those damn hills.

I swear I ran up the same hill coming back as I did going out. I think they follow me around and it's like a treadmill, adjusts the incline so I'm always running uphill. I had a good run this morning. I ran 3 miles harder than I usually run. I need to get faster if I am ever going to make 26.2 miles in the allotted 6 hour time frame! And thinking about running for 6 hours makes me want to pull my hair out.

I started running my typical route today, along the Reedy River. It allows me to stop and let Bama get drinks of water or put her feet in to cool off. Although I think Bama could run longer and faster than I can, I get a bit nervous about pushing her too hard. So I like to make sure we can stop and get her water if she is getting too hot. I ended up getting behind another guy running and I was actually running faster than he was! He apparently didn't hear us coming up because he took up the entire sidewalk. I hate to run off into the grass because I don't want to twist my ankle and I don't want to yell out "excuse me!" So I ended up just turning around and running up this small hill to the road. I had no idea where I was going, but I figured that was best because I won't know how far I have run. I just ran back in the general direction I came from and soon everything looked very familiar. I actually ended up close to where I started, and had to run  up that damn hill again. I know it's good for me, but I just hate them because they fatigue me so much. But I have to say, they are a lot easier than they were 3 months ago! I had to walk up even the slightest incline. So that makes me feel like I am actually getting somewhere and in a lot better shape than I was.

I have my team meeting tonight and am excited about meeting everyone. I actually can't wait to get started on the actual training schedule and run with a group on Saturdays. I know it's going to be a lot easier to run and push myself more with others than I would by myself. So this is going to be an exciting week!