Four Hilly Miles

I’ve started my spring half marathon training on Tuesday. I ran four hilly miles in the cold for a total time of 39:49 (9:57 pace) with a total elevation gain of 334 ft.

Mile splits

9:32
9:45
10:11
10:24

I found my route for hill training! The area right by my work out on Long Island has a decent route with plenty of rolling hills, including one long gradual incline. I can easily make the route 3-4 miles depending upon what I feel like/need and because each mile is about equally hilly, this means that cutting out a mile doesn’t impact the hilliness of the route.

Tuesdays are quieter days at work for me. I didn’t have any meetings or anything on my agenda, aside from my own personal work. Knowing that I could quietly lock myself in my office and remain uninterrupted, I dressed in my running clothes for work. After I was done for the day, I quickly ran out of the building and started my run. I had to run carefully because it was cold and there was a danger of having frost on the ground. I didn’t run fast because I find it difficult to run all that fast when it’s really cold outside (it takes a long time for me to warm up and when it’s really cold, my asthma gets in the way) and I didn’t want to fall if there was a hidden icy spot on the ground.

Running 10 min miles was slower than what I originally intended, but it’s not so bad considering that I was running over hills and most importantly, I ran safely without falling. I’m rather clumsy, so it’s not all that uncommon that I return from a run a little nicked up. I’m fairly satisfied with this route, so I’ll be incorporating this route more often into my upcoming running routine.