Running in hills develops leg strength as well as the strength of the tendons and ligaments around the knee and ankle. Developing leg strength is important, as it makes for a more powerful contraction of the leg muscles to propel you forward faster. Including hills regularly, particularly early in your build-up will see great dividends in the improvement of your running. This workout is great to include early in your build-up to develop leg strength.
Each week I will be posting the Friday Fartlek Run Sessions that you can do to enhance your running. Fartlek is a Swedish term that is often used by runners and it means speed-play. See a previous post about training intensity (levels) to know how hard to work.
This workout comes from an article by Lance Watson from LifeSport Coaching in the July 2007 issue of Triathlete Magazine.
Lance Watson’s Short Hill Reps A
- 10min WU Level II;
- 6x 30sec Level V Hill Rep, 1min Jog Down Level I-II RI;
- 10min CD Level II;
- 10min Stretching
Do this session on a hilly course and off-road (if possible). If training by pace, then you will end up running below the prescribed pace on a hill, just ensure that the effort is the equivalent of what that pace would have been on the flat.
Start the workout with a warm-up (WU) for ten minutes of easy jogging at Level II.
Aim to finish the warm-up (WU) at the base of a hill that is ~4-6% in gradient and will take at least two minutes to run up.
The Main Set involves a set of six, 30-second hill reps run at Level V. Jog back down to the base of the hill at Level I-II and take about a minute to do so before commencing the next rep.
The Cool Down (CD) is at a low intensity, jogging (Level II) for at least ten minutes.
Finish with 10 minutes of stretching to assist with the recovery.
If you would like further advice feel free to contact me.
I am the Head Coach & Director of Qwik Kiwi – Endurance Sports Consultant.
I specialise in assisting first-timers and recreational athletes to achieve their sporting goals. I can be contacted at coachray@coachray.nz and 021 348 729.
Share this post so your friends can benefit as well.
Download the Garmin (.FIT) & Zwift (.ZWO) files for this workout for FREE
Get my 4-Week Running Speed Boost Training Plan with 25% off
4 weeks of training is all you need to do to smash your current 5km time significantly. This programme will guarantee your results and have you running faster.
Designed for Runners of ALL abilities who want to run 5km qwiker, the primary goal of this training plan is to make you FASTER.
Lasting 4 weeks long this programme can start anytime (the first workout will be on a Saturday but the programme will be loaded to start the Monday prior to this workout). Each week includes 3 runs and a stretching session. Although not necessary, I recommend using a heart rate monitor in conjunction with a GPS watch (such as a Garmin).
When purchasing, use the discount code “web25” to claim your 25% discount.
Prior to using this plan, you should be able to run 5km non-stop and up to 60 minutes in longer sessions.
Purchase of this plan gives you access to my fortnightly coaching calls where you can ask me any training or racing-related questions.
When purchasing, use the discount code “web25” to claim your 25% discount.