Running where Montana’s prairies meet the mountains allows me to regularly witness one of nature’s seemingly magical moments as the pronghorn antelope bounds effortlessly up the steep hillsides. Their slender yet powerful legs snap
with ease and grace, propelling them up steep inclines.
To run fast like an antelope, we must train like an antelope by running short, long, and medium hills at varying intensities all season long. Below is my run-like-an-antelope hill training tips:
1. Run a hard hill session every 3rd to 5th hard work-out all season long.
2. Run a variety of hill workouts, from 4 to 20%+ grade, including, but not limited to, 10 x 1 min hills @ hard effort w/2-3 min jog rests, 8 x 3 min hills @ 5k effort w/easy jog down rests, 10 x 15 sec sprints w/3 min jog rests, 4 x 15 min hills @ Half Marathon effort w/3 min jog rests between reps, 60 min hill @ Half Marathon effort.
3. Do hill drills like hill bounding 2 x week.
4. Include a 4-6 week hill cycle where the focus is solely hill workouts.
5. Follow the wisdom of your body and stop before you get too fatigued.
6. Run your hard hill workouts on soft surfaces and jog very easy down. Running down on soft surface is important to prevent injury.
7. Follow a hill cycle with race specific training combined with speed and you will see your fitness soar to another level.
The next time you see a hill while running, surge up it, relish the feeling of lactic acid swimming inside your body. Show your exhilaration as you snort like the antelope, pronouncing to the world “I love hills!” Soon, the antelope inside you will start to emerge during races as you set new bests while surging past your usual competitors.
DREAM * BELIEVE * TRAIN * CELEBRATE
Nicole Hunt
Speed Endurance Coaching
Please contact me anytime with questions
