March 20, 2026

Training Principals to Make you a Stronger Uphill Runner - Episode 289

Listen Later

47 minutes

Lots to include hear as you'll hear in the podcast. I take a deep dive into incorporating uphill training into your running schedule. How to figure out when, how hard, and by what means. So many pieces to this!

Resources:

I have no afiliation, but Wahoo is my HRT monitor of choice. They have 2 options. A chest strap and an arm band. Learn more here - https://www.wahoofitness.com/devices/heart-rate-monitors

The MAF Formula of HRT - https://philmaffetone.com/180-formula/

Max HRT equation - 207 minus (0.7 x age)

Max HRT Test:

Hill Repeats Method (Most Accurate):

Warm-up: 15 minutes of easy jogging, including a few faster strides.

Hill 1: Find a hill that takes 2–3 minutes to climb. Run up at a hard pace you could hold for 20 minutes. Jog down to recover.

Hill 2: Run up faster (a pace you could hold for 3km). Your MHR is likely ~10 beats higher than what you see here. Jog down.

Hill 3: Run up as fast as possible, going all out for the final 100 meters. The peak HR reached here is your maximum.

10-Minute Time Trial Method:

After a thorough warm-up, run at a steady, increasingly difficult pace for 10 minutes, saving energy for a maximum effort sprint in the final minute.

Threshold Pace test (taken from https://www.myprocoach.net/blog/how-to-test-threshold-running-pace/#:~:text=What%20Is%20Threshold%20Running%20Pace%3F,acid%20begins%20to%20exponentially%20rise):

Start with a warm up of 15 minutes, mainly easy jogging with 3 or 4 short accelerations up to your approximate 5km race pace

Begin the 30 minute time trial. Press start on your phone or watch and run at your fastest consistent pace for 30 minutes. In other words, run at the fastest pace you think you can maintain for the entire test. After you’ve completed the 30-minute test, stop your timer.

After the test is finished, look to see what your average pace was across the entire 30 minutes. This is your new threshold running pace.

Setting up HRT zones:

recovery - 60-69% max HRT

endurance - 70-78% max HRT

threshold - 80-87% max HRT

Setting up pace based on Threshold pace:

recovery 56-70%

endurance 71-77%

steady state 90-95%

tempo 96-100%

running interval 101-120%

If I for got anything in the notes, please feel free to reach out to me!

Aaron's information:

My Socials, Channels, & Newsletter:

https://www.facebook.com/MRRUNNINGPAINSCOACHING

https://www.instagram.com/runningislifecoaching/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ6J512qA34z_N0KJSU4jfw

https://www.strava.com/athletes/18431982

Email - [email protected]

Thanks to all of you for listening!

Please share the Podcast and please leave a review, rate, & subscribe if you haven't done so already!

THANK YOU!

Aaron Saft

Running Is Life Coaching & Podcast

...more

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Running Is Life Podcast

By Coach Aaron Saft

4.9

3939 ratings

March 20, 2026

Training Principals to Make you a Stronger Uphill Runner - Episode 289

Listen Later

47 minutes

Lots to include hear as you'll hear in the podcast. I take a deep dive into incorporating uphill training into your running schedule. How to figure out when, how hard, and by what means. So many pieces to this!

Resources:

I have no afiliation, but Wahoo is my HRT monitor of choice. They have 2 options. A chest strap and an arm band. Learn more here - https://www.wahoofitness.com/devices/heart-rate-monitors

The MAF Formula of HRT - https://philmaffetone.com/180-formula/

Max HRT equation - 207 minus (0.7 x age)

Max HRT Test:

Hill Repeats Method (Most Accurate):

Warm-up: 15 minutes of easy jogging, including a few faster strides.

Hill 1: Find a hill that takes 2–3 minutes to climb. Run up at a hard pace you could hold for 20 minutes. Jog down to recover.

Hill 2: Run up faster (a pace you could hold for 3km). Your MHR is likely ~10 beats higher than what you see here. Jog down.

Hill 3: Run up as fast as possible, going all out for the final 100 meters. The peak HR reached here is your maximum.

10-Minute Time Trial Method:

After a thorough warm-up, run at a steady, increasingly difficult pace for 10 minutes, saving energy for a maximum effort sprint in the final minute.

Threshold Pace test (taken from https://www.myprocoach.net/blog/how-to-test-threshold-running-pace/#:~:text=What%20Is%20Threshold%20Running%20Pace%3F,acid%20begins%20to%20exponentially%20rise):

Start with a warm up of 15 minutes, mainly easy jogging with 3 or 4 short accelerations up to your approximate 5km race pace

Begin the 30 minute time trial. Press start on your phone or watch and run at your fastest consistent pace for 30 minutes. In other words, run at the fastest pace you think you can maintain for the entire test. After you’ve completed the 30-minute test, stop your timer.

After the test is finished, look to see what your average pace was across the entire 30 minutes. This is your new threshold running pace.

Setting up HRT zones:

recovery - 60-69% max HRT

endurance - 70-78% max HRT

threshold - 80-87% max HRT

Setting up pace based on Threshold pace:

recovery 56-70%

endurance 71-77%

steady state 90-95%

tempo 96-100%

running interval 101-120%

If I for got anything in the notes, please feel free to reach out to me!

Aaron's information:

My Socials, Channels, & Newsletter:

https://www.facebook.com/MRRUNNINGPAINSCOACHING

https://www.instagram.com/runningislifecoaching/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ6J512qA34z_N0KJSU4jfw

https://www.strava.com/athletes/18431982

Email - [email protected]

Thanks to all of you for listening!

Please share the Podcast and please leave a review, rate, & subscribe if you haven't done so already!

THANK YOU!

Aaron Saft

Running Is Life Coaching & Podcast

...more

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