"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired." - George S. Patton

Monday, May 31, 2010

Doing Hill Work While Training

So my big, first half marathon is less than a month away. I am pretty stoked but just realized that while I have successfully completed all of the mileage on my training schedule, I have neglected to work on many hills.

Oh dear.

Well, no time like the present, right? Today I found the biggest hills in Puyallup during my 8 mile run and I am fairly certain that this is as close to death as I have ever been. Did I stop? No. Did I want to lay down and roll back down the hill once I got about half way up? Most definitely.

So now that I have figured out that I am strong, I am unstoppable.. and indeed, I am woman, how do I get my legs ready for the big hills on my upcoming race? Does anyone have any secret leg workouts or special tricks of the trade to make uphill climbs a little easier?

3 comments:

  1. Your running and training will have you ready for the hills! You will be amazed what you can do race day! My first half and full marathon had killer hills, but I didn't train on killer hills. You will be fine!! I usually try to incorporate hills into my shorter runs. Promise, you'll be FINE!!

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  2. Keep your chest lifted so your lungs can expand and get you the air you need to power up the hills....Also, don't look at the top of the hill when going up, look several feet in front of you, mentally you won't psych yourself out. Other than that, I like to add a good hill climb towards the end of a longer run - if you can do it then when you are tired, you will have no problem come race day! Best of luck to you. - Erika

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