Specific training for Palani

Dave Tallo

Number two in a series of "specific training for XXX part of the course." 

Palani Road (aka Pay'nSave Hill) is the climb that breaks up the Kona run course in my mind.  The first 10 are out and back along Ali'i, and the rest is Queen K.  But Palani comes at a terrible time, is terribly steep, and despite being relatively short, it's one of those mental and physical pinch points in the run.   From many accounts, it's enough to make things very very challenging afterwards if you go at it too hard.    

To handle it in the past, I've walked it.  I would like to not walk it this year.  

Aside from "run, don't walk," any tips on how to wrestle this monster down?     

Eric Blakie

Very short steps keeping effort the same ---and look up--doesn't help but you'll get better photos !!!

Al Truscott

You must have hills where you are … as Eric says, and you well know, just rock on @ 90 rpm taking the shortest steps you want to.

Also, I think focusing on breathing always helps me when I am in a tough spot on the run. I do one of two things:

• Either try to hold my breathing effort steady - frequency, depth; or
• And I am starting to do this more and more, maybe because I'm doing so much training at altitude, but it helped when I turned it on in the last two miles of the USAT Nat'ls: increase the frequency of breathing. For me, that means going from about 45 bpm to 90 bpm.

I just got back from my "neighborhood run", here @ 2650 meters (8300'). I rarely run at this altitude, going downvalley for that work. It also includes a bunch of hills maxing at 10-12%. I found myself doing the short steps/quick breaths going up these slopes. Just kept going, no matter how slow. I should have read this post before i set out, so I could imagine myself going up Palani. Except it was 50F.

Personally, I find the hill out of the Energy lab to be the one requiring the most mental stamina - worse for me than Palani (crowds and shade help), or Mark 'n Dave (close enough to the end).

Eric Blakie

And folks ----before we all wind ourselves up into a panic about the race course a few comments !

Kona is hardly the toughest IM course in the world-----Lanzarote has lots big long hills and just as windy,Wales is full of short hard hills and is cold,Malaysia is very very hot,and the new IM Japan course is definately hilly.To me a hill is when even with low gearing you have to get out of the saddle just to keep moving.Kona has none of that.A long steady grind up to Hawi is really about it and the rest is pretty boring so have a manta.The run is pretty flat as far as run courses go--Panini is a short hill and followed by a nice downhill stretch---ladies walk babies in pushchairs up it with their shopping !--the difference between walking up it and running with short steps is only seconds but walking saves a lot of energy.As Al says the hill from the energy lab is a longer grind but quite gentle .As for the swim---it looks a long way as it is basically straight out and back but its the same 2.4 miles as you've done before and with a deep water start pretty civilised.If you aren't a good swimmer and used to IM's in a wet suit add about 10 mins to your usual time.

Dave Tallo

I understand ... this isn't the first hill I've run, but it has bedevilled me in the past, and I want to actually approach it having given thought to it and taken the time to formulate some kind of thought. Truth be told, I think the worst part of the course is the return near Kona Mountain Coffee - you're back out of the energy lab but there is no glory in those miles, and the small boost you get from crossing mile 18 has burnt off. mental low point for me, so again ... identifying it is half the battle!

Coach Patrick

I am with Al on the breathing tips...when I get hot / work hard I have found really big, deep exhalations to help. And as Eric noted, most of the hills have a nice downhill area for recovery. The issue for me is that by that point in the day I have accumulated so much heat that even walking down hill can see my HR at the level I rode the bike!

I am not worried about any of the terrain features, per se, more so my ability to be super duper steady on the bike and then run with as low an HR as possible along Alii. The "run" race happens out on the Queen K but most times I am just surviving out there...I aim to change that this year!

robin sarner

Grab a Shave Ice at the bottom of the hill.   preferably Lilikoi (passionfruit) flavor.