My quads are piiiiiiiiiisssssed. Happy Friday

Hill repeats, turns out? HARD. And awesome.

When I got my schedule for the week, and it called for hill repeats, it was very vague. 10 repeats, sprint up 60-90 seconds, jog down. What does that mean? What's a hill? What pace? I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO I NEED FINITE NUMBERS ARGH.

As I do, I overthunk it, and spent too much time trying to make this perfect.

I spent daaaays on mapmyrun finding the Perfect Hill equivalent to a treadmill at level 6-10%.

PROBLEM 1

I don't know what that means. I cannot judge things based on effort. My brain doesn't work that way, I need numbers. Everything that isn't flat is either waaaah hill or wheeeeee downhill. There is no "based on effort" in there.

But I'm searching, searching searching. Plotting, plotting plotting. And then, like magic, my friend Snork mentions that she ran a really hilly route with a friend of hers, and that she hated it, and it was in an area I had considered, but I didn't know the area OR anyone who lived there, so I nixed it.

And hence was born the plan to make her watch me run hill sprints, followed by 4 easy miles.

Since (see above) I don't really even know what 6-10% treadmill effort means, I picked what looked to be a reasonable hill, and planted my friend and my Nuun there. Ran a quick mile warm up on a slightly uphill section (this is considered foreshadowing), then got to work.

60 second sprints up, walk/jog down, repeat ten times.

When I asked about pace, I was told "equivalent to 10K effort, but will probably be slower".

PROBLEM 2

I don't have any gauge for pace effort. Everything faster than slow feels like I will die while I'm doing it, and the second I stop I feel like it was amazing and I could do it forever. It's like amnesia. I don't know how to gauge this. I NEED NUMBERS.

Paces: 8:05, 8:32, 8:56, 9:29: 9:49, 10:24, 10:25, 10:07, 10:21, 10:51

I know. I don't even know what to say. I suck at pacing? I mean, I figured it out after awhile, same as when I did 400's outside for the first time. But holy hell, those first few wrecked me. I thought FOR SURE I would be quitting after 4. Then 5. Then 7. And then I did them all. Shocked.

Jogged over to meet my friend and her friend (and her freaking cute chubby baby!). Her friend led us on what was supposed to be a 4 mile loop.

PROBLEM 3

Except that it was, like, 6.7.

And hilly. Apparently, Snork's friend has a strategy - get lost, and then run farther than you intended. Noted, for next time.

And so, I ended the 7 miles with hill repeats at 9.72 miles with hill repeats.

PROBLEM 4

And those hill repeats on a 6-10% grade?

They were on this.

Which, phawk, no WONDER I thought I was dying.

When I got home and saw that, out of curiosity, I plotted out my warm up route, and hey, guess what. That sucker was 6-8% grade for it's entirety. Good.to.know. (PS, my warm up mile was 10:31, what?!)

This is the entirety of our run...

Considering I never, ever, ever run hills, I was super pleased that I didn't feel weak or like I slowed down on the uphills. Phew. Um, also, my last mile was sub 10. Boom.

So, fine, hill repeats. FINE. I guess I don't hate you as much as I thought I would. Well, I did, while they were happening, but now I suppose I will forgive you.

So all of this, plus the conditioning class the morning before = me stumbling around with pissed quads.

But with 9.72 hilly miles done, and feeling strong. So I guess it balances out.

I guess the trick is to almost swear off running and declare yourself the whiniest runner ever. Running is a tricky critter that way.

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Gabby learned this week that sadly, FroYo does not keep well.

I know. I'd cry too.

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I've got big plans to plant my ass on the bike trainer Sunday morning and watch the (hopefully not rainy) LA Marathon this weekend. You know you're a runner when.....

Good luck to my friends running, LA and DC!