But this time I asked for it! (The hilly course, that is!)
I'm still smarting a little from last week's mega-hilly (to me) 5K, so I decided to join an unofficial Galloway run, but do my own run/walk intervals. We started at the new Raleigh Running Outfitters in Cary, on NC Hwy 55 in High House Crossing Shopping Center, near the Harris Teeter. They had maps for up to 10-mile courses out to (and on) the White Oak Creek Trail that's part of the Cary Greenway System. I'd heard the course has some hills, so I decided to tackle it, but take it pretty slowly. I did the run/walk intervals set out for me, which--after the warm-up walk, were 1 mile runs interspersed with .2 mile walks. The hills weren't a total shock this week, so they didn't feel terrible, but I sure did feel slow. It was time on the hills, though, right? The total ascent was 951 ft, and total descent was 952 (according to my Garmin). St. Tim's 5K ascent and descent last weekend were in the low 500s, to put in into perspective! (Today's mileage was a mile longer, though.)
I ended up with 4.1 miles in the books, in a slow-pole 1:18:02, a pokey 19:02 average pace. Time-wise, it feels like I'm back to Square 1. The hills are a new twist, though, and something that I feel like I need to conquer to become a stronger runner--and better racer in the Raleigh area.
Mile Splits:
1) 18:42
2) 18:24
3) 19:07
4) 19:41 (From the trail up NC Hwy 55 to the shopping center and running store is a big long incline!)
.1) 21:04 pace
2 comments:
I have a love/hate relationship with hills. hate doing them but love the fact I did them afterwards.
Whenever I hit a hill I think of a video I saw on YouTube about a woman doing her first marathon. She said the differnce between her and other runners was that she always tried to talk herself up the hills instead of giving up. That made the climb better, and she didn't feel discouraged. Personally, I also have a love hate relationship...but no way to progress without some hill sprints here and there :0)
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