With a new month comes a new focus on hills. Oh yeah!!! But don’t be freaked out, we’re going to ease you in with a nice taster, mixed workout this week.

WHAT?

4 sets of this:
– 30sec hill strides
– jog back down
– 3min @ 10k race pace
– 2min recovery jog

Terrain: Gentle-to-moderately steep hill for the hill reps and flat path for the 3-minute efforts.

Feels: Reaching New Heights

We ease into the month of hill workouts with this mixed workout of uphill strides (fast, controlled runs—not hill sprints) and 10k race pace intervals. The hills will help develop power and technique and introduce some fatigue that you’ll aim to flush out as you do the less intense 3-minute intervals (go 90secs out and 90secs back).

WHY?

Hills are speedwork in disguise because they bring an added level of intensity that forces us to improve technique and power.

The purpose of the 3-minute intervals on the flat are to add more mileage to the workout and use them to test the body’s ability to flush out the fatigue of the hills while running at a good clip.

HOW?

Location is key with this workout. Find a hill long enough for a 30-second effort that is mild-to-moderate in steepness. And also ensure there’s a safe flat pathway next to it for the 3-minute intervals (I’d suggest doing 90 seconds out and 90 seconds back).

And don’t get too hung up on exact paces. Do it by feel today!

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: HOW TO RECOVER FROM HILL WORKOUTS

Hills add another dimension to your training that can lead to injury if you’re not careful about recovering properly. Here are four tips to make sure you’re banking away the savings from a great hill session.

Read the full article here.