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Take the Hill

Writer's picture: Dylan BellesDylan Belles


How easy is it to head out the door and run the same route?


You know which one I'm talking about - The easy route. Pancake flat, pinpoint GPS accuracy, and simply monotonous.


These runs have no obstacles!


There's nothing inherently wrong with taking this route. Honestly, there's always a time and place for ease on the body and convenience, and you SHOULD take advantage of that.


But it would be best if you didn't always take the easy way out.


You SHOULD:


Take the hill.


Hit the trail.


Forget about the numbers on your watch and give your mind and body something different to work off.


I feel that if we always take it easy on ourselves and give ourselves the easy out, we're more likely to do that on race day when the mind and body are vulnerable.


If we never get experience and understanding of our internal effort it can become a detriment to our training, racing, and even recovery goals.


Plus, several benefits come with changing up your route:


  • Mental decompression (and removing yourself from obsessing over numbers on your device)

  • Variability in training surface could help offload muscles that get overused from repeating the same pattern while reducing the total pounding by being on a mix of softer surfaces (grass, dirt).

  • It helps you become a stronger runner by adding in hills along the way. You can think of this as the more specific form of strength training for runners.


I prefer taking the "hard" routes on days when I:


1) Want to take it easy (pace-wise) - like a day after a faster workout or a longer run.


Or


2) During long-run days when I'm in a phase of training where I'm trying to build my strength and endurance (base training). I'm a huge fan of combining strength with strength.


Long runs + Hilly terrain = Magic fitness gains.


These days are perfect for forgetting about the watch and focusing on the effort of the run. I recommend running for time on these days versus distance, especially when you're in a place where your watch doesn't get the best reception or if you're someone who over-analyzes pace.


The bottom line is that it's important to break routines and habits that could be holding you back.


And we know that one of the ways to improve fitness and running performance is to expose the body to new/progressive stress.


For some, this is gradually running more mileage, faster workouts, or progressing race specificity in training.


For others, it can be as simple as taking the hill, varying your route, and not making it so easy on yourself all the time.


Apply a day or two like this within your week - ideally on a day where you planned to take it easy in the first place - It's worth the work!

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