My run workout today was a 50 minute easy, that included fifteen short hill repeats.

Hill repeats are a kind of run interval training.  They are simple to execute, if you can find an appropriate hill to use.  All you do is, run fast and strong up the hill. At the end of the interval, you simply turn around and run or walk down the hill to recover.

The ideal hill has a steady incline of roughly 5%.  Hills that are much steeper don’t work, because they cause a significant change in your run form. Hills that are less steep, don’t provide enough of a challenge.

I am lucky because I know of several suitable hills to use.  The one in the photograph is my favorite.  It’s in the local park, and is a steady 5% slope upwards, for about a quarter of a mile.  I can use it for both short and long hill intervals.  If you don’t live in a hilly area, you have to improvise.  I know some of my friends use the ramps in multi-story parking lots as their ‘hills’.

Hill repeats are beneficial because you can get a good anaerobic workout, without having to sprint really fast, which can present an injury risk.  They are also good because they use different muscles.  Running up hills utilizes your hamstrings and glutes, which are muscles that usually need development in runners.

Finally, hill repeats make it easy to  factor in, the recovery part of the interval.  Having run reasonably fast up the hill, you just return to your starting spot by jogging or walking back down to hill.  This forces the recovery distance to be equal to the interval distance. Once at the bottom of the hill, you turn around and start again.

My intervals today were quite short (15 seconds), so I didn’t need much recovery.  I was able to run the downhill part quite quickly.  There have been times however, where the intervals are long and I have needed to walk all the way down the hill, just to get my breath back.

That’s the beauty of hill repeats, you can increase the intensity of the workout, without having to increase your running speed.  Just make the interval longer.

Give hill repeats a try. They are fun and they are good for you.