The Hills are alive (with the sound of panting...)

No, not "The Sound of Music" but the sound of panting and gasping for breath!

Today marked the beginning of a new type of run training -- the loved and hated Hill Work! My trainer decided that I should start doing some training on hills to better prepare myself for running hills during races and to help me run faster by building up leg strength. Well, that sounds like a great plan, right? But HILLS!? I have dreaded this moment, and now it is upon me.

So I got up this morning as I always do around 5AM, got dressed and drove over to this nice hill where my son's doctor office is located. I met Meghan there, in the darkness, at the top of the hill to find out how this was going to work. The first thing she told me was "You are doing the running, I will be watching your form and providing encouragement." Okay, so the pain would be mine to bear alone. I get it. :)

This hill is a .32 mile stretch of road that follows an upward "S" curve as it goes from 750ft above sea level to 900 ft. I believe that represents a 6% incline from start to finish. Now I have walked on treadmills at that incline level and higher during my TEAM Weight Loss classes at LifeTime, but I am not sure if the 6% incline on the treadmill is the same as the 6% on this hill. So I was somewhat skeptical that I was going to be able to do this without significant PAIN. LOL

So Meghan tells me how this is going to work since I have never done hill work before:

1) Jog a 10 minute easy run just to get warmed up.
2) Then I did three reps of:
- walk down the hill
- run up the hill
- take a one minute rest, and repeat
3) Then do a 3-minute hard run through the neighborhood, followed by a 5-6 minute walk back as a cooldown.

The first time running up the hill, I ran the whole way up the hill at a 10:45 pace, only breathing heavily towards the last part of the hill. I was pretty darn proud of myself for actually making it up the hill! Of course, my brain was telling me "Good luck doing that a second and third time!" Meghan was pleased with the effort and sent me down the hill for the second rep. She stayed about mid-way so that she could watch me coming up the hill and then as I passed her continue to judge my form.

The second run was a LOT more difficult. I was doing well the first half but then I started feeling tired. But Meghan was urging me to keep going and then to charge the final few feet to the finish. So my pacing was 10:45 but those last few seconds were at 9:36! I was pretty pleased with myself but now, I was feeling tired and not so sure I could do the third run.

The third run was really tough. I was tired from the second run and was feeling it even before I reached the midpoint. Meghan was encouraging me, and I think she knew I was thinking walking the last third of the hill. But I did not want to show weakness so I toughed it out and finished the third run with a pace of 10:54. I was quite winded at that point and took a few minutes to recover.

Then Meghan said I should run hard for 3 minutes to see how my legs felt. She said it would feel good to run them out, and that I would likely feel faster now that I had done the hill work. I was skeptical but I did what she asked. I ran the 3 minutes at a 9:03 pace -- not sure where that energy came from! Then I walked back to cool down.

All in all, I put down 3.61 miles this morning in about 51 minutes. My first concentrated hill workout was in the bag, and I lived to tell the tale! Now I will start adding a hill workout to my schedule once each month, and gauge my improvement either in terms of speed and endurance. Hills: you gotta do the work, but you don't have to love it! LOL

Long Run was picture perfect!

I will admit that I was a little worried about today's Long Run.  It was scheduled for 8 miles -- my longest run to-date -- and I was having some doubts about how it was going to go.  Part of me was positive that I could make it through the run.  The other part was thinking that 8 miles was too far and I would wuss out somehow.  Well, I was not going to let some insecurity stop me from succeeding!

So this morning I got up, got dressed in multiple layers, and went down to the Prairie Trail path.  Now let me explain about this path.  It goes for about 30 miles so it is perfect for long runs.  Back this summer, I ran on this path with my friend Mike when the temps were in the 80s.  At that time, I only had to run about 4 miles.  We ran for about 2 miles and then stopped for water and to make the return trip.  It was then that I got really dizzy.  We ended up walking for a mile before I felt like I could run the rest of the distance.

Looking back on that experience, I am certain my problem was that I hadn't hydrated enough the day before, and I hadn't eaten anything before the run.  I sweat a LOT when I run, so the result was that I was majorly dehydrated.  Thankfully, I had PowerAde with me so during that 1-mile 'walk', I was able to replenish electrolytes and rehdyrate.  After that run, I made sure to have a good breakfast and I was fine.

But the memory of that day haunts me a bit, which is why I picked the Path for this Long Run.  I wanted to dispel that memory, and the feeling that I was unable to complete a run on that path.  I am pretty sure that is why my brain was giving me the negative talkback.  Needless to say, I was hydrated and had a decent pre-run breakfast (bread, almond butter, a banana, and milk) before heading out.

So I started the run at a steady 11:00mm pace -- a good pace for me on my Long Runs.  I also wanted to make sure to keep my heart rate between 151-161bpm (my Zone 2) because training my heart and body to work efficiently at that level will help build up my long distance running stamina.  It also is a level where the body burns fat for fuel rather than glycogen in my muscles (and that is better for both my weight loss goals and for endurance running).

It was pretty chilly out there.  37 degrees and I could see my own breath!  I was dressed for the run so I was pretty comfortable, only my hands were a bit cold (I need better running gloves).  If it gets any colder, I will definitely need a good headband to protect my ears too.  So far, so good.  I reached the 2-mile point (where I got dizzy on that last run) and I was feeling great!  Legs were strong, no pain anywhere, and I was enjoying the latest podcast from "The Marathon Show".  The scenery was pretty -- small lakes and ponds, birds and squirrels, all the colored leaves, etc.  Before I knew it, I was at the 4-mile point and things were still good.  Wow!

So I turned around.  And for the first time, I opened a pack of gel from PowerAde and sucked it down (followed by 10oz of water).  It took me about 45 minutes to run those 4.25 miles so I figured it was time for fueling.  Until today, I hadn't run far or long enough to warrant anything other than water during my runs.  This was a new step in my training, and I am happy to say that it went very well.  When I run the Hot Chocolate 15K in two weeks, I will continue testing out what fueling options work best for me.

On the way back up the path, I continued to feel really positive about the run.  No more negative thoughts were coming to my mind.  I had switched from the podcast to my 'workout' playlist and was just having fun on the path.  Then I ran up upon a deer on the path!  It was so cool!  I didn't know what to do because I didn't want to scare it and I didn't know if it was alone.  So I slowed to a walk and coughed several times to get its attention.  It just looked at me and didn't move as I walked passed it.  Once I passed, I started running again.  Wow, that was just so very awesome!

When I came to the end of the path, I had covered 8.5 miles.  The cooldown walk to my car added another .40 miles.  So the grand total mileage for today's run was 8.9 miles!  I felt good and the legs felt fine. It was a great run, lasting 1:45 hours and I know I could have run for longer!

When I got home, I showered and went to weigh-in at Weight Watchers where I was down 1/2 pound.  Yay for more weight loss!  Then I went home and made myself a good breakfast of eggs, soy sausages, cereal, and milk.  Afterwards, I did some stretching and foam rolling for a while.

As I write this, about eight hours afterwards, I still feel good -- no leg pain or stiffness.  Tomorrow I am running a 5K race in downtown Chicago.  Given how I feel right now, I don't think I will have any problems finishing.  I won't be running hard, just for the fun of the race.

Yay for a solid Long Slow Run!!!