Hill Workouts: Long Hill Reps
From Running Director Heidi Caldwell.
With the races cancelled for the foreseeable future, runners are using this time to dig into an extended strength-focused, base-building phase of training. For many distance runners, a central component of this training phase is long hill repetitions. Just as with hill sprints, which we covered here last month, this type of hill work is a useful tool for all endurance athletes and holds an important place in a runner’s training arsenal.
Why: Long hill reps are a very effective way to boost aerobic strength and endurance, two of the central pillars of base training. Because they are not as intense or aerobically taxing as shorter, more explosive hill repetitions, long hill reps are a great workout option for the lower intensity, threshold-focused efforts key to building early season strength. Given their length and strength demand, long hill reps are not run in the later phases of a training season. With no races to peak for in the coming months, now is the time for runners to maximize on long hill reps.
What: Long hill reps are typically 4-5 minutes in duration, with an easy run back to the bottom of the hill as recovery. The total time spent running hard uphill will range from 12-20 minutes depending on your experience, what you are training for, and where you are in your training cycle. Given the length of each repetition, the intensity level of this workout is around a tempo or threshold effort. For running-centric athletes, you may think of this effort range as similar to mile repeats at 10k effort to a steady tempo just below threshold. For skiing or rowing focused athletes - think Level 3 effort.
How to incorporate into your training: Because long hill reps are run at a slower pace and on a more gradual grade, they are a safe, approachable way to begin adding more hill workouts into your training. The following are some guidelines for how to tackle long hill reps.
Find the right hill. Long hill reps are best suited for hills with a gradual to moderate grade (3-5%). Given their long duration, the grade needs to be gradual enough for you to maintain a consistent threshold effort throughout the individual reps as well as the entirety of the workout.
Pick your format. Some classic long hill rep workouts are 3 x 5 minutes, 4 x 4 minutes, and 5 x 3 minutes. Be patient and start on the lower end in both repetition length and total workout volume.
Recover on the downhill. Use the downhill run back to the start of the rep to run slowly and reset before the next rep, but make sure you keep moving and make it an active recovery.
Pace yourself! Running uphill for 3+ minutes is challenging no matter the pace. Remember that long hill reps need to be run at 10k effort or slower - running at a faster effort is a sure way to not be able to complete the workout.
Go by perceived effort. Don’t look at or worry about pace on your watch. Long hill reps are about getting hard work in, not hitting specific splits. This is great practice in letting go of pace, and offers a great reset when you are burnt out of track workouts.
Embrace the mental challenge. Long hill reps are a great way to overcome any fear of hills you may harbor. Hills are your friend - making you mentally tough and physically strong!
Pro tip: Long hill reps are also an excellent compliment to higher intensity, more speed focused work run earlier in your training week, as the effort of long hill reps taps into a different training stimulus.
Note: The different types of hill workouts have earned a variety of naming nomenclatures. For your reference, we will be categorizing hill workouts as short reps, standard reps, long reps, and endurance climbs, with hill sprints as an additional strengthening drill but not a workout in itself.