This past cross country season was no doubt the best season that we have ever experienced at DBU. Our ladies qualified for their 3rd trip to the NCAA National Championships and our men finished 18th as a team in their first-ever appearance. One of the sessions we did throughout the early season phase was a combination of tempo and hills.
Typically in the past I have kept these sessions separate…but, due to our weekly training set up this year I ended up combining the two sessions. Tuesdays of race week were spent in Capella Park (my neighborhood) where we would run a 3-4 mile tempo run, rest 3-4 minutes, and then engage in 8-12 x 400 meter hills.
I love hills.
I love tempo runs.
This year we put them together and had a great season. I think it is definitely something that you have to build up to, we had a pretty experienced and seasoned team, but something you definitely gain large benefit from.
Phillips Running 