We talked in the hill repeats video of gradually increasing downhill speed during the peak training phase , in this video we are covering two main topics
– how we can progress the downhill speed even further.
– how do we develop ones downhill skills
Downhill speed
At this point ( ie in peak training phase ) the athlete may be performing hard up and fast back down either on a longer hill or multiple reps non stop on a shorter hill . How can we progress that and whats the benefits of doing so ?
Why push the downhills even faster ?
Running downhill increases the eccentric load on the leg muscles especially the quads. Remember eccentric contractions are when a muscle is working but lengthening at the same time whereas concentric is working and shortening at the same time.
So for example as I lift something up with my arm my bicep is shortening and working at the same time but as I lower a weight down it is lengthening and working.
When we run every landing involves an eccentric load on our leg muscles. Our knee bends to help absorb impact forces and this stretches the quads and loads them at the same time. Running downhill increases impact forces hence greater eccentric loads.
Eccentric contractions cause a lot more damage than concentric ones and we all know that feeling in our quads late in an ultra and how much that affects our ability to run.
The more we can develop our muscles ability to tolerate those eccentric contractions the better we can run the latter stages of an ultra. The faster we run downhill the more eccentric loading on our muscles. Keep in mind this is not just for mountain ultras, flat running also has an eccentric load with every step . This is why a flat 100km can smash your legs as much as a hilly one – the downhills in the hilly run have greater loading but are offset by the reduced loading when hiking up the hills . Faster downhill running in training is of benefit even when racing flat ultras.
The faster we can push the downhills the greater the eccentric loading and hence adaptions but also the higher risk of injury. Fortunately we dont need to do that many super fast downhills to see a significant training benefit. There is an adaptation known as the repeated bout affect which in essence means even after one hard downhill session you will notice a significant improvement in terms of muscle soreness when you go to repeat that session
This conditioning effect lasts up to around 9 weeks and although it does start to diminish before then, there is good evidence that up to around 6 weeks most of the benefit of that first session is maintained. The practical application of this is if you did a hard downhill session 6 weeks out from the target race then again 3 weeks out you will maintain all that conditioning benefit on race day.
Hence for most people 2 maybe 3 targeted downhill sessions are enough to maximise training adaptions. A word of warning though , these sessions are very demanding on the legs and the athlete should have worked their way through the hill repeats progressions and be comfortable doing fast up and down repeats before attempting this type of session.
The principe is simple , instead of starting at the bottom of the hill and running hard up and then down again , you start at the top of the hill and run fast down , the uphill is the recovery and can be done as a slow run or even a hike.
Due to the high load on the legs in this kind of session 15-20 minutes is sufficient load for most people – eg 5-7 x 3 minutes fast down , easy back up.
Now that the downhills are run on fresh legs rather than after having run hard uphill ) the speed on the downhills can be significantly higher , higher speeds means higher loads and with that greater risk of injury. You need to make sure your athlete is injury resistant and not nursing any niggles before even contemplating a session like this.
In terms of intensity the efforts should be on the edge of whats feels controlled , any faster and the likelihood of stumbling and falling is high. By the end of the session , especially the first time , ones quads should feel like a quivering mess ! These are hard sessions.
However due to the repeated bout affect , post-run soreness after the second session will be significantly less . The first session is likely to elicit notable DOMS and hence should be scheduled carefully in the training week to ensure there are a few easy recovery days following the session .
If one has a choice of gradients then there are two factors to consider
– too shallow a gradient and the athlete may be limited by cardiovascular fitness rather than eccentric muscular strength
– too steep a gradient and the athletes downhill skills may be a limiting factor on running speed hence the eccentric loading will be less compared to running faster on a lower gradient.
Somewhere between the two is optimal and is usually in the 8-12% gradient range for most athletes.
If the athlete has a choice of hill lengths then I would start shorter and go longer in the 2nd and 3rd session .
Terrain
For most athletes road is preferred as it maximises the speed , load and hence training adaptions. For more skilled runners these sessions can be performed on non-technical trails.
Improving Downhill Skill
Ones ability to descend steep and or technical slopes can have a big impact on ones finishing time in a race. Developing any skill takes specific practice and simply running down more hills is unlikely to develop those skills in a significant way.
What specific skills does a good descender have that allows them to bomb down hills that leave another scared for their life and shuffling down at a snails pace ?
