Hills have always been my nemesis. Ironic, I know, coming from someone whose first introduction to competitive running was Mount Marathon, which entails racing up a literal mountain. Even though my roots in running are connected to hills, I always felt like they were my weakness during cross country races. In high school and college, hilly courses often resulted in my worst races and flat courses were almost always my best performances. Despite that, last year, I decided to pursue trail running. I love trails, and my upbringing in Alaska gave me plenty of exposure; however, I knew that I would need to improve at uphill running in order to be competitive.
Luckily I have a great coach (s/o David Roche) who helped me build a training plan to improve my speed, power, and efficiency. Below are the main factors of training that we changed in order to turn uphills from a weakness to a strength.
- Hill Strides
- Strength Exercises
- Uphill Threshold Runs
- Long Hill Workouts
- Proper Running Form
For more info on the details, watch the video below.
