Yesterday was my first hill workout with Fleet Feet, and I will admit I wasn't exactly excited about it. In fact, I was outright dreading the workout.
In the past, hill training is something I've skipped in my marathon preparation, and it's been a weakness in my past races. I've almost always walked the hills, and I've been satisfied with that.
When I did my research on the NYC Marathon, I quickly learned the course is not flat & fast as I had hoped. It's actually fairly hilly. I've come to the realization that if I want to have a good, solid race in NYC & if I want to start improving as a runner, I need to embrace the hills.
So, back to my first hill training session. We started out with 1.7 mile run to Thaxton hill. The run over was conversational, and I was grateful it wasn't as hot and humid as it was a few days before. When we got to "the hill", I didn't feel nervous, or a sense of dread. I was standing towards the back of the group, and I couldn't see the hill, which was around the corner. I had no concept of how long or how much of an incline it was. I didn't have a game plan for tackling the hill, so I listened to our coach, Kevin (not my brother), give a few pointers about swinging your arms and leaning slightly into the hill. He said the idea is to run up the hill all the way to the top, and when you reach the top you should feel slightly winded, but not completely breathless. After reaching the top, we would turn right, and then run downhill & loop around to where we started. On the downhill portion, he encouraged us to run easy & recover from the hill. We would do this hill repeat three times. He instructed the faster pace groups to start first, but also said that this type of training wasn't about sticking with your pace group. He advised us that hill training is very individual, so we should go at our own pace, but once we finish the three loops, we should wait for the rest of our pace group to complete the training before heading back to Fleet Feet.
I watched the fast runners take off first, and then it was time for my group to start. I turned the corner, and started up the hill. Initially, I concentrated on swinging my arms, and leaning slightly forward. I looked up at the hill, and thought it wasn't too steep, but I couldn't see the top either. I didn't want to lag behind my pace group, but I also didn't want to surge ahead because I had no concept of how long I'd be running uphill. So, I stuck somewhere in the middle.
I probably ran the first loop a little too strong. When I reached the top, I was a little more than winded, but I was thrilled that it wasn't a long hill. The decline was generous, and I enjoyed the recovery. As I started uphill for the second loop, I thought, I can do this. About halfway up, I had to stop and walk for a few seconds. I was kicking myself for not being more conservative on the first loop, but I got back to my fundamentals of swinging my arms and running slightly forward to the top of the hill. When I started the downhill, I ran past a house with a young girl playing outside, she yelled as a I ran past her, " GO RUNNERS GO". It warmed my heart, and reminded me of why I'm doing this dreadful hill training.
The simple truth is, I can't inspire others to be hill seekers, if I don't lead by example. Whether that hill is one you face in a marathon, or one you face when trying to find better solutions to the treatment of your rare disease - the first step to conquering "the hill" is actually taking a first step. You'll never know what you can achieve unless you test your limits. And, perhaps in your attempt to ascent the hill, you won't make it to the top. That's ok, because you've already made a difference. You've paved the way for someone to follow in your footsteps, and change the world.
To conclude the run, I completed my third loop successfully & waited for the rest of my group to finish. We ran another 1.7 miles back to Fleet Feet. On the way back I started to pay attention to the scenery, lots of homes with American flags, dog-walkers, cyclists, and people eating in outdoor cafe's. My pace leader, Sandy, and I ran past one guy who was right outside his house, he was searching for something in the backseat of his car. He left a full glass of red wine on the roof of his car, and Sandy commented while passing by, "Oh, I thought you were leaving that there for us!" He smiled as we ran past. We completed our run, 5+ miles logged, and for me, a lot to reflect on.
Overall, I'm feeling good about training. I know I'm running slower than I've run before, BUT, I feel my training is going much better.
I don't expect to set a PR in NY, but I feel confident that if I stick to the Fleet Feet training program, I will have an enjoyable, injury-free, good run in NY come November.
I also think that this training will give me the base to pursue a PR a few months later.
The next group run is this Saturday - 8 miles. I'm sure I'll have something to write about that :-)
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