This weekend I defeated the hill again but one block after the peak I had to slow my pace to a fast walk to allow my breathing and heart rate to normalize. Kona looked back at me, puzzled as if to say “keep pushing, don’t let me down!” But I had to walk for just a bit to catch my breath again, clearly I was excited about the hill climb and had run at a faster pace than normal.

When I got home I felt discouraged by what I considered at the time a failure, the hill had taken just enough out of me that I had to walk part of the route I had chosen to run. However, later in the afternoon I realized that I’m doing myself a favor by pushing a faster pace up the hill and really challenging myself and I started dreaming about doing hill sprints and how the pain involved certainly must be equal to the feeling of accomplishment that comes afterward.

Goal for next week: circle the block twice four double hill climb action.

I’ve just signed up for the Seattle Rock & Roll Half Marathon in an effort to encourage myself to step up my running routine. Over the past 12 months my runs have dropped down to the 2-2.5 mile mark and I realize I’ve fallen into a comfort zone that I need to break out of.

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