I live in West Tennessee where it is incredibly flat land and I have signed up to run the Knoxville marathon in March. Can someone give me some advice on how to train for a race in the mountains while living somewhere that doesn’t even have any very big hills.
Waltons ThreadLord
I've heard a couple of different strategies.
1) Hill work is sometimes referred to as speed work in disguise, so more speed work could help.
2) If you have parking garages nearby, try running up and down the ramps from bottom to top of the garage.
3) Look for places were roads cross highways via an overpass. It won't be as much of a hill as you see in the race, but it's better than flat.
Sorry I couldn't offer more.
5k 23:48.45 (3/22); 4M 31:26 (2/22); 5M 38:55 (11/23); 10k 49:24 (10/22); 10M 1:29:33 (2/24); Half 1:48:32 (10/22); Marathon 4:29:58 (11/23)Upcoming races: Clinton Country Run 15k, 4/27; Spring Distance Classic 5k, 4/28
Thanks for the advice, I don’t know that I would have ever thought about a parking garage, I actually have a pretty decent size garage about a mile from my home. I ran St. Jude this weekend and over the 26 miles had an elevation gain of about 500 ft, pretty sure I’ll see that much in the first 3 or 4 miles in Knoxville. Thanks again for the help.
Glad I could help. Good luck training and have fun at the race. Do you have a goal time?
I ran St. Jude this past weekend in 4:18 which was my best time by about 15 minutes, but that’s in my backyard about 10 miles from where I train anyway, but Knoxville being my first 1 in the mountains and not knowing exactly what to expect with how my body responds to that and the thinner air, I’m most likely going to take the first half really easy and go from there. My goal will always be to beat my best time, but this one I figure I need to play it smart and see what works so I can be ready for it next year.
If you're interested in a marathon forum, there's a group here at RA made up of people who run marathons but tend to be on the slower end of the curve (though we have at least one Boston qualifier). You can find us at:
https://www.runningahead.com/groups/TurtleRoom/forum
You're faster than most of us but may find us helpful, or just fun, anyway - or maybe you have hints to share with us. We organize our chats weekly, so feel free to drop in on the current week and introduce yourself. You'll be asked to officially join the group, but there's no membership requirement or approval process.
Thanks, I will definitely check it out