Help - how do I cope with hills? - Beginners

West Country Plodder

11/07/2007 at 14:10

Couldn't find anything on hills so am taking scarey step of starting new thread!

Please can anyone help? Have been training for 3 months now (following Cancer Research Beginners Programme), did 5k in June and now plodding towards 10k in September BUT I have a problem with hills!

Now that I'm up to an amazing (for me!) 12 mins at a time it's getting increasingly hard to find anywhere even remotely flat to run! My Cornish village is surrounded by hills and the only flat place is the playing field and I am in danger of dying of boredom if I have to trudge round there each time!

In one way apparently it's a good thing as I'm entered for the Lanhydrock race which is mega-hilly but it's really challenging for a little beginner like me to keep going on these hills!

Any advise please? Anyone else got the same problem (!) as me? Thanks!

stoxy

11/07/2007 at 14:14

The best advice I can give you is to take hills steady and just keep going. Slowly slowly catchy monkey!!
I used to be terrible, now I can get up them albeit slowly.
The achievement when you get to the top of a bl@@dy awful hill is great though. Justb think about that on the way up. And you may be rewarded with a downhill!

Dina Mo

11/07/2007 at 14:15

WCP: if you're running a hilly course and you're a beginner, completely forget your minute miling. Just keep going at the same effort level rather than speed....a heart rate monitor is a good way of judging effort aiming to keep it steady but you can just judge how you feel. This may mean that initially you are walking up the hill, but you will find that you find it easier and easier as your body gets used to it.

Good luck xx

stoxy

11/07/2007 at 14:15

The best advice

Well maybe not the best but you know what Im getting at!!!

b-oing

11/07/2007 at 16:58

WCP: i did the same route as you, did the 5k three years ago then lanhydrock 10k later in the same year. give the hill a go, i started by power walking them and then you can soon get to jogging. the main thing is keep going even if you have to resort to a fast-ish walk ... three years on i still have a hill problem but get to the top by jogging, doing snowdonia in october so going to be doing plenty of hills .... just keep plodding!

Johnny Blaze

11/07/2007 at 17:07

I never look up when doing hills. Hills are in your head more than your legs I find.

Slugsta

11/07/2007 at 17:36

Try not to stop and gasp for breath at the top of the hill. If neccessary go even slower but keep going when you have reached the top.

runner duck

11/07/2007 at 18:07

taking them slowly is excellent advice. i'm a newbie too and at running club last night i was determined to keep running up the big hill and was overtaken by someone who had decided to walk - but it didn't matter, i still got to the top at the end.

not looking up is really good too, especially if you are on your own. i tend to keep looking down for 100 paces then look up to see how far i've got, then look down again etc. you always get there in the end whether you've run all the way up or run/walk.

and some days are better than others, just try not too mind (sometimes easier said than done, tho!)

runner duck

11/07/2007 at 18:08

sorry, that should have been in the end

slow shuffle

11/07/2007 at 21:01

i would agree with not looking up - on my last race there was a hill near the end which went on for over 1 mile, loads of people were walking but I was determined to keep going. In the end some people were passing me just walking, but I had such a sense of achievement when I reached the top that I didn't care my run up that hill was slower than some people walked.

West Country Plodder

12/07/2007 at 10:09

Thanks everyone for your advice!

stoxy-thanks for the encouragement, you're right, the top is the best bit!
Fat Fyes-thanks, hadn't thought of it in terms of effort really, so will borrow a monitor watch next time!
b-oing - it's great to know that you've done the Lanhydrock run too! Is it true that the hills are as steep as they say??
Johnny Blaze-like the psychological approach!
Slugsta-does that mean I can't collapse in a heap and sit down when I reach the top?
runner duck & slow shuffle-well done both for keeping going! (A mile is a long way!)I shall think of you both as I plod away!

Thank you! ps do hills make you even hungrier, they do me!

Accident Ali

12/07/2007 at 13:48

Ahh hills, I hate them.

