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From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
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''I have enjoyed listening to Jonathan's thoughts and advice on many running topics, but one that I always struggled with was "running uphill is easy, it's the downhill that's hard." Now, on a theoretical level this made sense, because maintaining even effort on the uphill simply means shortening your stride, while running downhill can be a balance between going faster and maintaining control.''
''My personal experiences with hill running has not been that they are easy. I'll be cruising along and see a hill approaching; my heart rate [[Heart Rate]] will surge in anticipation and I will grit my teeth in preparation for the charge up the hill. It doesn't help that there's also a little voice saying "you're going to have to run it twice"''
''So here is my breakthrough for the day: I _allowed_ myself to run easier on the uphills. Rather than tighten up in anticipation, I focused on staying relaxed, telling myself that it was OK to slow down, just keep my feet light and my turnover quick. Now, rather than exerting extra effort, I was breathing [[Breathing]] easier and before I knew it I was over the top. I've always done pretty well going downhill, but I focused on an even effort and lengthened my stride only as much as necessary. An important note: it takes concentration on the downhills - you end up going pretty quickly, and you really don't want to get distracted.''
''Maybe this will help someone else; I was just so pleased with my discovery I wanted to share. Today's hilly run turned out well: 2 mi hills, 6 mi pretty flat, 2 mi hills - overall average 7:14.''
