Hills hurt!

I haven't been running much this week (though I have been working out to get my heart rate up), and just wanted to talk a little about hills. Call me crazy, but I LOVE running hills, especially on a trail, but also on the road. Hills FORCE you to go harder than you might otherwise. I know that I can keep up a higher heartrate for longer on a hill than on the flats. I think it's because on the flats, I have to push myself to go harder, but on hills, I feel like I'm battling the hill itself. Kinda weird, but it works for me.

My only advice on hills is that sometimes it's faster to walk the hill than to run it. For me, that's certainly true for steep or long hills. I've found, for example, that my driveway takes about 6 1/2 minutes for me to run (at a slow pace to ensure I can actually make it to the top) or just 5 minutes to walk. And when I walk it, I feel much better at the top; I'm still winded and my heart rate is up, but not as much as when I run.

It's official - low carb does not work with long distances

I went for another long run today, and it was absolutely apparent that you (at least *I*) need carbs for any kind of speed. I ran for about 80 minutes and walked for about 80 more. Luckily I had taken in some carbs before and during, otherwise I would have just passed out, I believe. 

So the lesson I've learned is that I FIRST need to lose weight (through my low-carb diet and slow running), THEN I can work on speed and/or distance. Without the carbs, it just doesn't feel very good at all.

Why the hell do shoe companies have to change their shoes??

I really like my Brooks Dyad 3 (road running) shoes. I like them so much that I emailed Brooks to tell them that after I wore them for a while. Well, they were almost worn out and I thought I'd get another pair. All I could find was the Dyad 4, but I figured they couldn't be *too* different, right? WRONG! IMO, they suck. The cushioning is fine I guess, but the material is all stretchy and provides absolutely no support. Just pissed me off.

A wonderful feeling

All this week I've been running a nice, hard route, pushing myself a little harder each time. It's only a 20-40 minute run that is from 1.5-2.5 miles long, but it'll hurt ya. It's basically an out and back that starts at 2400 feet and drops to 2200 feet in the first quarter mile; it's then up and down a little for a quarter mile, then back up to 2400 feet in a quarter mile, then you turn around and go back. It may not sound like much, but it's definitely enough to hurt. 

By Thursday, I was able to complete the 1.5 mile portion without dying and yesterday I added an additional mile (with some more climbing) to it. And I've done all this while still eating low-carb.

Since I felt so good yesterday, I figured I would go after one of my goals today. I live close to Tellico Gap, which is a place where a road crosses the Appalachian Trail at a relatively high point (around 3800 feet). A goal I've had since I moved here has been to run from the bottom of that mountain, up the road to the top. It's about 3.5 miles, with 1000 feet of climbing. I've only tried a couple of times before, but never made it (I know it's not much to some people, but I'm a Clydesdale, dammit). I'm happy to report that I made it all the way to the top of that bastard! It took me 72 minutes (pretty much the slowest you've ever seen anyone move that still counts as "running"). Coming down took right at 45 minutes. So it was almost 2 hours of running, and I didn't feel like absolute crap at the end.

I ate a normal breakfast for me (a big pan of Better 'n Eggs with some sausage) and I had my 100oz CamelBak filled with water with me (and a Clif Bar just in case, but I didn't have to deploy it). I definitely was tired and needed to nap when I got home, but after two hours of resting (and eating lunch), I feel great!