April 7th, three weeks until the Long Branch Half Marathon...
I was up to 12 miles for my Saturday long run and mapped out a new course to celebrate the milestone. The course led north from Parsippany (my hometown) into Boonton then looping back. I knew full well that the difference in elevation would send me running uphill, as my 11-mile course does, but my goodness, I was not exactly prepared for what I got myself into.
The entire fifth, sixth and seventh miles were completely and directly up the mountain. And the roads were winding, so around every curve I thought, "This has GOT to be the end of the uphill," and for more than 20 minutes, it wasn't. The downhills of miles eight and nine were gradual, but mile 10 included a sharp, severe and very uncomfortable decline that had to be at LEAST a 45 degree angle.
Still, what a workout. I was thoroughly excited when I looked at my time and found it to be only 30 seconds-per-mile slower than my 11.5-mile run on my flat Long Island course.
Remember this...when you're done with a tough hill-training session, you'll always feel better for it. You rarely know what a course will be like when you run a race, so to be extra prepared for hills is a smart way to train. A course like this one served that purpose all too well!
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