Hill repeats!

Oh my word! Those are tough!

Last week (I am so behind with blogging!) Sweatshop were doing hill repeats. I only just got there in time as I left work a bit later than usual, so had to run there a bit faster than usual. Then of course I was filled with joy at the prospect of running up the hill not once, but 6 times.

We jogged gently there, and then were told to run as hard as we could up the hill, then to jog gently back down as the recovery, and repeat.

We do have a route that takes in this hill, but of course we normally only run it once, so 6 times involved a mental battle too.

At first it was OK, but nearing the top the lactic acid builds, the energy disappears from my legs and it just feels so tough. Then running slowly down the hill seemed alien- normally I would try to pick up my pace on the down hill to make up for running slower up it, so I kept having to purposefully slow down.

After 4 goes I was not sure I would finish, but seeing the determined faces of the rest of the group helped to spur me on. It was good doing something where we were all together, although a couple of the speedy ones were finished before my 5th one I think!

After we had all finished we jogged slowly back to the shop- a couple of people managed a sprint finish to the shop, but I didn’t have the energy in my legs for that- it was all left on the hill!

Again, like the speed training, it is something that I would not do on my own- I said to my brother as we jogged back that if I did that by myself I would probably only manage 3 before I gave up- in my head I was thinking “I have had a busy day, I should just take it easy on the run tonight” etc, whereas in fact it was great to properly tire myself out.

Also, my Garmin elevation map had 6 perfect camel humps in the middle- love it!

I had a delicious pot of Booja Booja chocolate “ice-cream” (made with cashews)- this stuff is gorgeous and a perfect way to cool down!

Are you a fan of hills? I don’t mind them in races (so long as they are not too crazy) as I feel I can go up them at a steady pace and then recover and speed up on the downhills.