History Repeats Itself
I’m running again! I hit 20 miles last week. 20 miles is a long way from what I was doing in college, but it’s not a bad start.
An Affair Of The Heart
I’ve spent the better part of the last 4 years under a bar {not inside a bar}. A barbell to be exact. My relationship with the barbell is mostly one of love and adoration, but as it goes with all affairs of the heart, we have had our issues. My strength is by far the best it’s ever been, all due to the barbell. For conditioning work I pushed the sled or ran 1 minute sprints on the treadmill. So I had convinced myself that getting back into running would be super easy.
The Hill
2 miles from the house there is this beautiful trail where the view is quite spectacular: the ocean, snow capped mountains and the smell of eucalyptus trees…it doesn’t get any better than this. So off I went thinking, “Hey, I’m in great shape, this shouldn’t be a problem.” Um, yeah I was wrong. To say this trail got the best of me would be an understatement, it handed me my butt on a shiny platter. Specifically this one long, steep, dirt hill. I wanted to walk up it, but my stubbornness got the best of me, so I was reduced to a very slow plod… it was embarrassing.
If only the embarrassment had stopped there! But no, I still had 2 miles to get back to my truck. Most of it was descending, rolling hills. Fatigue had set in and thankfully gravity was on my side, or so I thought. In the last quarter mile there was a young couple walking up as I was letting physics help drag my 200 lb. frame down this hill. As I passed them and said hi I proceeded to trip on a tree root, fell and rolled twice before coming to a stop. The look on their faces was awesome, part shock and part wanting to laugh. They asked if I was okay…yup just a bruised ego. I was a hot mess covered in dirt from head to toe. Welcome back to running!
Lessons Learned
There were some important lessons and reminders that day. One, it was the first time I’ve run that hill in almost 4 years. I needed to lower my expectations of my running fitness level. Second, I reminded myself it’s always a process. One day builds on the next. And third, there was no way in hell this hill was going to get the best of me.
2 times a week since that first day the hill and I have a date. It has not been a pretty site: heavy heavy breathing, lungs on fire, and cottonmouth {which drives me crazy}. There has been marginal improvement in the last 3 weeks, I think it’s safe to say I’m no longer looking like a dumpster fire. My current status with this hill is pretty much hate. But I suspect it will fall in line like it did with the barbell, and I will mostly love it, save for a few issues.
Don't Give Up
Hills come into our lives in many forms. Whatever hill you face in life, please don’t get discouraged, it does get easier! And make sure you watch out for those tree roots, they get me every time.
Want help with your running? Call me to set up an appointment 310.251.7420
Image Credit: Erik Taylor
