Ryan

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot recently. Then I read this post by Seth Godin and I felt I had to discuss it.

I’ll try to learn from Seth and keep this short.

A lot of people think they can only learn from those who are more experienced, have a more comprehensive formal education, or some combination of the two.

For my whole life, I have always wanted to learn from everyone around me. I still take that approach. If you can’t learn something from everyone around you, then you’re not trying hard enough.

Whether it’s a question or a perspective you may not have considered from a novice or sage advice from a veteran, if we’re open to listening, we can learn something from everyone. Regardless of their experience, I’ve learned something from every runner I’ve coached.

I hope you do the same. There’s a lot to learn.

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

Last week, I had a workout planned for Tuesday. Then we had an ice storm. Conditions were so slippery I found myself a couple of times thinking I might have been wise to run on a treadmill. Anyone who knows me knows that means they were very bad.

Why does this matter? Because I made a decision I would hope any one of us would have made without hesitation in conditions like I was facing. I chose to skip the workout and just get in an easy run.

As it turns out, the roads were good enough for me to get in a workout on Wednesday but even then I had to adjust slightly from the original plan. I was still able to do the planned tempo run but there were points where I had to back off the pace to navigate icy stretches.

Especially now, with conditions that can be questionable and when you’re probably still months away from your goal race, make sure you’re being flexible when necessary. Is pushing back today’s planned workout a day or two or even skipping it really as bad as going out in bad conditions and risking injury?

Photo credit: Running by Emeli Persson, on Flickr

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

Crank it up!

It’s the time of the year when our best intentions to run outside can sometimes be scuttled. Maybe the roads are dangerous due to snow or ice and drivers who aren’t being as careful as they should be. Maybe we just need a break from running in the snow or extreme cold. It’s definitely possible for most runners to run safely through most winter conditions but not all. Regardless, sometimes we just need a break from the grind.

So what do you do when you decide it’s best for your safety or sanity to hit a treadmill? I know I can quickly lose my sanity doing just an easy run on a treadmill. That’s where, if you can fit a moderately hard run in, you can take advantage of the tool with one of my favorite treadmill workouts.

The workout

Treadmill hill progressions are pretty simple conceptually. On a treadmill, occasionally increase the incline in order to increase the intensity of the run. It’s like a traditional progression run but taking advantage of the fact you’re on a treadmill to increase grade instead of speed.

The benefits

“Hills are speedwork in disguise.” – Frank Shorter

When we’re outside of our racing season, we want to do some speed training but we don’t want to go too intense. This is a workout that will build your strength and speed without beating you up too badly, as long as you don’t try to hang on until you’re falling off the back of the treadmill.

As with traditional progression runs, this is a good stamina workout. It’s also the kind of strength workout that those of us who don’t live on the side of a mountain simply can’t do without a treadmill.

How to run it

Start your run at a comfortable warmup pace and at a 0% incline. You’re going to stay at this pace for the duration of the run but don’t worry, things will get much harder so you don’t need to set a fast pace.

Typically, I’m on a treadmill that can increase incline at 0.5% grade intervals. So I’ll increase the grade by 0.5% every 1/2 mile. So, at 1 mile, I’m setting the grade to 1%. At 1.5 miles, I’m setting it to 1.5%.

Obviously, if you’re on a treadmill that only increases grade by whole percentages, you can accomplish essentially the same thing by increasing by 1% every mile. Or you can get creative with how often you increase the grade and by how much. However, make sure you’re not getting too aggressive. This is a progression run, which means you shouldn’t be maxing yourself out 1-2 miles into the workout. It should be a gradual build up.

Increase until the workout is pleasantly hard. Even when I’m looking for a very hard workout, I always try to end when I feel like I could still increase at least one more time and last a half mile. Remember, it’s a workout, not a race.

Finally, make sure you get some cool down time. At least 1/2 to 1 mile at the end of the run, again at the same pace but at a more gentle grade of 0-1%.

Photo credit: Treadmill2 by benignfun, on Flickr