Them there hills

After running with Victoria on Sunday, I vowed to start working on hill running and speed. When I say I'm going to do something, I really try hard to follow through with it. When I go to bed the night before a run, I like to plan the run out in my head. So, last night I decided I was going to Garin and I knew exactly which hill I was going to run up. Here I am, ready to tackle the hill:

This is the hill I "ran" up. It's roughly 620 feet of climb and half a mile long. I started running up and when I felt I could go no longer I made myself run another minute. I walked for a minute and then ran for a minute. I did this until I made it to the top. It took me a total of 5.5 minutes.

Now, I know to most of you this is no big deal. But, to me it is more of a deal than even I want to admit. After I made it to the top I plopped down on my back in the middle of the road. Boomer was licking my face, checking to make sure air was coming out of my mouth. I was considering circling around and doing it again but I'll save it for another day. Victoria suggested I start with small goals. ;)

I will say I felt really great after I accomplished this. My lungs were hurting but I know this is all part of the conditioning process. The more I do it, the less uncomfortable I will be. It made every other "hill" on my run seem super easy, that's for sure. I felt strong all day too. I have confidence that if I keep trying, eventually hills won't be impossible for me. I ended up doing a 4.5 mile run. It was probably the best run I've had in quite a while.