Hills

This morning, Karen and I headed to Mt. Trashmore for our first long run of our training. According to our schedule, we needed to attempt 4-6 hills and mileage of about 7 miles. We haven't incorporated hills in our training before, so I was a bit nervous. I mean, distance can be hard enough without an incline. There are several options when it comes to hills at the park. We opted to run up a long and gentle gradient for the first hill and up a much steeper but shorter distance for the second one. The 2 hills made a set and then we ran a mile in between to recover. The first set was ok but the others really made me breath hard! At one point, I ended up walking up the steep hill because I felt like I was going faster that way than "running." At the end of the run, I was pleasantly surprised that we completed 7 miles. I felt really good at the end, so that's encouraging.

I'm really looking forward to this training and pushing my body beyond its natural comfort. I'm also hoping to shed a few pounds along the way. Unfortunately, the first week of training has already boosted my appetite. Must. Be. Careful. With. Snacking!

All in all, I'm happy to report the first week was good. Total mileage=18 miles. 1 speed run and 1 hills run. Not too shabby.