Climbing the Path to Hillwork
Hillwork. Does the sound of it make you cringe? It is something that many runners neglect, either unintentionally or deliberately. Excuses range from I don't have hills to why do I need to do it? In the same vein as strength training, hillwork is one of those foreign concepts to runners. People make faces. People run away. It is whatever you can muster up to get away from hillwork. But first, I must present a disclaimer. I never liked or did hillwork. I was one of those people who discounted hills. Most of my races were on flat courses so why in the world would I train for hills? Hills are hard. Hills are scary. As I am maturing in the endurance world, I've learned that this is flat out wrong. Hills have a place. It is important in cycling also but I will focus on running in this post. I am not talking about running up Alpe D'Huez or ascending Pike's Peak. Simple elevation changes will make a difference in your fitness. Many coaches and bloggers have