For many ordinary joggers, the time always seems to come when it feels that they are not improving anymore. Often, the kind of training regime they follow involves doing the same route at the same pace every time they go out running. At some point, they go, filled with excitement, to a charity fun run, ready to take part in a 10K race against other people, and they either start off too fast and run out of gas before the end. Or they just plod along at their usual pace and feel disappointed with themselves at the end because they didn’t get a very good time.
A really great way to increase your running speed and power is to add hill repeats into your weekly training regime. A lot of people avoid doing these because they are very hard work, and for many, running is simply a way to lose weight rather than something they wish to do in any kind of competitive capacity. Nevertheless, hill training is actually a very good way to burn off a lot of calories and lose weight quickly. But even more important if you are looking to add speed to your running is that you will build the strength that will enable you to put in spurts of acceleration during flat races, and also give you the confidence to power up hilly routes and overtake your opponents at very difficult sections of a race.
Hill intervals are very similar to many other common types of interval training, most of which are done on a track. The first important step is to get warmed up with a jog at an easy pace for 20 minutes or so. Once you’ve done that, then you’ll need to find a good hill, which should be fairly steep and roughly 100 yards long. Now all that’s needed is for you to run up your hill aiming for a comfortable but reasonably hard pace, somewhere approaching race pace. Follow this with a slow recovery jog back to the bottom of the hill, and then repeat. It is critical not to change your normal running form in any way. So do not lean forward at the waist, though a slight lean, with your whole body in line, is acceptable. If you find yourself leaning improperly, or rocking from side to side, or doing anything unusual out of fatigue, then it’s time to end the session with a cool down jog. Each weekly session, attempt to add one or two extra repeats until you can do between eight and ten of them.
It’s far better to plan short but high quality hill sessions, rather than going full throttle and causing injuries. The final tip is for when you encounter steep uphill segments while in a race. Take the first two thirds of the hill at a medium fast pace, and conserve your energy for the last third. You can then put your foot on the gas pedal and accelerate past your opponents during the hardest part of the climb, when they are beginning to tire.
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