Trail running

Question
Alden, I am 32 and training to do some ultra-marathons that are strictly on the trails.  I have just really started running again after taking a few years off.  I have been slowly increasing my long runs and I am up to 110 minutes but I do notice that the first thing that 'goes' on me during my runs is my hill climbing ability.  Once I get on a relatively flat area again, my speed increases and I feel relatively fine but the hills is something I need to work on.  I have been running what are long runs (for me) now almost every day over the past 10 days (between 90 and 110 minutes) so I might just be over-tired from the mileage and that is why I am having trouble responding on the hills.

What's the best way to train for them for races of the 50k distance?  I have yet to do any hill repeats.   My philosophy is to get some decent strength before I do any interval workouts (including hill repeats).  I ran in college and can run sub 31:00 for a 10k so I am not un-used to grueling workouts (I am sure I am way rusty on them though).  In college we would do a mix of repeats on short-but-steep hills some day and then repeats on hill climbs that were over a mile in length.  Is it the same concept for training for ultras?  Thanks.

Answer
Dear Douglas,

Yes, that is the idea.  You can go as extreme as you like.  I trained on a 60 minute run up a mountain that rose about 3,500 feet off the valley floor, then I went on to train on a 132 minute run up a mountain that rises about 5,600 feet up and the course was 13 miles long.  Those runs were the best thing I ever did for myself.  That is a bit extreme, and I don't want to suggest something you may not take a hankerin' to, but that is the only honest answer.  I've done it, and I believe that would be the best way to train for those races.  When you do one of those runs, you need to start out at a slow pace that is totally comfortable, just something you enjoy and isn't hard at all.  Don't bother to increase your pace.  The mountain will adjust the level of effort for you without increasing speed.  You will certainly find yourself walking for intervals during those runs, which is fine.  You just need to time yourself and see that the times improve week by week.  You will max out your respiratory like never before, so increase as you know you can handle it.

I wish you the best of luck in your races.  Take care,

Alden