Must Love Hills

With moving to a new house (tour here!), we've also moved to a whole new neighborhood. And, well, the running is tough. Tougher than I expected. I thought the Laurel Festival 10K was bad with all its mountains and valleys, but it seems like I'd be in great shape next year if I chose to do it again.

At our old place, I could run up to 13 (or more!) miles with few inclines to break my stride. In fact, to compare to everything I'll show you in a moment -- here's the elevation map for my all-time favorite 4-miler that I used to run at least a couple times a week.


Now? I used MapMyRun to check out some of the routes I've tackled or plan to try soon.

And . . .


OK. So, these hills are still nothing compared to running in Wellsboro (and other places, I'm sure). I mapped out one of the long runs I did last month when I was visiting my parents and was sort of shocked with what I discovered. So, I guess it could be worse.


Anyway, after playing around with different paths, I was able to map out a relatively flat 10 miler for my next long run. The only problems: It's not in the nicest area. Not dangerous, but just sort of urban decay. And it's out-and-back, and I don't love being far away from home during the summer months with heat and all.

But this looks better, doesn't it?


Not really.

But if you examine all those jigs and jags carefully, you see that the elevation only toggles between 870 and 885 feet or something like that. This image is a tad deceiving. So, I'm feeling hopeful I'll get some flat ground and finish my run without too much peril.

Runners who live in hilly areas: WHAT DO YOU DO!? 

I am getting the idea that I just need to shut up and run, and that eventually my body will adjust. I guess I'm thinking ahead to my next pregnancy. I've already written at length about what I want to change about running the next time around. Not entirely sure if I should run all these hills on the regular. Will I be doomed for the treadmill?

Like what you just read? Browse more of our posts + recipes on Pinterest. You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

Read more...

Hit the Hills // A Workout

Thanks for all your congrats on my race win! Since my kitchen is mostly packed up and I've been eating off paper plates, there's not much in the food department to talk about now. Only 5 more days, though! Anyway, several of you have asked about my training, so I thought that'd be a fun topic for today.

// THE CLIMB

Over the past year, I've made some solid gains in my race paces at all distances. I haven't done much (if any, really) speedwork, though. So, I wanted to share my "secret weapon" workout with you guys today because it's one that truly works. It will make those typical "hilly courses" we all complain about feel like a cake-walk, too!

But first: On every training run, I try to do at least one climb. If it's not a long hill, I try to find a steep one and go as fast as I can. If it's a long hill, I try to just power up at whatever pace can carry me there. But I do this every single run at least once during the run. If you live in a flat area, try running up man-made inclines (like bridges) or visiting the treadmill more often.

Then once a week I try to do hill repeats.

This workout, which I did as part of my half marathon training, has the potential to be as long as 10 miles. I know. That sounds a bit nuts. I usually just do 10 repeats for a total of 7 miles. However, when I was starting out, I'd do 6-8 repeats and even shorten the warmup to just a half mile warmup/cooldown. You can also choose a shorter hill. Anything over .10 of a mile is better than nothing!

Basically, you can get the idea to modify according to your race distance. And you can even choose to simply follow the general idea of incorporating regular HILL REPEATS into your training. Stephen also favored hills versus speed for his training this year and is seeing similar gains in his race times. Something must be working!

Otherwise, I don't do "workouts" necessarily. I run the rest of my mileage at an easy pace. If on a short run I feel particularly strong, I'll choose to go faster that day. And I always try to get a long run of 8-10 miles in on the weekend despite where I am in a training cycle.

How do you work to get faster? Do you like doing repeats at the track or preferring heading for the hills? Or are you a beast at both!

For more running tips, be sure to check out our RUNNING PAGE full of information about workouts, races, nutrition, gear, and much more. We haven't written much in recent years -- but I'm hoping to add to this area on the site as time goes on.

Like what you just read? Browse more of our posts + recipes on Pinterest. You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

Read more...

Hit the Hills

I'm not terribly great at running marathons. And forget ultras, I'll never do one of those. Nor am I terribly great at running fast 5Ks. Track events would have never been my forte. But there is one particular aspect of my running I pride myself on: My ability to run hills. Across a hilly course, I'm usually able to keep a steady pace and not slow down when the inclines get tough. In fact, I can speed up those suckers and power through no problem.

My friend Dani, who photographed the 15K this weekend, captured a series of photos of me passing people up a hill on the course. It was a steep one near mile 8.

(I'm the one in all blue.)

Pulling ahead. All smiles.


Where did all those people go?
Oh, that's right.
They are still running the hill.


Yes. I'm bragging obnoxiously. But I do have a point. I want to share my secrets with you. Nothing I do is crazy or mind-blowing. However, if you incorporate these tips into your training, you -- too -- can kill hills.

Really.


#1: Map out a route with 4 or 5 (or more) good hills. Those ones you usually try to avoid. I have a route with two variations from my house that is between 4 and 7 miles. I warm up with a nice flat mile or so. Then I hit my first one. I actually end up looping around and doing a couple of them twice. Pick hills that are at least a quarter of a mile in length if you can. Bonus if you find ones that don't have a steep decline.

#2: Run this route often. At least once a week. There's really nothing more to say about this. Practice makes perfect. And, though it might hurt at first, it will get easier with time. If you get bored, run it backwards or find another challenging course. Anything to keep your legs guessing.

#3: Incorporate these same hills into your long runs and other workouts. And don't shy away from other, less intense inclines. There' this one road that leads to our house that's a steady incline over 2 miles. I run that at least three times a week as part of different workouts. It definitely helps.

(This tip is from Stephen:) #4: Pick up the pace. At least in the last 1/3 of the hill. And power through the first part of the downhill as well. It will help you with your strength AND confidence.

#5: Seek hilly race courses. Add them to your regular must-race list. There's this 10K in my hometown every June that gives runners the chance to climb almost 700 feet total across various mountains. It's intense. But I used to run it every year. Knowing it was coming kept me practicing. This year we're running a local race with a similar elevation gain, but over a 20K. Should be interesting.

#6: If you don't have hills in your area, simulate them. On a treadmill. Likely you won't use your ability much in the races you run if where you live is relatively flat. Regardless, it can't hurt to become a stronger runner.

What is your strength as a runner? Of course, it's all relative, so if you aren't able to run a 5 minute mile, but still feel like you are doing well with your speed work -- that totally counts!


And if you want to click over to Writing Chapter Three, you can watch an adorable video of Ada blowing endless raspberries . . . dripping drool down her chin. It's too cute.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

Read more...