This can be broken into two categories , physical skills and mental skills
Physical skills include
– ability to increase cadence
– ability to change direction
– ability to change speed
– relaxed upper body
– slight lean forwards
– lower centre of gravity
– arms wide
– looking ahead
Mental skills include
– letting go of fear
– staying relaxed but alert
Lets look at these in detail and how we can develop them
Cadence
Descending steep hills efficiently whether technical or not relies on the ability to adjust cadence.
Higher cadence gives greater control and reduces leg damage
Lower cadence may give greater speed but at the cost of increased loading on legs.
Having the ability to adjust cadence as needed depending on the terrain and the section of the race is key.
If you are bombing down the final descent of a race with finish line at the bottom on a non technical downhill then long bounding strides may get you there quickest but do that on first downhill in UTMB and quads will be smashed for the rest of the race.
In general for ultras we want to have the ability to increase our cadence on downhills to well over 180. The benefits of a high cadence are
1) decreased impact forces
2) easier to change direction
3) easy to regulate speed
The reason for this is if you are running at a slower cadence then you have greater air time compared to someone running at the same speed with higher cadence. More air time means more forwards momentum. More forwards momentum means its harder to change direction or speed. It also means greater landing forces.
Developing the ability to increase cadence on downhill will have a greater impact on your downhill skill and speed than any single other factor.
There is no magic cadence number to aim for though – it will depend on the gradient , speed, leg length , technical level of the trail , race distance and trail surface. To start with just work on higher cadence , light landings , short stride length
Changing Speed and Direction
The ability to change speed or direction quickly is critical in downhill running on trails. To achieve this one needs the ability to change stride length and width.
To reduce speed we have to reduce stride length. When we run with a lower cadence and longer stride length there is more forwards momentum. To slow down that momentum requires a greater eccentric load compared to running with higher cadence.
Of course there are times when the terrain allows a longer stride length and greater speed so we need to develop the ability to adjust cadence and stride length so we can stride out more on non-technical shallower gradients and then quickly adjust speed as we approach a steeper technical section. This is a skill and like any skill is developed through practice.
Another part of slowing down or changing direction on technical descents is stride width , one way to slow down and reduce braking forces is to widen ones stride. If you keep the same cadence but increase stride width your stride length decreases making it easier to control both speed and direction.
Relaxed Upper Body
Holding tension in our upper body restricts the ability of the legs to flow down a tech trail. Try running on the flat and hold your body still and see how it affects your stride length and speed – the same happens when descending . We need to allow our upper body to work in conjunction with our lower body as we descend.
Slight Lean Forward
The tendency for many is to lean back when descending steep hills but that only increases the chances of us falling on our butts! Obviously too much of a lean forward will result in a face plant so there is a sweet spot , but in general balance , co-ordination and speed is improved with a slight lean forwards.
Lower Centre of gravity
Just watch how easy it is for a young kid to pick up surfing or skiing compared to an adult . A much lower centre of gravity makes it so much easier to balance. The same applies to balance when descending steep trails. If we can sit lower in our stride we improve our balance. To do this allow your knees to bend more than usual so you can drop your centre of gravity.
Arms Wide
Just like a tightrope walker uses their outstretched arms to improve balance a trail runner should allow their arms to spread wide on steep tech trails.
Your arms will do what they need to do if you let them , no need to focus on anything specific just keep upper body relaxed and let those arms fly!
Looking ahead
There is a tendency amongst slower descenders to look more at their feet but this inhibits our ability to descend quickly. By looking a few steps ahead we give our brains time to process whats coming up and how best to tackle the trail.
Letting go of fear / Staying relaxed
Steep technical descents can be scary, especially when at the edge of our ability. Unfortunately, fear tends to cause us to tighten up, which negatively impacts our descending speed. Finding a balance between respecting the hill and staying relaxed is key for quick descending.
The best way to develop this is gradually progress your exposure to challenging descents – dont start with something way outside your comfort zone or likely to freeze up !
Downhill Practice
The best way to improve your descending skills other than just doing more descending is specific downhill practice on short hills ( or short sections of hills ).
For example find a steep technical hill that takes 1-2 minutes to descend .
Repeat it a number of times times , timing yourself each time to measure progress. Pick one or two at most things to focus on and see what makes the most difference. I’ve seen athletes knock off 30 seconds from a 2 minute descent in one session . If the hill is too long its easier to lose focus , but short hills allow you to for example just think “ stay relaxed “ over and over again and see what difference it makes to your descending time.