Killer Hills Ahead

I wanted to go on an adventurous half marathon run today. One that wasn't pre-planned or one with a route I've run in the past. I'm bored with the same roads & trails and am longing for something new.

New was definitely what I got today! Within the first 5 miles, I was challenged with MAJOR hills. I'm not accustomed to the hills this route decided to throw at me. In fact, the hills were quite similar to the roller coasters I rode last week. Once you crested one hill, you saw another one waiting for you.

I moaned and groaned every time a new hill magically appeared in my path. I managed to push through them, but I felt it took too much energy out of me early into my run.

At mile 5, I pulled over by a private school to retie my shoes (my feet were falling asleep) and also assess my mentality.

I was being quite negative on myself, wondering if I was going to complete the run in a decent amount of time...if I was even to complete it at all.

The 5 minute break was all I needed though. My feet weren't going numb anymore and the hellish hills flattened out (minorly, not completely!).

My attitude slowly started to improve.

Closing in at the halfway point, I stopped at a Food Lion, grabbed a drink at their water fountain and ate a granola bar before restarting. I circled through nearby developments to add mileage before heading home. There was no way I was going back the way I came. Instead, I hit the main road to cut back to my house.

When I arrived in my driveway, I was extremely surprised by my time & distance.

I made it to my distance goal AND I feel I did it in a decent amount of time. I'm confident I will do well road running in the Frederick Half Marathon on May 5th. My route today had a 190 ft gain in elevation, the half marathon route in Frederick will only be 120 ft (THANK GOD!).

Overall, even though the run was hard, I'm glad I did it! Another set of new roads successfully completed!

Tell me about your run today? Did it have plenty of rolling hills or was it fairly even? Was it an impulsive or planned route?

Do you enjoy hill running?

Have you ever nearly given up on a run?