At the Tampa Riverfront CX races this weekend, the course designers took advantage of the park's man-made hills to provide several big run-ups (some grassy, some packed earth with a semi-loose surface). After several attempts in practice (including numerous falls) I found there was only one that I could confidently ride. The others seemed either too risky or took more effort for me to ride than to run.

So during the race (Masters 45+) I noticed that I was just about the only one running the run-ups. Other riders seemed to have little problem riding them, so now I'm wondering "what's my problem?" My low gear is currently a 36f:26r. I could switch to a 12-30t cassette, but I can't help but wonder if spinning a 36:30 would be slower than running? I'm a small rider (5'7", 145lb) and I've only been cycling a little over a year, so I have a *long* way to go before I'm as strong as most of the other riders. Perhaps I just need to leave the bike as is, suck it up and keep running the hills until I build the necessary strength. If so, any suggestions (such as specific interval workouts) for building up my short duration peak power output?