Do I like running hills?
HILL YES!
As I spent the second half of 2011 training for the ZOOMAAtlanta Half Marathon, I found myself seeking out every hill possible so I
would be prepared for the race on Saturday, November 26th. All I kept hearing from others who did the
race last year was how many hills were on the course! I took their words of caution seriously and
decided to take on the challenge!
One of my favorite places to practice hill repeats is
Amsterdam Ave. Amsterdam Ave. stretches
from Monroe Drive in Midtown near Piedmont Park, through Virginia-Highlands to
Rosedale Road near Emory’s Briarcliff Campus. There is a short steep section from Rosedale
Road to Lanier Blvd, then there is a long, gradual uphill section from Lanier
Blvd to N. Highland Ave. But wait, it
gets better! I like to make this even
more fun by continuing on Amsterdam, past N. Highland Ave, and turning around just
before it curves around to Monroe Dr.
Then, I like to head back up Amsterdam Ave. for a longer, uphill
stretch! Then, I like to do it all over
again and again!
Over the years, I’ve learned that hills are a great way to
build strength, speed and endurance. When I was a participant with Team in Training
back in 2003 and training for my first triathlon, one of the Coaches gave me
tons of tips on running hills. He said things like, “Shorten your stride”, “Pump
your arms”, “Be okay with the fact that your heart rate is high…It will come
back down when you start to run downhill”, “Don’t look down”, “Keep up the
short strides and arm pumping until you get all the way over the hill”. His voice still echoes inside me to this day
when I’m running hills!
As ZOOMA race day approached, I knew I was ready! I had a plan: 1st 10 miles, take it easy and
run in Zone 2 near a 10 minute mile pace.
Last 3.1 miles, kick it in to high gear and attack each hill. Like all well laid plans, this one changed a
bit along the way. Here is how my race
actually went: 1st 6 miles, I took it pretty easy and stayed in Zone
2. I fluctuated between a 9:45 and a 10:30
minute mile pace. After the halfway
point, I decided to pick it up by staying faster than a 10 minute mile pace,
regardless of my heart rate. The hills
kept coming and coming. I didn’t let
them intimidate me! I really tried to
capitalize on the downhills because, “What goes UP, must come DOWN”! Also, it helped to see some familiar faces
from Tri-Kids at the short, steep uphill that was the 12-Mile Mark! Woo Hoo!
I was stoked and I took off like a kid who just stole the last Wonka bar
with the Golden Ticket! As I rounded the
end of the course at Chateau Elan, the finish line was in sight. I turned the corner and booked up the FINAL
HILL to cross the line at 2:08:12, which was a PR! HOLY MOLY that was a tough race! But so rewarding! Not only was it a PR, but it was really fun
to share the experience with a bunch of fantastic, tough, fast, motivated
women! You know who you are! <wink>
Training for and completing this race reiterated my belief
that hills are my friends! Not everyone
agrees and that’s okay. There are plenty
of flat race courses out there. Me? I’ll run for the hills in a heartbeat!