Be A Hill Seeker…

Be a hill seeker!

Most of us try to avoid hills, but what’s so good about flat?

Think about it:  flat tires, flat hair, flat returns and — the ultimate — flatlining!

Life happens on the hills!

There are opportunities to prove to yourself that you’re stronger than you ever imagined.

If you never attempt the ascent, you’ll never know the thrill of swooshing down the other side!

Every Tuesday, without fail, it’s hill repeat day.  We all know from previous entries that I am NOT a lover of running hills.  I know that hills make you stronger, but, damn, I just…hate them.

That being said, hills are what I’m supposed to be running.  Seriously.  My physical therapist said my hip flexor and adductor muscles benefit more from the hills because it’s forcing them to work together, and, trust me, they don’t always play nice.

Tonight, I was supposed to go out to Cherokee Park and do hill repeats, but we had the possibility of bad weather around the time that the run would be kicking off.  So, instead, I opted to play it safe (which means…the weather never happened)…and keep it close to home.  It just so happens that there is a winding, paved hill across the street from my apartment, leading up to a local park.  Fantastic.  It wasn’t how I wanted to do my hill repeats, but I had visions of getting out to Cherokee Park and having the run canceled.  The plan said 3 miles…4 hills.  I did a short warm-up, running through the parking lot toward the hill, and when I hit the base, it was game on.  Time to climb.  This hill isn’t as steep as the ones at Cherokee and Iroquois Parks…but it is relentless, winding, and just keeps going.  So, it was a longer climb instead of a steeper climb.  No biggie.  It still involved a lot of work on my behalf to get to the top and jog back down, only to do it all over again.

Well, 5 climbs later, with the recovery jog down, I hit 3.25 miles.  I probably could have gone one more time, but as I’m attempting a longer run this weekend, I felt it best to stick to the plan for now.

All that being said, this is the first time I have come out of hill repeats (in the 3 weeks I’ve done them) and still been able to walk normally.  No limping.  For the first time, I might actually not have to take 3 days to fully recover from a hard effort.

And, again, as of right now, time is the furthest thing from my mind.  I treat each run as a blessing, because after almost a year…each run I am able to complete is just that.  A blessing.  I have missed this feeling!  Speed is irrelevant…right now it’s about building my endurance and my strength back up.

I count today, even though it was done on my own, as a very good day.  Definitely a win.

Who would have thought I’d actually look forward to hill day?