Back with a vengeance

I know it's been a while since I've posted (tried not to spend too much time on the computer during my Christmas vacation) but I didn't stop running! I also missed my "Monday Accountability" for the last two Mondays, being Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, but I'll get back at it next week.

Over the break I ran Christmas Eve (about 6K), Boxing Day (about 5K), Friday the 28th (1K up and down our street, knee was acting up) and 5K on Sunday the 30th (was supposed to be LSD 12K with clinic but I apparently forgot how to set an alarm clock after a week off work and overslept). I also made it to the gym 4 or 5 times for strength training. Overall, a productive holiday. I even LOST weight over Christmas. There's a first time for everything!

So that brings me to last night - hill training. Our clinic started hills two weeks ago but I missed the first one due to my knee and missed the second one on Boxing Day due to a family dinner, so I didn't really know what I was in for. We ran about
2K to a quiet crescent street that forms a 1K loop, approximately 400 metres uphill, a plateau around the corner, 400 metres downhill and a plateau back to the base of the hill. We did this loop FIVE times then ran back to the Running Room for a total of nearly 9K. That is a loooong run for a Wednesday night and I was exhausted by the end, but enjoyed the run nonetheless. The hills were not quite as bad as I expected. Let me rephrase that: the UP hills were just as tough as I thought they would be, but the DOWN hills gave me a chance to recover and helped me keep my sanity/strength/drive through the whole process.

There was an ongoing conversation going on in my head. At the bottom of each hill, I'd look toward the top and think No sweat, I'll be there in no time. About half way up, I'd start thinking Is it ever going to end? And around the 3/4 mark, I would PROMISE myself Just get to the top, then you can take a walk. And then I would get to the top and re-negotiate. I would catch my breath on the plateau, coast down the hall and start the whole conversation again at the bottom of the hill. I did the five times and didn't end up taking a walk. Mind over matter...sometimes that's what it takes!

But dang, my legs and butt are sore this morning!