If you have ever followed Hal Higdon’s marathon training plans, you’ve probably come across the inevitable hill workouts. For most thisis just a regular part of any training…However, for us in Northwest Ohio…specifically Bowling Green (former swamp land) it is near impossible to find any place to do this workout. Normally I believe the plan has a 3 minute hill surge followed by a recovery period. There is absolutely nothing within a good radius of our lovely hometown that would take anybody 3 minutes to run up. Our sledding hill is approximately 30-40 feet tall (30-40 seconds if done very slowly) and the hill at the university golf course is only a few yards taller. What’s the answer, well, highway overpasses, and yes you read correctly. We have one in particular that we use for our “Hill Repeats” that is almost exactly 1/2 mile from a street sign at the bottom of one end to the stop sign on the other. I routinely get made fun of for actually touching the signs at each end, but hey, I want my workout. The hill itself takes around 1 to 1 1/2 minutes to climb and then we recover on the downhill. It has proven to be a fairly effective workout when done at the proper effort levels. If you’re in a flat location, you should certainly give this modified “hill” workout a go. Cheers!
See below the breathtaking vista atop our chosen “hill workout” location.
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