SnailSpeed

12/07/2007 at 13:55

Hills are evil!!
I struggle with them all the time, even started to run round then rather than go up them!

alas this was cured when I joined my local running club, which is on top of a hill, so no matter which way you run back you HAVE to go up the hill.

the first time I made it up there without stopping I nearly cried I was so happy. From then on it was all in my head, I knew I could do it so just never stopped again.

New hills are worse though I always want to stop PMA PMA PMA!

CumbriAndy

12/07/2007 at 16:27

I'm another who has no choice but to run hills if I'm ever going to get anywhere and I can well remember the feeling of elation when I finally managed to run up the steep hill out of our village that stopped me several times when I first started.

Just a couple of thoughts

Yes - definitely - to the comments about slowing down as you go up hill. I try to maintain a reasonably steady strides per minute rhythmn which means I also take shorter strides when going up.
Less sure about this 'don't look up' - you need all the air you can get when going up hill and looking down can result in you leaning too far forward which hampers your breathing. Try to stand up tall if possible but you don't need to focus on the top - break the slope down into manageable portions then target the next gate/lampost/tree/parked car/whatever.
Practice running downhill too - staying under control and protecting your knees once gravity has got hold of you is harder than it seems.

And keep track of your progress - its worth singling out one or two key landmarks on each hill and reminding yourself (in a few weeks time) that you've been able to get much further without 'dying' than you used to be able to manage.

JudeTheObscure

12/07/2007 at 21:32

WCP

I did the Lanhydrock 10K last year: yes, it is hilly! The thing is, there isn't just one, there are several. I gamely ran the first uphill section, jogged the next uphill bit, had just about recovered when a particularly horrid one came up at the halfway mark - I walked it! I just about managed the last uphill bit to the finish.

As other people have said, don't run them, power walk. Did a race last night (first since Lanhydrock!) and my friend and I overtook a few people who were bravely attempting to run a hill. My pace was actually better than Lanhyrock. So, don't exhaust yourself trying at this stage. Oh, and I am running at Lanhydrock again this year, so it can't be too bad.

West Country Plodder

12/07/2007 at 22:02

Thanks guys!

I think that a good approach would be, then, to just go for it, not to worry about speed, to go steadily, think positively and not to stop at the top!

JTO - just how many hills are there at Lanhydrock? I'm feeling increasinly daunted, I must say, but it's good to know that you'll be suffering alongside us! Was it a good atmosphere last year and were there lots of quite serious runners there? Oh, and do you have a really bright blue t-shirt to wear?

Karriebo

13/07/2007 at 13:34

Hills? What's them then?? :-)

Colin - www.colinwatts.co.uk

13/07/2007 at 13:49

Don't be afraid to walk the hills if you need to.
I have walked on hills and passed people who are still 'running'.
Walking is actually less effort than running and it uses the muscles differently so you get a rest going up hill ready for the top and running again.

Colin

Devonian Plodder

13/07/2007 at 20:38

Hills R Us!

I love hills! I'm in a similar situation - big hill to get out of the village - and spookily a big hill to get back.

I only started running in April with a friend, we choose the positive attitude that we love hills. The main benfit - did RFL in Barnstaple on Sunday and smashed our PB as it was flat! :O)

It's taken until this week to be able to get up both hills without stopping - but we got there! Of course, now it's been done, it can't be undone.

We take the slow "walking in the running style", head down, don't look - approach.

Also doing Lanhydrock in September - see you all at the top!

JudeTheObscure

13/07/2007 at 20:51

WCP

I wouldn't say there are lots of "hills", just a few uphill sections. Don't be daunted, just enjoy it. The atmosphere is great, exciting and moving too. There were some "serious" runners, but just as many new/fun runners.

I was seriously worried when I went last year, my training stalled about three weeks before, but I got round and you will too. I started at the back, but didn't finish at the back - there are plenty of people who will walk long sections.

Yes, I do have a lovely blue t-shirt, but this year I will be wearing a wicking fabric so as not to look like beetroot wrapped in a soggy rag at the end of the race!