I've been thinking about this a lot since one of the dailies threads last week, I really want to include some sort of strengthening for my legs but it just seems like any of it will irritate my hamstrings which aren't near as strong as my quads.

There is a hill at the riverfront here in Newburgh, it's about or near .25 miles long and a very nice uphill climb but only about 40 feet of elevation gain give or take. My thoughts have been running at a steady, not too hard of pace, up that hill as many times as I can while doing cool down walks back down it.

Opinions please.

Lol I want to know who would vote for neither :P

I have done a lot of non-running strength work (speaking of which I need to get my butt back to the gym today or tomorrow - between taper, race, and recovery I haven't been in two weeks! ) and I definitely think it's a nice complement to running. Gives my legs a break from the pounding of running, strengthens stuff that doesn't necessarily get worked consistently when I run.

I'm a fairly strong hill runner, I always pass people on uphills during races, and I credit strength training for making me good at running hills without a lot of actual hill work. I'm trying to run more hills now just because it's more directly applicable to being a strong runner.

I would say that if you truly do have a large imbalance between hams and quads - and most women are quad-dominant to begin with - then the solution is to do MORE that focuses on hamstrings, not less. Just do it smartly. More deadlifts, fewer squats. You can also do hamstring curls by putting your heels on a stability ball, lifting into a shoulder bridge, then rolling out and back - good for both hamstrings and glutes. JMO.

I shouldn't post polls early in the morning....  which is why I put "other" lol.

I am actually pretty strong when it comes to hills during races,  mainly because my training routes involve hills.

I want to get back to doing deadlifts and bridges but I am paranoid and my hamstrings still seem somewhat agitated.  Honestly I really want to do hill repeats out of:

1. Curiosity
2. And to strengthen my breathing/heartrate as I still find myself out of breath nearing the top of a big hill.

With the hill work, I tried to concentrate on driving my knees up. This seemed to make it more glute focused. If I tried to take longer strides, then I feel it more in the hamstrings (and not in a good way).  I was roughly following a Hudson plan for my half, and he has a fair amount of hill work and it of the belief that short hill sprints are all you need for strength. I didn't buy into that part.

Despite the strength training and hill work this winter/spring, I still suck at running hills.

This is one of the DVDs I have that has some band & ball work for lower body. There is a 5 minute preview clip, so you can see some of the exercises.

That you experience pain or "irritation" in your hamstrings indicates you are either working them too much, or the wrong way.

What you should do is get an assessment from a physical therapist or a certified personal trainer to identify exactly what your leg strengths, weaknesses and imbalances are.

Doing this will give you a clear indication of what is you need to be doing to make you a stronger runner, instead of throwing stuff at the wall.

You could also probably use a lesson in proper stretching techniques. Learning how and when to stretch (pre and post run) and what type of stretches to do when you do them (dynamic or static). As well as the importance of working antagonistic muscle groups equally, as to avoid imbalances in the first place.

Lastly if it is runners legs you seek then run. Leg strengthening exercises should be used as an adjunct to your running, not dominate it.

I voted both, but leg strengthening does not really prepare you for running hills as I discovered moving from central IL to CT many years ago.

Now LRB, I am sure you know me well enough to know I am too bull headed (and freaking busy ) to go see a specialist lol........ but I will put it in my list of things to do along with getting my wisdom teeth pulled....

I just figured it would be a nice add on in my training plan, some also compare it to having the same benefits as speed work, which is appealing as I can't really do speed work, not even fartleks during my regular runs due to Rocky not handling the heat and humidity too well. Doing hill repeats after my gym workout would mean doing them by myself without Rocky.

Of course this wouldn't be added to my training until my hamstrings are back to normal.