Thursday, December 11, 2008

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.

6 comments:

leslie said...

Love the idea of planning your run in your head the night beforehand -- I may have to try that.

When I do hills, I like to run as far as I can, then stop and turn around and look at what I've covered. Once I'm ready to do, I run again, then stop and look. That way I know I ran "the whole hill." You might want to give this a try if it sounds like something you'd like.

Again, I'm so trying that planning the run in my head the night before -- thanks!

Jo Lynn said...

Hey Leslie -- Thanks for the idea. I'll give it a try. Glad I could give you something to think about too. ;)

Southbaygirl said...

AWESOME!!! Congrats!!! And I love the fact that Boomer was licking your face when you plopped down on the ground!!

Jo Lynn said...

I have a picture of Boomer licking my face, Penny. Perhaps I'll have to post it. Nice to see you. ;)

Victoria said...

Yay! Good for you!!!

Mark Tanaka (Ultrailnakaman) said...

I think they have courses for dogs to take to give CPR, but they have taken the breathing part out of it. Good to see someone else enjoying those beautiful hills-- I rarely see anyone else running up there.