I enjoyed the UNICEF run yesterday though we had quite a panicky start. We left the house rather late, 5:15 a.m. thinking that we would arrive on the site just in time. We did not anticipate that we would miss a road turn thereby spending additional minutes trying to find our way to McKinley Hill. And when we finally arrived in the area, further confusion ensued as we looked for the parking space. And when we finally got into the parking building, we had to run to the start line as this was still a couple of meters from the parking area. It was our first time to run in a race where the start off point is not in the vicinity of high street of The Fort so there was much disorientation for us. As soon as we arrived in the start line, the signal for the 10-km run just went off. I had to push my husband to join the group as he was not sure if he still needs to look for the man with a marker to mark his number off. There was no time to warm up nor to stretch. Five minutes after, the 5-km event started. The challenge was of course the hilly terrain of McKinley Hills. Since I did not really prepare for this, I am feeling a bit sore today though I just covered my usual 5-km run yesterday.
I figured tha
t it is really essential to include uphill/downhill training in your weekly runs not just to prepare yourself for runs to McKinley hill or the flyover at Buendia, but because it is a very effective way of building your leg strength. Consequently leg strength can be transmitted to improvement in endurance and speed. From the Complete Running Manual, the recommended frequency is once or twice a week. However, there must be a day of flat running in between hill trainings in order to allow for recovery.
The way a hill repeat is described, you need to find a hill that is 400-600 meters long or a 100-200 meter steeper incline. You have to warm up for 15 minutes first before you tackle the hill. When tackling the hill, you run uphill in a fast, steady pace then slowly run or walk downhill. You have to maintain a form wherein your body is leaning into the incline and you can use your arms to pump yourself uphill. You do this 5 times then finish your hill training with a slow easy run. And the most important thing, do your stretches after your training because hillwork tends to shorten your muscles.
I figured tha
t it is really essential to include uphill/downhill training in your weekly runs not just to prepare yourself for runs to McKinley hill or the flyover at Buendia, but because it is a very effective way of building your leg strength. Consequently leg strength can be transmitted to improvement in endurance and speed. From the Complete Running Manual, the recommended frequency is once or twice a week. However, there must be a day of flat running in between hill trainings in order to allow for recovery.The way a hill repeat is described, you need to find a hill that is 400-600 meters long or a 100-200 meter steeper incline. You have to warm up for 15 minutes first before you tackle the hill. When tackling the hill, you run uphill in a fast, steady pace then slowly run or walk downhill. You have to maintain a form wherein your body is leaning into the incline and you can use your arms to pump yourself uphill. You do this 5 times then finish your hill training with a slow easy run. And the most important thing, do your stretches after your training because hillwork tends to shorten your muscles.
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