Hills...

I love hills.  Somewhat on the run.  Absolutely with passion on the bike.  They make things very interesting.

Maybe it's that I know what I climb I'll also get to go down. That's fine on the bike, but I need to work on my downhill running.

I've slowly become a midfoot runner, and I've worked on shorting my stride and picking up my cadance. Whenever I feel that I'm slowing down I'll do this, and it always picks the pace right up. However, on dowhills I still feel like I'm striking first with my heel, and this feels like throwing on the brakes. Maybe I just need to lean forward even more and just 'let my legs go.'

I have grown to love hills on the bike...not so much on the run.

I still hate the wind...

I dreaded them too! Then I moved to the Adirondacks of Long Island lol! Kidding, obviously--our hills don't compare to real mountains...but I was "just a runner" when I moved here and discovered that if I wanted to run in my own neighborhood, I had to deal with 15% inclines!!! Don't get me wrong--I love trail running. And I LOVE hiking...the steeper the trail, the better! But I didn't expect to be running such (relatively) steep hills! For 1.2 miles outside of my driveway, it's a loooong and steady climb that only gets steeper.

Now it's a challenge. I love sprinting the last 0.1 miles of a hill at top speed. I love watching my time drop after each run, even if it's only a few seconds. And I REALLY love doing my normal 7-8 mile run on flat ground...I feel like a real runner :-)

Even still, I hated the hills even more when I started riding. I've been mountain biking for 15 years, but I never thought about speed. I only measured my success by my ability to stay on the bike over obstacles that once made me stop. Since I wasn't into racing, it was totally different...I was happy just to stay on the bike while riding over a log going up a steep incline.

On a road bike training for a triathlon, the hills were my worst enemy. My computer laughed at me as I did 5.6 mph uphill. Despite encouragement to shift into a harder gear and stand up, I could barely stay on the bike for a seated climb. Only five weeks later, my minimum on the same hill is 9.0 mph, and I stand for the last little bit, much like sprinting during a run. Great feeling!!!

Agreed with pp...I still HATE the wind! Headwinds are now my worst enemy :-)

Edited by ehughes 2010-07-29 10:52 PM

I couldn't agree more - headwinds suck, and if you combine that with a nice long hill it gets even suckier. I don't mind a nice headwind so much on the run, but when biking I feel like I'm riding with my brakes on.

I started liking hills on the bike because I realized that it hurt those 20+ mph avg bikers and gave me a better chance to catch them.  What goes up, also must come down.  Gravity and I teamed up to make me a pretty good descender.

As for the run, I stopped being so bothered by hills once I learned to shorten my stride and turnover more quickly.

I love hills too!! DOWN HILLS!!

If you could see my legs you would understand why I love hills!  Born to do hills.  One thing I have come to realize, the hills are never as bad as they appear to be on the approach.  When you get to the top, well like one post said "what goes up most come down."  Love them!

I used to absolutely dread/panick at hills, especially on a bike ride. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that my attitude has gradually shifted and I'm not afraid of hills anymore. I'm not especially fast getting up them, but as long as I keep peddaling (or running) I will eventually get to the top. For me, that's always a reason to celebrate!

I used to hate 'em too but, living where I live now there is no training that doesn't include hills...big, small, and lots of them. I look at them as a good kind of challenge now instead of with the dread I felt staring at them when we first moved here (from a place where the only hills I did were on a treadmill because the land was so flat).

Go get 'em!