Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone
A four letter word that can scare any runner...HILL. Yep, those four letters spell the name of either a good friend or an enemy waiting to ambush you. Boston has a set of hills called "The Hills of Newton" and the monster hill, "Heartbreak Hill". The Hills of Newton miles 17-21 on the course are relentless and give your legs a real pounding. Good race preparation and not racing all the down hills prior to this part of the course is crucial to keeping your legs strong and underneath you. These hills of course lead you to the infamous "Heartbreak Hill" at mile 21. Once you conquer this hill, the second half of the race starts. Hopefully there is enough gas in the tank and energy in the legs to keep moving. So, how do you prepare for this wonderful part of the race? Run hills of course. And, living in Elmhurst, there are a few places where you can do some hill workouts for short distances, but if you really want to test yourself and get a good hill workout head to the Arboretum in Glen Ellyn. Their two loops of hills provide great race day practice. Plus, the beauty of the Arboretum can't be beat.
Today was a short hill workout so I was able to run it at Poplar and the path. And to top it off, this morning I had company. Susan was going to join in on the fun of running hills. It was nice to have someone else out there with me. Since this was her first time doing a hill workout, she ran 1/4 mile hills while I ran 1/2 miles. She did a great job of charging up the hill and pushing herself into unchartered waters. I was really proud of her. After my 2 mile warm up, my goal was to run my hills like I did my 800's last week 4 times and do an easy downhill. Then, the 5th hill was a charge up and run it faster down. That was tough, but I gave it everything I had. When I finished my last downhill, I was spent. I still had a mile cool down, but I was wan't worried as that was an easy jog. By the time I finished, I had my 5.5 miles in. Hats off to Susan for a job well done. Thanks for coming out and joining in the fun!
Despite the darkness, it was a great morning to run. I was out in shorts and even took my shirt off for the last charge up and down the hill. The wind blowing against my body felt so good and welcoming. Even though winter is my favorite season, I couldn't help but think warm thoughts of Spring and lots of days in the future running in shorts.
With each passing day, Boston is inching its way to me. Two more long runs, then I have a short 15 miles and can start to taper. I know that these next 5 weeks are going to fly by. I have so many things running through my mind. I just pray that the good Lord watches over me keeping me healthy and strong so I can do my best in Boston.
Today's Workouts
5.5 Mile Hill Run
22 Mile Bike Ride
30 Min Core Workout
Nike Plus Challenge
Was 2486
**Now 2427**
Moved up 59 Slots all in an effort to "Run the Earth"
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