Hills Are Not My Favourite Part of Training

You know you are well into your training regimen when you set out to do hills. Why else would anyone go up and down a hill at 85% effort, over and over again. It's not my idea of fun. I resist doing them until my training schedule calls for it. But last night I couldn't avoid them any longer. It was time to begin that dreaded component of my training program. Peter and I set out in another snowstorm to the store, but this time we made it. I ran with Peter and others as they set out to do a 10K fartlek, but I left them at Pretoria so that I could head back to Echo and do my hills. That means I had a 3K warm-up run. It was a slippery run in the freshly fallen snow. But very pretty. Echo hadn't been ploughed. There were several other runners using it for their hill training. Because it was my first night I only had to do 4 repeats. There was a marker at the 200 meter mark, so I wimped out and ended each hill there. Echo is such a long stretch and not as steep as Willard or Bronson. I think I'll move to one of those hills next week. I like to crest a hill, reach the top, and have no doubt that I've completed it. Echo to me seems like more of a speedwork interval. It's just so long. I enjoyed my cool-down run, which was just taking Colonel By to Bronson, then crossing over and coming back along the little path that goes right in front of the homes. Let me share my little secret - I love to glance in the windows as I run by to see how the rooms are decorated. Those are such beautiful homes. The path was very snowy, so the footing wasn't great.
Peter and I did go out on New Year's Day to meet Adrienne for a run. We ended up completing 19.5K. We were a bit stiff from the Resolution Run the night before, but if was a pretty good run, and I'm pleased that I got my scheduled run in. Next Sunday I move up to 23K. My Tuesday morning run was pretty decent, too. Frederica, Terry, and I ran all the way to Bank Street. We usually turn around at Bronson. I set the new coffeemaker that Michael bought us to begin brewing at 5:45. That's a.m.! Just knowing that the coffee is waiting for you is another incentive to get out of bed at that ungodly hour. Thanks Michael! I'm going to try that trick again tomorrow morning.