Thursday, June 16, 2011

Back to boosting.

I ran with my girl Bridget last night and helped her kick some major hill booty.

We're running the Boilermaker 15K in July and we've heard there will be hills. Now, my neighborhood is Hill Central so hilly courses have nothing on me. Bridget, however, doesn't run the same sort of hills on a regular basis so she wants to train on them to be better prepared for what she'll face in the race.

Last night, she wanted to run up a certain hill ten times and, since this would be her first venture into hill repeats, asked me to run with her. Sure thing!


We started out at 8:00, so the temperature had fallen a little, giving us a break from the heat. We ran a short warm-up and then hit the hill. I told Bridget that for this first session it was more important to focus on steady effort up the hill rather than time. And that's what we did.

After two times up the hill, she asked whose big idea the hill repeats was and shook her head at the thought of finishing all 10. After five times up the hill, she shook her head at "only" being half-way done. After six, she asked me if I was even tired. I told her not to compare herself to me, because I run hills all the time -- with hills, the more you run them, the easier they are. She was getting down on herself because she was breathing hard and really working to get up the hill. To me, that meant she was getting something good out of the workout. Pushing herself.

After eight times up the hill, I gave her a cheerful, "Just two more left!" and she groaned. We finished out the last two and I could tell she was relieved, and maybe a little proud.

Ten times up, ten times down.

I'm  happy that she finished the whole thing: She set a goal of running ten times up the hill and that's exactly what she did. Did she want to stop? Maybe, who knows? The important thing is that she didn't.

Way to go, Bridget! 

It was fun for me to be back in the booster role. I haven't been running with others much lately and certainly not in the same capacity as I did when I started the new runners group last year when I was preggo. Last night was reminiscent of those runs last spring. I enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, today was not quite as kind to me as last night was.

I woke up with a crummy cold and it has knocked me out today. I was supposed to go out with a few friends, including Bridget, tonight and had to cancel. Grr . . . It's my own doing, I know. Too much going on, not enough rest, repeatedly forgetting to take my vitamins. I'll get back on track after I kick this cold -- and that had better be tomorrow because I certainly don't have time to be sick!

I have more hills to run.

What about you -- do you enjoy hills? Or do you dread them? Do you tackle hilly courses? Or are hill repeats your thing?


I welcome hills. With pumping arms.

~ Felice

PS: Don't forget to enter my Chobani giveaway!

14 comments:

Tami mommy of Ten said...

Way to go Bridget!! I do like hills. We have plenty up on the mountain. We need to get you all up here sometime!

Katie Voorhees said...

I have a love/hate relationship with hills. I hate them while I am doing them, but love the sense of accomplishment I get when I get to the top, and the rush of going down them. I also love the mildly sore muscles that come with knowing I kicked some major ashpalt.

Bridget said...

Thanks for running those damn hills! We should do it again next week and aim for 12 times!

Suzy said...

Way to help Bridget out! I no longer hate hills, but we certainly aren't good friends yet.

Anonymous said...

I like hills too!! Maybe not as much when I'm doing them, but I feel great when I'm done, and I can really tell that they make me a faster and better runner!

Darlene said...

Way to go Bridget. I'm bad - I totally avoid hills at all cost!

J said...

Ugg I hate hills but training on them makes you run so much better! Hope you are feeling better soon!

Melissa said...

There is almost no way to avoid hills where I live...especially if I am running in my neighborhood. I have never formally attacked a "hill repeat" workout though since the hills just come at me (at varying distance and elevation) during my route but have been contemplating doing so. What distance should the hill be to be most effective?

Marlene said...

Way to go ladies! I do welcome hills - we are in a hilly area so I usually don't bother with repeats either.

Anonymous said...

I've never done hill repeats, but I sure run uphill. I live in the mountains of NC and I love to go trail running. Today I did a 9 mile run. The first 3 miles were uphill. 800 feet of elevation to tackle, hard for sure but it feels good. I'd like to try some hill repeats too.

RunToTheFinish said...

great job on the hills!! they are tough workouts, but i love how much stronger they make me on race day. i've heard the boilermaker is a toughie, kudos to you for going after it!

Colorado Gal said...

I dread hills! They hurt so bad! Any tips on how to make them bearable?!

Steph said...

Great post Felice! I feel the same way poor Bridget does I think =) I just finished my FIRST half-marathon last week and am getting ready for another in 6 weeks. Full of hills. Yikes! Thanks for keeping me inspired!

Unknown said...

I don't mind hill workouts, but I'm not fond of hilly race courses

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