Up hill and down hill pace? (Read 133 times)

I'm an older runner and will turn 63 this June. I do not run very fast and just try to keep a comfortable pace. I live in upstate western NY and when I run it is up and down small hills for the most part. My pace on a hill depends on it's steepness and distance. Uphill I will try to maintain or increase my pace to get a good cardio workout. If the hill is steep I may need to stop and catch my breath, but I do try to reach the top of the hill before I do so. On really steep, long uphill runs I may have to shorten my stride and may take breaks partway up the hill. I get more concerned about the downhill run. Of course a gentle downslope is easy running and I often will pick up some speed and lengthen my stride. On steeper downslopes I try to "go with the flow" and kind of swiftly glide, trying not to strike too hard and risk injury. On really very steep downslopes you can get carried away by gravity and I worry about going so fast that my legs might trip up or that my feet might hit so hard I could cause myself injury, so I will be sort of braking myself to slow down. I remember my first Marathon back in '97. I lived on Long Island at that time and all my training was on flat ground. The course ran over a bridge at close to the halfway mark and my feet took a pounding coming down the bridge. My left foot started to hurt badly and I considered dropping out of the race and then I thought of how much training I had done and decided to persevere. I slowed my pace and tried to run on grassy areas instead of concrete roadway whenever I could. I managed to finish and when I took off my left shoe the bottom arch was red and sore, I guess I had torn a tendon and it was a month or so before the pain went away. Despite this history on injury with running downhill I now like the hills, particularly if they occur early in my run. My favorite courses are ones that have a long, gentle upslope, perhaps for several miles, to be followed by a corresponding downslope on my way back.