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 Julian Goater in an old edition of Triathlon 220 Magazine. Although I can’t see a date on it, I suspect it was printed in the late 90’s looking at the bikes and heart rate monitors advertised in it. Julian was a top-tier runner in the 1970s and 1980s with a 5,000m PB of 13:16 and a 10,000m PB of 27:35!!
Goater’s Hill Sequence C
- 10min WU Level II;
- 6x 90sec Level V Up Hill 3min Level I-II Jog Down RI;
- 90sec Level V,
- 45sec Level V/30sec RI/45sec Level V,
- 30sec Level V/30sec RI/30sec Level V/30sec RI/30sec Level V,
- 10min CD Level II;
- 10min Stretching
Start the workout with a warm-up (WU) for ten minutes of easy jogging at Level II that concludes at the base of a hill.
The Main Set involves running six, 90-second reps at Level V uphill. There are three different variations of how to run these 90-second reps. Run one of each style and then repeat them all.
The first (and fourth) rep is 90 seconds long, straight up at Level V for the 90 seconds.
The second (and fifth) rep is split into two 45-second long sub-reps, both running at Level V with a 30-second Rest Interval (RI) between them.
The third (and sixth) rep is split into three 30-second long sub-reps, both running at Level V with a 30-second Rest Interval (RI) between them.
After each rep, lightly jog back down at Level I-II for three minutes. Once at the base of the hill, you can continue to jog around lightly or do some stretching for the remainder of the three-minute period.
Your pace may be less than prescribed on the up hills, as long as the effort is at the equivalent of race pace.
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.
Here is the data from doing this run last week:
I am the Head Coach and 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 12 Week Half Marathon Training Plan with 25% off
When you cross the finish line of the Half Marathon, you will have accomplished something very special.
Designed for Beginner runners who are looking to complete their first half marathon event, the primary goal of this training plan is to prepare you to COMPLETE YOUR event.
Starting 12 weeks before your Half Marathon, this plan progresses through phases to build you to your peak performance. Each week contains three run sessions and a stretching session. You will build up to 2 hours running in a single 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 for 45 minutes.
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.