The forecast for this past Saturday, the day of my longest run to
date - 18 miles - sounded much like the title of this post (ok, I didn’t hear any of the weather people
mention terrain, but they did talk about wind, rain and even snow.) I wasn’t really concerned about the weather
and temps; I actually prefer cold weather over heat (see my post from last week.) I also believe there are many advantages to
running in the weather we had on Saturday:
1) bragging rights, 2) warm beverages taste better, and 3) hot showers
feel so much better after a run on a cold day (and I feel like I’ve earned the
right to stay in the shower a bit longer too!)
When I left the house at 6:15 am, it was 45
degrees and dry. Perfect! As I took off I figured the meteorologists
were wrong once again, this time to my advantage. Well, they were not wrong – during my 3+ hour
run, I ran through sleet and rain and wind.
By the time I got home, the temperature had dropped to 36 degrees. But it all worked out. The weather kept me cool, and the hot shower
felt oh, so good!
I didn’t always think about running in less-than-ideal
conditions in this way. My perspective
is definitely an acquired taste. When I
look back through my journal, I chuckle at the notes I made my very first week
running:
Wednesday, April 30, 2008: “Running class – fun. “ (That first night we walked 8 minutes,
ran 2 minutes and repeated this set 3 times, for a total time of 30 minutes.)
Thursday, April 31, 2008:
“Walked and ran with Molly. The
wind was strong – but it was fun anyway.
Walked 5 minutes /ran 2 minutes.”
Written in the margin across the next few days: “Rain/wind…
NO running here!”
It’s easy to let “bad” weather trump my good
intentions. On more than a few mornings
I’ve heard the rain on the roof and been tempted to hit the snooze button one
more time. And I have! I’ve also come to appreciate the cool,
refreshing side of rain. There are other
times when the wind blows so hard in my face that it seems to turn my road run
into an outdoor stint on a treadmill, blowing so hard it doesn’t seem like I am
making any forward progress. Then again,
there is something to be said about turning a corner and being met by a
perfectly timed breeze. I think these shifts in perspective have been
helpful and made me a stronger runner.
My perspective on hills has taken a bit longer to
shift. Before I started running, I don’t
remember ever giving hills much thought, probably because I was primarily
driving up them! Traveling hills on my
feet has in turn sharpened my focus on the terrain and I find myself making
mental notes of those areas that present noteworthy changes in altitude. It
doesn’t take much – for me, any incline is noteworthy. I don’t always avoid them, I can’t. My strategy is simply to mentally prepare
myself for them.
So imagine my response when I got an e-mail a few weeks ago
from Kim, our marathon clinic leader, when she announced we were starting hill
training that night. Ugh! I
hadn’t gotten to that chapter in my running books yet nor had a paid much
attention to articles on hill training in Runner’s World magazine! I had no idea what I was in for with this
“hill training.” I was so tempted to not
show up, “call in sick,” or “call in well” and head to the Dairy Queen. But I didn’t.
I went and listened intently as Kim told us all the virtues of hill
training. She sent us off to the hill,
proclaiming “remember, hills are our friends.
We LOVE hills!” I remember
chuckling, then realizing that her inflection and the sparkle in her eye was no
joke. Kim truly believes this! At the end of that first night of hills, I
can’t honestly say that I made a fast friend in that hill, nor did I leave
loving it. But I ran what I needed to,
plus one more for extra credit, and it wasn’t so bad.
Not long after that first night of hill training, a former
student stopped by my office to say hello.
She is an amazing runner and when I told her we started hill training,
she didn’t miss a beat and declared “I LOVE hills!” I swear I saw the same sparkle in her eye
that I saw in Kim’s eye!
Last Sunday morning I ended up doing my weekly hill work on
my own. As I was running, I was thinking about the
enthusiasm that Kim and Amanda have for this exercise that I didn’t quite
“get.” Then I realized that it was not
fun running up the hill, but it felt really good jogging down. I even noticed one of those cool, refreshing
“breezes” on the way down. I then recalled a comment another running friend made one time when describing a route I had not done
before. When I asked about the terrain,
he said “there are a couple of hills, but you get them back.” I realized at that moment that the “getting
them back” feeling – the running down the hill, knowing I finished the toughest part
– that is what I like about hills.
Note I did not say that is what I "love" about hills. I like the running down part just fine. Admittedly, I don't
seek hills when I’m planning my runs, especially the long ones, but I’m not avoiding them either. I’m really open to the notion that any adjustment of
my perspective on hills, if there is an adjustment to be made, will take some
time. In the mean time, I will continue to make my
way up hills, and relish the time “getting them back” on the other side. Adding
a cool breeze and refreshing sprinkle on the way down the hill may just speed up
that adjustment process. Maybe…
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