Hill Repeats

Now that I've convinced you to try a hill, why not make an entire workout out of it?  You've conquered a hill, now go back and run it over and over again!  Hill repeats are exactly that--running a hill over and over until you reach your goal or run out of stamina (preferably the former).

It's important to warm-up before starting a hill workout.  Starting directly up a steep hill with cold muscles is a good way to pull something, so to avoid injury, run a nice, slow, 1/2 mile to get your muscles warm and ready for the high-intensity work.

Pick a hill that takes you between 1-2 minutes to reach the top of.  It should be steep enough to get you breathing hard, long enough for your heart to be pumping fast, and high enough that your legs feel like lead at the top.  If I feel like I'm going to toss my cookies, I know I've picked a good one.  Once you reach the top, circle back around at a slow pace while your body recovers, then start all over again.  If there isn't a loop, run directly back down.  Be careful on the way down--safety not speed is key on the downhill portion.

Repeat the circuit as many times as you can.  If it's your first time, try four and eventually maybe you'll work your way up to ten.

Running hills is mentally challenging.  You have to constantly put mind over matter and make your body perform.  Running hill repeats not only builds strength and improves your speed, it builds mental toughness.  When you reach the top of your last hill, you'll  feel like you could do anything.  Just ask any of the warriors in the picture above.  The smiles on their faces and their sweat-stained shirts were earned by completing 10 hills--no easy task.

Hill training is tough on your body, especially knees, so do hills once a week, tops.

LACE UP, then head up!