I finally took the time to map out the Baltimore Marathon course on gmap pedometer late yesterday so I can understand the elevation difference and how it relates to the course. With that, I was able to find a course to run this morning that somewhat mimics the worst part of the hills (the first 7 miles) .. and WOW, I need to do some work..

The course I chose to do my hillwork was actually a 6 mile loop, that I did twice.. the first 3 miles was pretty much uphill, with the second 3 miles pretty much downhill. I took the time to DRIVE to a course today, instead of just settling for a course right around home (which is why I actually posted the course I ran). I found a spot to park in a shopping center parking lot, and headed out from there .. and I found that I struggled with the hill, which the way I look at it, is okay at this point, because its the wakeup call that I need to make me continue to focus on training and to ensure I get quality out of my workouts. I actually deviated from the course a little on the first loop at the top of the hill, and almost got lost, but got back on track because I wasn’t sure where I was going. The downhill was just as challenging because downhills really beat your legs up as well. The second lap was even more difficult, but it allowed me to work on dealing with sore legs, hills, being exhausted but still having to keep going.

This workout today made me remember the tips I have for running hills, which date back to my first formal competitive run (Berwick Diamond Run, 2005) .. note thats a 9 mile hill race on Thanksgiving day:

• You will run slower going uphill, so slow the pace down as best as possible, don’t push your pace or even try to attack the hill by going real fast (especially if its a long hill like I did today).
• Shorten your stride, which by not pumping your arms as hard, actually will happen subconsciously… its weird how that works, but it does
• Keep good form, especially by keeping your back straight. posture, posture, posture.
• When going downhill, lean forward and keep the short strides. If you lean back and try to break yourself, you’ll kill your quads (ask anyone who has done Steamtown. Don’t overstride!

Anyway, its unfortunate that I just started doing this type of hill workout now, I probably should have been doing these for a few weeks already since I only have 3 weeks to prepare now. I think that by mixing this workout in the next 2 Sundays, adding another hill workout on Tuesdays run .. and making my normal GA runs a little more challenging during the week should help get me prepared (I hope). I’ve also decided to add the speed day back in on Thursdays for now .. although keeping the mileage for the speed run reasonable.

The surprising part of the whole workout today, was that when I was done, I felt good. Tired, but felt good. I’ve always said that there is nothing like a good hard workout to get the blood moving. As of now, my legs are slightly sore, but its a good sore (meaning that it doesn’t hurt, its just sore). It was also the coldest morning yet this fall, with a start temperature of 42 degrees, and although I was cold at first with just a long sleeve shirt on and shorts, after the first mile, I was quite warm… I do forget that it gets warm fast this time of year, which reminds me that tomorrow is the first day of Fall .. its depressing in one way, but in another, its not so bad… it is my favorite season though.

Off to rest the legs, I have a lot of work to do before the Baltimore Marathon..