UKC

While running up Costorphine hill today it finally dawned on me that it wasn't my legs that were stopping me from running up it any faster but my heart and lungs.

A quick search round the internet suggests that incorporating sprinting sessions into your training routine brings about faster improvements in cardio vascular fitness than simply putting in more miles.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sampleworkouts/a/30sec_sprints.htm

Has anyone tried this and if so, did it work?

In reply to Removed User: It may differ for you because of the limiting factor you identified, but when I introduced once weekly hill sprint or track sessions into my training on the back of otherwise very easy paced but reasonably high mileage, I found they rarely seemed to tax my cv system ( it differed for 800m+ efforts).

I'd find my legs being unable to accelerate and a lactic build up toward the end, but within a few seconds of pausing I'd have returned to relaxed breathing and my hr not overly high. So for me such sessions were useful, but for developing power and pace whilst having little impact on endurance. I think it is why tempo efforts hurt me more than interval type work, because only then do I really start to tax my cv system.

In reply to Liam M:

Cheers but I think I'm looking for something different to you. I'm trying to improve at running up hills so I can run round lots of munros faster, or more accuately spend more time running and less time walking quickly, I'm finding that when I run up a long hill it's my heart and lungs that start to feel the additional workload before my legs do.

In reply to Removed User:
youtube.com/watch?v=vid3HNOlBOs&

In reply to Removed User:

Try interval training.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training

In reply to Removed User:

"I'm trying to improve at running up hills"

In order to improve at running up hills it may be the case that you simply need to practice running up hills, more. You become what you do etc.

Nothing against hill sprints, great exercise as well. Probably be a good additon as well.


Good luck.

In reply to Removed User:

Compared with last year, I've increased my weekly mileage and increased speed sessions. It's only made a marginal difference to my hill-running. The increased mileage has given me more confidence to go out and do bigger runs, but my legs still suffer.

I suspect this doesn't really help you much.