Kenyan Hills 5 x 5 min Hill Loop
Five 5 minute efforts on a hilly loop, hard uphill and on the flat with the downhill as partial recovery, and short jogs between the efforts.
- Duration
- 1 h 03 min
- Distance
- 12 kmestimated
- Effort
- 76
- Level
- Intermediate
- Focus zone
- Threshold
Your values
Targets relative to your threshold values. Enter your values to see absolute numbers.
| # | Step | Length | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warm-upEndurance Easy 15 min | 15 min | 68-78% HRmax72-82% FTP |
| 5 ×Repeat these steps | |||
| 2.1 | IntervalThreshold 5 min loop, hard up and on flat | 5 min | 88-92% HRmax95-101% FTP |
| 2.2 | RecoveryRecovery Easy jog 2.5 min | 2:30 min | 55-68% HRmax60-72% FTP |
| 3 | Cool-downRecovery Easy jog | 10 min | 55-68% HRmax60-72% FTP |
About this workout
Kenyan hills are run on a loop with a climb, a flat and a descent. You attack the uphill, keep pushing on the flat and use the downhill to recover a little without stopping. The heart rate stays high throughout, and the constant changes of gradient train strength, pace changes and the ability to recover on the move.
Warm up for 15 minutes. Then run five efforts of five minutes on your loop, with two and a half minutes of easy jogging between them. During each effort, push hard on the climb, hold a strong pace on the flat and relax but keep moving on the descent. Cool down for ten minutes. A loop of 400 to 1000 m with a clear climb works well.
This suits intermediate and advanced runners in winter base training and the early build phase, from 5k to the marathon. Run it by effort and heart rate, since pace means little on a hilly loop.
Tips
- Keep your feet moving quickly on the descent instead of braking.
- Run the first effort a little easier to learn the loop.
- Advanced runners can extend it to 3 x 8 min or 2 x 15 min.
Origin
A hill loop session widely used by club coaches under the name Kenyan hills.
Good for5k10kHalf marathonMarathon
Season phaseBaseBuild