A Wake Up Call of Gluteal Proportions

Well, I learned something tonight on my run. It's been a long time since I've run up some serious hills. Yup.

Sure, I did that 20 mile trail race and a marathon, but neither of those were too hilly (definitely not the marathon). I'm lucky to live in a place in which I can run on the flats at all times if I want. Unfortunately, it's just too easy to avoid the hills.

Well, thanks my acceptance into the McKenzie River Trail run 50K, I can't be avoiding those hills or trails much longer. The race is said to be fairly flat, but to be well prepared, I definitely want to be running some hills this summer.

I opted to ride last night (26 miles on the road bike - whoop, whoop!) and give the joints a rest so I could run longer tonight. I started off with a few miles of flat bark trail (Pre's Trail) and then ran over to Hendricks Park where there are some lovely hills and mud.

A gold star goes to anyone who figures out where the hills began...

Mile 1 - 8:25
Mile 2 - 8:11
Mile 3 - 8:11
Mile 4 - 8:27
Mile 5 - 8:58
Mile 6 - 10:25
Mile 7 - 10:22
Mile 8 - 9:52
Mile 8-8.55: 4:34

Let's just say that as soon as I started running UP, the rear was quick to remind me how out of practice it was with that terrain. As a result, I reminded myself to take it easy and not worry too much about the splits. I was simply happy to be able to get in a solid longer run after a long day of work.

Oh and I paid $25 to run the Ridgeline Ramble this Saturday because my glutes need more of a beating and my legs need more time on the trail. I'm hoping to just have fun and maybe run a few extra credit miles if I survive the 13 miler.

Is there a part of your running or workout routine you regularly avoid because you know it's going to hurt? Besides running hills, I like to avoid lunges because they're hard for me.

Comments

I do not like hills.... They make me feel, well, out of shape. But I know they are good for me. So I started doing them last week and will do a hills work out every other week most likely. teh good thing is that hill runs make me appreciate flat runs even more!!
Amber said…
I can't believe your doing a 50K!! That is awesome!

Kamloops is a super hilly city so I pretty much cannot avoid running hills unless I run on one single 5-mile long path. Ya, when I was marathon training THAT got boring really quick :P Plus now that I'm training for my 25K trail race I need to hit the trails/hills at least 2x/week. It's been tough but good for me!
I avoid trackwork like the plague, because I'd much rather run the miles than the repeated laps :) Ha, I have no doubt it's a useful tactic for speedwork - just not one I enjoy! Then, when I DO suck it up and go for a track-workout, I actually don't mind it. Gah...

Love that you're doing so many trail runs - such a different challenge, and so much "better" on the joints!
Raquelita said…
Wow! I'm looking forward to hearing more about the training for the 50k! I'm still not very good at hills, but I don't hate and fear them quite the way that I did when I first moved here. I pretty much can't avoid a long run route without a few of them (the alternative is to be bored out of my mind).
Lindsey said…
Hills are hard but I like them! Good luck on Saturday! I ran the Ridgeline relay last year (I did the second half) and it was really fun.

I avoid pushups because they are hard for me.
Run Jess Run said…
I avoid hills like the plague. Little bitty rolling hills are fine, but the bigger they are, the more I walk.

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