[Mark]

Hi, I am currently training for a 100k 5000d+ Trail race and am finding myself a little lost in the specifics of Hill Repeats – Assuming that base training has gone well and am currently into a solid build cycle (approx 13-15 Hrs per week).

I had been including 5×10 second Hill sprints once per week as well as ‘gym based’ ME workouts and handling the training load relatively well. In the last couple of weeks I have shifted more towards longer working intervals, eg 5×3 Minute Z4/5 Hill repeats and have also toyed with 3×10 Minute Z3 Hill Repeats. I have dropped the ME workouts in favour of more race specific efforts.

Two part Question –

1. Am I right to drop the ME workouts or should I transfer them out outdoor, trail based sessions? If so can you suggest a session? (Race is 10 weeks out)

2. Is there a specific Hill Repeat time structure you would recommend? Are intervals of 5x3Min and 3x10Min giving me the same training effect as each other or is one more suitable than the other?

Environmental considerations. Luckily, I have very good access to hills and terrain almost identical to that of the race so most of my training now is taking place on very similar terrain to race day but not the exact course.

Many thanks.

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on March 25, 2022 at 5:07 pm #64734

Mark:
Good questions:

1) re: ME work. I normally try to get at lest 8 weeks and as much as 16 weeks of ME progression before shifting to uphill intervals. But you will want to start these Z3-4 intervals no later than you have 5-6 weeks before the event. I typically use 10-15min repeats for this.

2) re: Hill Sprints. Most endurance athletes should have hill sprints in their program all year. This is not endurance training. It is power training. It is meant to increase your stride length not make you faster sprinter (although that does happen as a side effect). Those 3 and 10 min reps are endurance training and good to have but they do not do what hill sprints do. If you’ve been doing hill sprints for a while I suggest doing more than 5 reps. Make a mark at the high point on number 3 and when you can no longer reach that line the workout is over.

I hope this helps.
Scott

[Mark]

Mark on March 27, 2022 at 12:13 pm #64777

Thank you Scott – All clear.