One of the things I like about this training plan that I am doing is that despite running 6 days a week, I always seem to feel fresh. I had a hard run last week where I ran hill repeats of .23 miles x 4. Even though this workout only lasted 19 minutes it was by far the hardest yet. I just plain and simple don't like running up or down hills. It is disappointing because I think trail races like the ones on www.pctrailruns.com by far look the coolest but once I look at the elevation gains and losses it makes me cringe. I actually did one of these races in Montano de Oro a few years ago and here is the elevation chart...
Basically this race killed me and my quads. I couldn't even walk down stairs for about 3 days without holding onto the rails. Nevertheless, days after my hill repeats last week I could still feel the effects. My butt and all the surrounding muscles (the ones I don't realize I have until they start to hurt) were really sore. Once I got going on my subsequent runs I felt better and I knew at that point I needed to start adding more hilly routes to my regular running routines so I am ready for the Verrazano and Queensborough Bridges.
Today was the first of those hilly days and thanks to my new running watch I can upload the run like magic...
I think at the 3.5 mile mark I was all the way down to about 12:00/mile pace which was the top of the biggest hill. I should have just walked at that point because I would not have been going any slower but it was more of a mental thing and wanting to push through. I know in my first marathon I told myself "no walking" and I was glad I did because it really made me keep going. In my second marathon I forgot how tough the marathon really was and I didn't tell myself "no walking" so of course I did. That made for a long day and a lot of walking, because once you start it's really hard to start running again. I'm hoping to be well enough prepared come November that walking doesn't even enter my mind.