In my running log, there's a section for "rave runs," and I have not been sure what that means until last night. I came home from work, and Wifey and Little One were napping together. My dinner, slippers, pipe, and newspaper were not forthcoming so I figured I may as well go for a run. I jumped on Running Ahead, figuring that I could make a five mile course in the park and get my hills workout out of the way. Turns out that the basic loop is 2.4 miles. With a few minor extended jaunts around traffic islands and whatnot, I was able to make a 2.5 mile course that I could run twice.
I have to admit, I don't like running hills. I don't do it on treadmills, and my neighborhood is on an almost totally flat floodplain. I'm not used to hills, and I avoid them whenever possible. However, all I read is that hill workouts really do wonders. They increase your overall leg strength. They can improve speed. Yada yada.
I parked in the park and took off. It was pretty good at first. I surprised myself with my ability to tackle the first hill -- Dog Hill, so named for the dozens of dogs who frequent the place along with their owners. I struggled, but it didn't suck awfully. Then there was an short flat piece and then it's downhill for a long time. Then, the climb to Hogan's Fountain begins. That, too, was manageable. After Hogan's Fountain comes a rather long, winding downhill stretch followed by a relatively flat piece that's easily a mile or more by itself. Before I knew it, I was back at my car after a little over 25 minutes. I was running a ten minute mile!
Yesterday I was on fire. I passed my exam. I was running like a mad man. I should have played the lottery.
Then came the second lap. I didn't feel like it, but I knew I had to get in that last 2.5 miles. By force of will, I dragged myself back up Dog Hill, walking once for about 100 feet. Then, I let inertia and gravity pull me down. My legs were fine, and I wasn't breathing hard; my brain was kicking my ass after this hill. I got it into my head that I had to pee [I didn't.] I wanted to quit. But I toughed it out. I kept telling myself how good it would feel to write down five miles of hills in my log. For me, it's all about the data. Dragging myself up the hill to Hogan's Fountain was an eternity. Then the downhill was only less slightly less boring.
That's the bad part of long runs for me -- boredom. I seem to be at a stage of my fitness where the actual physical abuse is tolerable. The boredom of pounding out five or six miles is what kills me.
But I finished having only walked that one piece up Dog Hill. I stretched, and with the run behind me, I felt like I had really accomplished something. I felt like I had done a good workout. Perhaps it wasn't an Olympian effort. I certainly had some juice left. But the struggle, as I said, wasn't in my legs or lungs. It was in my head. I finished. And that was what made it a rave run for me.
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