Approach to hills

[rehammes]

I'm finding that the best hills to run up in my area are the hardest to run down.  All the literature I can find suggests a slight forward lean, keeping your body perpendicular to the road surface.  I find it far to easy to get carried away, run too fast and pond the feet with every stride.  The hill I have in mind is about 2 miles long with an elevation gain of about 900 feet.  To be on the brakes the entire way down throws off all the momentum of the workout.  I don't want to avoid the hill because it is a great workout on the way up.  (a loop is out of the question as the road ends at a regional park)  Any pointers would be appreciated.

[GTF]

Just stay focused and it will not be as easy to get carried away.  Quicker turnover and shorter strides is the key.  Or perhaps this hill is simply better for a different type of workout than what you have in mind.

[rehammes]

12 miles on the schedule today.  It is exactly 6 from my doorstep to the summit of the aforementioned hill, making an out-and-back perfect with a challenging hill in the middle.  Due to my troubles managing the 2 mile ascent-2 mile descent, I drove to the summits to begin the workout.  On the descent, I would run .5 miles, turn around and ascend .25 miles and repeat this to the base.  Upor turning around, I would ascend .5 miles, turn around and descend .25 miles.  I did this for the entirety of my 12 miles and I think I might have had one of the best hill workouts of my life.  Instead of running the 12 from home and getting 4 miles of hill work, I got 12 miles of hill work without the abuse of the continuous downhill.  I really focused on the short, quick strides and only had a few stretches where I felt like I was braking.  I'm not going to say problem solved, but this appeared to be a step in the right direction.

Rob

[Ed]

That sounds like it was an awesome workout.  The hills by me are steep but short.  When I feel like I have really re-built my base and gathered some strength then I'll start doing plenty of hill-repeats.

Wish I had a hill like yours - wow what a challenge.