0 incline; 1/4 mile recovery jogs
Four (4) 200m hill repeats at 10k pace and 5.0 incline; 1/8 mile recovery jogs

2 mile cooldown