crl8686 wrote:
You can also accommodate hills as part of a routine workout, if you run them at constant effort - slow down for the ascent and then speed up for the descent.
Funny thing about being "old", I'm 57, and doing hill work in training versus hills in races...
Before I get to the above point I need to say this, I do 90+ percent of my training on one of two different trails, the first is a "Rail Trail" where it generally climbs roughly 100' per mile as I head east, and then works its way back downhill when I turn around, the second trail is a 9 mile loop which is pretty much a non-stop hill drill.
When I was young(er) I would do hills pretty much as you wrote, but now that I'm "old", I find that when I run the rail trail my pace is very similar regardless of whether I'm going up or down, however, on my hilly trail, I usually attack on the way up and throttle it way-WAY back on the way down the other side. Why? The consequences of a misstep (on a rock or root or rut, or any other "R" word) on the way up are pretty minimal, even at speed, however, on the other side it is utter ankle suicide to go bun-huggin' it down the hills. Even on the rare occasion when I train on roads or other smooth surfaces, I take it easy on the way down simply because it freakin' hurts my knees and hips to run down at any speed above a jog but less than flat out. That brings me to the second part of my initial comment, when I'm racing, typically on pavement, I'm going all out and it doesn't hurt to "go all out" on the way down.