April: Swindlers

   Grete Waitz - already the greatest female distance runner on the planet - was three minutes ahead of her closest competitor and a mere five miles from the Copley Square finish line at the 1982 Boston Marathon when the gods stole her legs. She collapsed, unable to run even one step farther. Yes, it was Heartbreak Hill that finished her off that day, living up to its name. But you may be surprised to learn that she crumbled on the descent, not the climb.

   Hills are liars and thieves and two-bit con artists. No matter how heroically you conquer one - or how adroitly you plan and pace yourself - swindle awaits, sometimes miles after you've crested the thing. How often does a familiar hill mysteriously gain 500 feet in elevation, according to the pain in your legs? Why, after flying effortlessly over a hill, do you suddenly feel eviscerated on flat terrain?

   Fact is, flat courses are fast courses. Even the helpful nudge of gravity on an entirely downhill course won't improve your times. After all, the Boston Marathon drops some 480 feet from its starting line, yet very few world records are set there.

   In fact, a hill's meanest treachery lies in the downslope. No sooner does the ache in your calves and hamstrings from climbing subside than you begin overloading your quadriceps, the muscles just north of your knees. With each stride, a runner's body effectively falls into the leading step. Your quadriceps extend to catch this fall, then contract to launch you into the next step. When you run downhill, your quadriceps extend beyond their normal range. This invites injury. Worse, it allows a stealthy fatigue to make itself at home.

   Muscle fatigue hits you with dumbfounding urgency and no warning, sometimes miles after the hill is behind you. It's a mutiny of the worst order, since it saps strength, not endurance. Your heart may pound like a Wagnerian timpani on a hill's ascent, but your cardiovascular system recovers quickly if you're in shape. Fatigued leg muscles simply quit, game over. This was Grete Waitz's fate in Boston.

   The best way to strengthen quadriceps is to... run downhill (tip: if you compete, do this kind of training well in advance of a race; it can take days for the muscles to mend). Form is everything for downhill workouts. If you find yourself leaning over your step, stooping, or lengthening your stride, you're overextending your quadriceps - or you're already flirting with exhaustion. To correct yourself, shorten your stride. Good posture and plenty of leg lift tell you that you're working within a sustainable range of exertion.

   In fact, a shorter stride conserves both strength and endurance on extended downslopes. Of course, you sacrifice speed (sorry, racers). Even so, conservation is the secret to working a hill, up and down, not the least because it guards against the many ways in which a grade will try to double-cross you.

   Judging the strength and energy a looming hill will devour is a fool's art. Obviously, some runners are better than others at making these estimates. But even the best guesses beg deceit. This is why hills will make you mean. Just remember, they'll also make you strong.