Hill and Speed Workouts

With the change in time, we now have an opportunity to run in the afternoons and hopefully avoid some of the mid day heat that will be coming. In the past, we had done some group hill workouts from Tracy's house in Red Oak (10 minute drive from the Harris Teeter). We did it a few times in Candlewood as well. We normally had 4-10 runners that would show up. I think these workouts are very beneficial to improving your speed and strengthening your legs, and would like to get these started again.

Who can come? Everyone! A "speed" workout does not mean you have to be fast, and it is not designed for just one group of runners. In fact, hills and speed are perfect for big groups of all skill levels. Why? Because you do all of your running in the same place. This means we are always working together as a team. We are not all running the same interval distance or the same pace, but we are all on the same stretch of road, or on the same loop on a track/trail.

How does it work? After a 5-10 minute warm up, we all congregate at the bottom of a long hill. We decide how long and how many intervals we will be doing before the workout. We typically start with four or five intervals, and normally something around 80 seconds. At the same time we all run up the hill at an aggressive, but not "all out" pace. When you hit 80 seconds, you stop, turn around and slowly jog back down the hill. Each runner will run their own unique distance during those 80 seconds. The jog down should take you a few minutes. Once back at the bottom of the hill we catch our breath and go back up. The goal is to hit the same point on the hill every time.

• If your last interval is too easy. . . you did not run hard enough.
• If you can't hit same same point on the last interval as you did on the first. . . you went too hard.

How is a speed workout different? For our group, it is not very different. Essentially we will do a similar workout but on a track or looped trail. You can use a watch as your guide again, or pick a set distance. You can also run "ladders". For example, your first interval is 60 seconds, your next is 90, than 120, than 90, and than 60 again. In between each interval you will always catch your breath and get your heart rate back down again.

When will we do these? Afternoons are more challenging than a Saturday morning. My recommendation is to try Monday or Tuesdays at 6:30 pm. We can alternate week-to-week from hills to speed. For speed, there is a cinder jogging trail at Red Oak (easy on the legs) and also the paved jogging trail at the Sports Complex by the YMCA.

I am open to suggestions, so please post your feedback below. We don't have to all meet the same day if two groups want to form.I know this might not sound like fun, but workouts like this are really nice to do with a group. Even if you think you are the slowest runner to ever step foot in Rocky Mount, you will have a good time working together as a team, and it will improve your race times.