Who's afraid of a few hills?

This is going to sound crazy, but I love running up hills. Lansing doesn't have a lot of them, but I find hill running to be my favorite running challenge. I love driving to Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lansing to run the loop around the cemetery - it's the hilliest route I've found in the area. My first half marathon was in San Francisco, and I ran the Knoxville, TN half - another very hilly race. I don't often get to run hilly routes, but heading home to West Virginia is a guaranteed way to get my hill running fix.

UT's hilly campus where I ran the Knoxville Half in 2011

My husband and I headed to WV last weekend for the West Virginia/Kansas State game. (Let's not discuss the game - I'd prefer to pretend it didn't happen). On Saturday morning my husband, who is training for his first 5k, and I headed out for a run. There is a flat river trail in Morgantown, but I didn't feel like taking the time to drive there. We headed out into the neighborhoods around my parents' house, and the terrain is very hilly.

I charged up the hills in the way I tackle almost anything, and my husband rocked it as well - especially for a novice runner. It is my favorite challenge, and it's always exhilarating. One of my favorite routes to run in Morgantown is a 3 mile loop around the Evansdale Campus where I lived in the dorms my freshman year. It's extremely steep, and sometimes I find myself jogging in place gasping for air during the run. But it's totally worth it. 

A view of Evansdale Campus from the top of the hill. I lived in those dorms my freshman year.

I haven't studied the course for the Pittsburgh Marathon, but I assume it's hilly. Running can become monotonous, and hills are the kinds of challenges that keep me going. I'll be doing lots of loops around Mt. Hope Cemetery to prepare for my next marathon.

Boustead St. is the steepest hill in Pittsburgh. I don't think it's on the marathon course.
  

 

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 23, 2012 at 7:40 PM

    I live in Pittsburgh and haven't run Boustead St...but I do know it's NOT on the course!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SamanthaOctober 24, 2012 at 9:30 AM

    That's probably is good although it could be a fun challenge. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. TROctober 24, 2012 at 7:14 PM

    Maybe one day, in the very, very, veeery distant future, I'll learn to love hills! :P haha :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. SamanthaOctober 25, 2012 at 8:26 AM

    Once you get used to them, they're kind of fun. In a painful, can't catch your breath, but hey I still did it way. :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Some Reasons Why Diet Culture is Garbage: I Poop a Lot and I'm Always Hungry

Image
It was the spring of 1996, and my mom and I were at the mall shopping for my senior prom dress. I had decided I was only going to eat 500 calories a day over the weekend. It was track season, so I couldn't starve myself on practice and meet days, but in my mind it seemed perfectly logical to basically starve my healthy, 17-year-old body on less physical days. I was in the fitting room trying on dresses, and I heard the sales person say to my mom, "Your daughter is so tiny!" I was light headed and nauseous from not eating, but that overheard compliment made me feel like it was all worth it.  Senior Prom 1996 I've struggled with my body image since I was a pre-teen, and in the 30+ years that have passed it's still something with which I struggle daily. I spent years punishing my body so I wouldn't gain weight: eating very few calories and working out for hours, purging, taking laxatives, only drinking alcohol until I threw up so I wouldn't gain weight. It
Read more

Here's a Shortcut: Do the Work.

Image
I have a confession to make: I don't think I'm my best self right now. I've been thinking a lot about being my best self overall (including fitness which is a huge thing for me), and I've come to a simple, unalienable truth: there is no shortcut. To be the best version of yourself (whatever that means) you have to do the work. I'm not the same version of myself at 46 as I was at 26. (Man could I give that girl some good advice though.) I spend a lot of time reflecting on who I am and who I want to be. While doing the work all the time seems daunting on its surface, it's not. It doesn't mean life has to be a grind 24/7, but it does mean that there is effort in whatever is important to you (which of course is unique to each of us). Where am I willing to do the work to be the best version of me? Fitness. I love exercise. My husband says I'm "obsessed", and I retort that there are way worse obsessions. While I'm logging way fewer miles than I
Read more

Why Do I Talk About my "Stuff"?

Image
A few months ago a friend told me someone we knew was venting that I share too much about myself in my blog and on social media. She said (I'm paraphrasing) something like "We all go through stuff. There's no need to share it." At first I was irritated until I realized this person has zero impact on my life. And it's true: we are all going through things. But since then I've been thinking a lot about why I am so candid about things in my life (in particular my struggle with Crohn's Disease).  I was 19 when I got sick. It was so embarrassing. No college girl wants to tell people they're dealing with bloody diarrhea and nausea and horrible cramps. That's the thing about a chronic illness: it's easy to feel like you don't have anyone to lean on. I had my colon removed 5 weeks before I started law school (the delightful adventure chronicled in this blog ). I began law school having lost 30 pounds in less than a month, with steroids puffing up m
Read more