By shortening
your stride and running with a light touch, you can feel nearly
as good going uphill as you do on flat land. With relaxed, controlled
strides, you'll also be able to zoom down the other side without
pounding your legs.
Hills are
great for teaching rhythm, one of the most overlooked and crucial
aspects of distance running. If you let hills break up your
rhythm, you will slow dramatically. But if you make the proper
adjustments to maintain cadence, you'll make molehills out of
the mountains you've been climbing.
This topic
makes me think of when I ran the Marine Corps Marathon with
a friend in 1995. "I don't have the leg strength to run
hills well," Marlene blurted out to me as we crested Capitol
Hill. "I don't care what you say about stride length, I
lose it on the uphills." I offered suggestions as best
I could . . . and remembered the days when I struggled with
hills.
Early Enlightenment
As a collegiate cross-country runner- and full of hill-running
bravado- I would pass runners by the dozens on uphills, only
to be re-passed by the end of the race. Then, during my senior
year at Wesleyan University, I got injured. Coach Swanson insisted
that I ride the course with him in the team van.
From my window,
I watched as teammate Amby Burfoot patiently let brasher runners
move ahead on the hills early in the race. Most of them ended
up paying for it (as I had) by using up valuable energy. Amby
cruised easily on the uphills, then took advantage of down-hills
with relaxed, controlled striding. Later, as the others struggled
with late-race fatigue, he still had something left for a strong
finish. Watching that race began my evolution into a good hill
runner, and I have since learned many more lessons on smoothing
out the ups and downs. Here are some for you now.
Heavy breathing
Whether you're going up or down, try to maintain the same level
of effort and breathing rate that you use on level ground. Don't
worry if you're slowing down going up, just reduce stride length
accordingly. Continue to shorten your stride when the grade
is steeper, and extend to normal as the grade eases, all the
while maintaining steady effort and breathing.
It's a wonderful
revelation when you realize there's a stride short enough to
give you control over the steepest of hills. As you shorten
your stride and keep your feet directly under your body, you'll
gain efficiency and competence. With competence comes confidence.
Up we go . . .
Here's exactly how hill running should work. As you start uphill,
shorten your stride. Don't try to maintain the same pace you
were running on the flat. This will exhaust you and leave you
depleted later, when you can least afford it. Take "baby
steps" if necessary, and try to keep the same turnover
rhythm as on the flat. Your posture should be upright (don't
lean forward or back); head, shoulders and hips should form
a straight line over the feet. Keep your feet low to the ground.
If your breathing begins to quicken, this means you're either
going too fast, over striding or bounding too far off the ground.
You should
use a light, "ankle-flicking" push-off with each step,
not an explosive motion. (This wastes energy.) If the hill is
long or the grade increases, keep shortening your stride to
maintain a smooth and efficient breathing pattern. Run "through"
the top of the hill. That is, don't crest the hill and immediately
slow down or pull back on your effort. Rather, accelerate gradually
into the downhill. Gravity is now on your side.
. . . and down again
As you head downhill, stay relaxed. As with uphills, don't over
stride. (You don't want to catch too much "air.")
Over striding pounds the feet, stresses the hamstrings and overuses
the quadriceps muscles at each footfall. Keeping feet lower
to the ground will give you more control. Because you're going
downhill, your stride will cover more ground than it does on
flat land, though it should feel slightly shorter.
Touch lightly
with each step and let the steepness of the hill dictate your
stride rate. If you start going too fast, shorten your stride
slightly until it is under control. On gentle downgrades, you
might want to try leaning forward slightly to increase speed.
Just be careful; leaning too much may chop your stride or make
you go too fast. Lastly, visualize gravity pulling you downhill.
The momentum you gain going downhill is a wonderful source of
energy as you move to level terrain or to another hill. More
>>
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