The last two Mondays, I have been doing hill repeats. My
first attempt was Labor Day. I did a quick Magical Mile (MM), and then moved
towards a hill on my regular running route and did six repeats. I then finished
up my run and came home. I was sore the next day. This week, I chose a steeper
hill and upped my number of repeats to eight. I wasn’t sore the next day! Next
week I am planning ten repeats on the biggest hill on my long run course. We
will see how it goes.
Today, I ran nine miles. I was actually scheduled to run it
yesterday, but N stayed home “sick”, Mommy duties trump running every single
time. I put the boys on the bus this morning and headed out. It was dark and
raining. I wasn’t too happy about that. As the sun began to rise, the rain
stopped. I hit pockets of humidity that came and went but overall the air was
cool and refreshing! I was shocked at my strength and endurance and this run.
It’s been awhile since I’ve hit nine miles and I expected my body to put up
more of a fight. I’m glad that my body decided to cooperate today!
I can proudly say that I noticed a HUGE difference today after
doing hill repeats. The hills were easier for me to ascend and I didn’t have to
stop and walk it off at the top to catch my breath! I am now a HUGE fan!!! My
pace was slower than I’d like, (I averaged 11:29) but I am convinced that it
will pick up in the near future. My goal was to run up every single hill and
not stop to walk. I did with all but one hill: the BIG hill that I will meet
and conquer next Monday! The end of mile seven was at this point and I was
fighting a very painful stomach cramp. I had to walk it off which coincided
with this big hill. Next time, I will show that hill whose boss! The stomach
cramp was from intense hunger pangs combined with a too tight fuel belt. Easy
fix for next time.
Overall, I am incredibly happy with my performance today. While
there is room to improve, I feel that I finished strong and kept my paces
regular. I’m looking forward to more hill repeats on Monday and I’m really
looking forward to meeting those hills on race day to chew them up and spit
them out!
It’s a great day for running. Happy running y’all!
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