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A question. AKA-what occupied my mind for today's run.

SandiBeach

Entry posted by SandiBeach in Running ·

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I started a training plan yesterday.  Two days in and all is going well.  The first workout (4 x 5 minutes at threshold pace with 2 minutes rest) was difficult, but my paces were better than I expected! It was a good boost to get me excited for some hard work!  Anyway, that's for a different rambling bloop, here is my workout-related question for you wise people (hmmm - maybe I should have made a poll😞 

How would you handle the following situation?

A training workout calls for a 10 minute warm-up (approx. 1 mile).  There is a large hill about 0.4 mile into the warm-up.  Running up the hill is very difficult.  Do you:

1.  Run the full ten minutes, including the hard work (definite heart rate increase) of running up the hill at a slow speed;

2. Run to the hill, walk the hill, then run again at the top of the hill to complete the warm up;

3. Run a full ten minutes before getting to the hill and use the hill as a part of the first interval (hard effort is hard effort even if it is slower than the warmup pace);

4. Start the warmup after walking to and up the hill; 

5. Find a different route - could be possible, but a hill is required for getting more than 1 mile of distance (I would feel silly running back and forth for 0.5 miles on a busy road to get the full workout in);

6. Another option my oxygen-deprived brain didn't come up with while running today.

Then a follow-up question, if you choose #2 above, do you turn your watch off for the walk, or do you count that as part of the 10 minute warmup?

These questions occupied my mind for a significant chunk of today's run.  I came up with the different options I might try in the future after doing #2 and turning my watch off for the walk up the hill today.

 

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Dave

I'd just run it as part of the warm up, but I'm stubborn that way about running the routes I decide to run. Someone more scientific might know if there are physiological benefits to one or the other.

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SIbbetson

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here - it's what is best for you.  Personally I'd run it as part of the warm up, keeping the effort easy which may mean super slow on the hill - and no problem with walking it if that is what it takes to keep it easy.  Everything in my area is hilly so there are always some in warm ups and cool downs, and they get easier with practice.

Another way to look at it - if the hill gets your heart rate up a bit temporarily it may mimic doing strides as part of a warm up, which primes your body to run fast.

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amarie2009

I agree with Dave and Sara. Run the hill as a part of your warm up slowing down and/or walking as needed to keep the effort in the right range. 

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Run2BFit

I would let your heart rate be your guide as this is suppose to be a warmup to warmup your muscles and raise your heart rate.   If your able run the hill without your heart rate going above your lactate threshold then run it, otherwise I would run/walk it to keep your heart rate from going too high and straining your muscles before your workout.

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SandiBeach
16 hours ago, SIbbetson said:

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here - it's what is best for you.  Personally I'd run it as part of the warm up, keeping the effort easy which may mean super slow on the hill - and no problem with walking it if that is what it takes to keep it easy.  Everything in my area is hilly so there are always some in warm ups and cool downs, and they get easier with practice.

Another way to look at it - if the hill gets your heart rate up a bit temporarily it may mimic doing strides as part of a warm up, which primes your body to run fast.

That's a good way to look at it - both as practice to make it easier in the future and as a stride that gets the heart rate elevated a bit.  I'll probably run it next time, or at least run to the point of it feeling extremely hard (if that happens).  

Thank you for the thoughts! It's always helpful to hear other opinions.

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SandiBeach
10 minutes ago, Run2BFit said:

I would let your heart rate be your guide as this is suppose to be a warmup to warmup your muscles and raise your heart rate.   If your able run the hill without your heart rate going above your lactate threshold then run it, otherwise I would run/walk it to keep your heart rate from going too high and straining your muscles before your workout.

That's what I was thinking.  This time I started walking from the beginning, but next time, I think I will let my heartrate be the guide, trying to run as much as possible without going too hard and, to address Sara's point, it will get easier with practice.

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SandiBeach
2 hours ago, Run2BFit said:

Here is an article at Runners World about running vs. walking hills: https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a35192011/best-strategy-for-running-hills-study/

 

That is a perfectly on-point article.  Thank you for sharing!  It is quite interesting that there is a running benefit provided by walking hills sometimes because some muscles have to put forth more strength while walking up a hill versus running (they note the calf muscle specifically).  I have some workouts in my plan that require running hills, so I think I might run the hills on those days and walk at least some of the hill for keeping heartrate lower during runs where they come in the "warmup" portion.  Might count as sort of strength training for some muscles especially with having to push the double stroller up them.

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