Climbing Hollerday Hill, North Devon
A weekend in North Devon fitted in nicely with my ‘base training’ phase… I could just run long and easy, enjoy the views and not worry about having to move quickly over challenging terrain. But I forgot about the hills. Damn, it’s hilly in North Devon, and even on ‘easy’ runs, my heart rate was charging up to 85-90 per cent. Hills are nature’s way of getting us runners to do some strength training. Working against gravity, you’re engaging more muscle fibres in the legs and bottom (one study found 20 per cent greater activation) and also overloading the cardiovascular system - so there’s much to be gained for your pain! And it’s more specific to the sport than hitting the gym (although that can be useful, too). You can run hills in a number of ways: on fairly even terrain with a gentle ascent you can run at a swift pace continuously up and down for a set time or number of efforts - mimicking a ‘threshold’ training session in intensity. Or to build power and speed, choose a shorter steeper hill and sprint up it, walking or jogging back down for recovery between each ascent. Even if you are running a race as flat as the London Marathon, some hill training will make you faster and stronger…