Do hill miles help?

Training Advice/Discussion General

1 month ago 05/31/2024 7:57pm EDT

I’m in base phase and I know that hills help a lot especially with CC but where I live is very flat, closest hill (artificial) is 20 mins away. It’s super small, 8 times up and down is 1 mile. When school ends, would there be much benefit to running some miles continuously up and down that hill a few times every week + a few supplementary miles for my easy aerobic runs instead of just normal without a hill?

ex: 6 miles but 3 of them were up and down the hill vs 7 miles all on normal trail

It’s the only way I can get any hills but it would be super tiring (maybe that could be good later though) 2, could make me tired of running because it gets un-fun/boring (I am prone to burning out) or 3, not worth it at all. I know hills are important but is there benefit to this since it’s so repetitive and a lot of it is downhill or another reason? Lmk if you need more clarification

1 month ago 05/31/2024 9:51pm EDT

re: 8=1

I also live in a flat place (like I can run 10 miles and gain 10 feet in elevation), but there are probably better options. Look for paths along rivers/streams, which usually get you some rolling hills. If you use something like onthegomap.com, you can try to maximize the elevation gain for a couple of runs each week.

1 month ago 05/31/2024 10:34pm EDT

re: 8=1

There would be some benefit to occasionally doing strides up this hill, but up and down 8 times as a repeat does not sound like a good way to train. If you live in flat land, you train on flat land. Maybe you can find a bridge with a pedestrian path that presents a longer hill to run hill reps on, but I doubt you find a hill long enough to do mile reps.

1 month ago 06/01/2024 12:44am EDT

re: 8=1

8=1 wrote:
I’m in base phase and I know that hills help a lot especially with CC but where I live is very flat, closest hill (artificial) is 20 mins away. It’s super small, 8 times up and down is 1 mile. When school ends, would there be much benefit to running some miles continuously up and down that hill a few times every week + a few supplementary miles for my easy aerobic runs instead of just normal without a hill?
ex: 6 miles but 3 of them were up and down the hill vs 7 miles all on normal trail
It’s the only way I can get any hills but it would be super tiring (maybe that could be good later though) 2, could make me tired of running because it gets un-fun/boring (I am prone to burning out) or 3, not worth it at all. I know hills are important but is there benefit to this since it’s so repetitive and a lot of it is downhill or another reason? Lmk if you need more clarification

It’s an idiotic idea.

1 month ago 06/01/2024 10:10am EDT

re: 8=1

Alright thanks for the answers I’ll look for some other ways and just stick to steides and take the advice. But can anyone tell me why? What is so bad about running up and down a hill a lot

1 month ago 06/01/2024 11:23am EDT

re: 8=1

I am an average runner who ran 17 high and 36 high in the past month. I used to make an effort to jog around hilly areas a lot but recently I can't be bothered after work so have kept running along the flat dual carridgeway near me. It's made no difference to my times. I used to think the hills helped a lot but there is literally no difference in my times. If you were sprinting up the hills then that's probably different.

1 month ago 06/01/2024 8:00pm EDT

re: 8=1

8=1 wrote:
I’m in base phase and I know that hills help a lot especially with CC but where I live is very flat, closest hill (artificial) is 20 mins away. It’s super small, 8 times up and down is 1 mile. When school ends, would there be much benefit to running some miles continuously up and down that hill a few times every week + a few supplementary miles for my easy aerobic runs instead of just normal without a hill?
ex: 6 miles but 3 of them were up and down the hill vs 7 miles all on normal trail
It’s the only way I can get any hills but it would be super tiring (maybe that could be good later though) 2, could make me tired of running because it gets un-fun/boring (I am prone to burning out) or 3, not worth it at all. I know hills are important but is there benefit to this since it’s so repetitive and a lot of it is downhill or another reason? Lmk if you need more clarification

I think that this is a great idea. Once a week or so, work that hill for 20 minutes. You can vary how you do it -- bust it up, jog down, even effort up and down, whatever seems doable on the day. Just keep at it for 20 minutes.

1 month ago 06/02/2024 7:13am EDT

re: 8=1

There is a way to stack training to get best results with least injuries. (That s the why)

So if you are in base training, base train. Low HR n raise mileage slowly(ish).
Then You can start sprinkling strides in. Then sprinkle in hill repeats n fartleks n that type of stuff to add power to your legs. Hills gives you explosive power. (Don t forget downhill too. It strengthens your skeletal structure).

I do 10day cycles n do increasingly harder cycles n 4th is rest.(NOT OFF, rest. easier week) The only off time is after a race while looking for next race.

What do i know tho??
Good luck Kid.

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