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HEALTH&FITNESS
COMMENTARY:
RUNNING
July14
Running Str onger
In this regular running column,
we talk about training, shoes,
gadgets, nutrition, racing, hashing
and more. This month, VERNE
MAREE heads for the hills.
H
ills are many runners’ least
favourite terrain. That’s
mainly because they slow
you down, says Dagny Scott
in her
Runner’s World Complete Book
of Women’s Running
, but also because
they hurt.
On the other hand, if you’ve been
doing all your running on fairly hilly
terrain like the Botanic Gardens, the
pancake-flat East Coast Park can cause
discomfort. That’s because you’re
having to use the same muscles in the
same way continuously, without the relief
and variety – both physical and mental –
that come from running alternately uphill
and downhill.
Why bother with hills?
Long, slow runs may account for most of
a distance runner’s training, and that’s
how it should be. To improve as a runner
and achieve your best running fitness,
however, you need to be able to perform
at different speeds and on varied terrain.
If you’re planning on doing a hilly
race, it’s pretty obvious that you have
to practise hill-running. To overcome
a monster, you have to tackle it head-
on. That hilly race is unlikely to be in
Singapore, though, where most events
are run over very flat, fast courses. (The
hilliest race I’ve encountered here was
the Standard Chartered half-marathon,
when they moved the course to Sentosa
a couple of years ago.)
But even for flat races, hill-running is
the fastest way to build real strength.
Even a moderate amount of hill-training
will make your quadriceps and glutes
stronger and tougher, as
Running for
Dummies
co-authors, Florence “Flo-Jo”
Griffith Joyner and John Hanc, point out.
Your heart has to work that much harder
when you run uphill, which increases
your cardiovascular endurance and
stamina, too.
If you’re strong on hills, you won’t have
to fear any course or terrain. Knowing
that is a comfort itself, and will make
your runs even more enjoyable.
So, there’s plenty of reason to head for
them thar hills, say once a week.
The hard way – hill repeats
This is fairly straightforward.
1. Warm up with a run of two to five
kilometres.
2. Find a hill, one you can climb in
between 30 seconds and a minute.
3. Run hard up the hill.
4. Jog or walk down the hill.
5. Repeat.
Afterwards, you should feel tired
but invigorated; if you’re absolutely
knackered, clearly you’ve done too
much. As you get stronger, you can
increase the number of repetitions,
or challenge yourself on hills that are
longer or steeper. The truly anal runner
(and I’ve been one of those in the past)
will keep a record of his or her times
over each series of repeats, and smugly
watch them improve.
Feeling miserable just reading this?
Happily, there is an easier way to achieve
the same result.
The easier way
Find a hilly area or course, and then,
after running a few kilometres to warm
up, start to pick up the pace on the
inclines, recovering on the declines.
Though Singapore is short on suitably
hilly courses*, the MacRitchie trail is
perfect for this exercise. On short hills,
push yourself a bit harder; on longer hills,
don’t go quite so fast: the idea is to make
it to the top without bursting a valve.
This way is far less draconian than
regimented hill repeats, and you might
even have some fun along the way.
* Why is it so hard
to find hills in
Singapore?
Blame Sir Stamford Raffles
and his ilk, who summarily
flattened the erstwhile hills of
Singapore so as to reclaim
marshy swampland. Try the
parks: Botanic Gardens, Fort
Canning, MacRitchie and Bukit
Timah (which is closing for
restoration in September).
Even the reclaimed East Coast,
mostly flat, harbours some
useful inclines: in Siglap and
Opera Estate, for example.