I've always been a Green Lake or Burke-Gilman runner, seeking out flat terrain in this hilly city. But, thinking about the pain that will ensue if I don't get my legs accustomed to going uphill, I've been trying new routes the last few weeks, like this one and this one.
I wish I could say running hills was getting easier. But so far it's still really hard work. On Tuesday, I set out to do two laps around the Discovery Park trail, a 100% increase from my previous encounters with this trail. I completed it, but not without feeling seriously nauseous in the middle.
The psychology of running, and physical activity in general, is really interesting to me. I intellectually know that my mind can put serious limits on how far I can go, but it's hard to believe that when I'm in the middle of something really tough. I recorder in my head around mile 3.5 of the Discovery Park run would have caught a storyline like, "What was I thinking, trying this? My body is way too tired out from yoga yesterday. My legs are like lead, probably because my iron levels are low again. Okay, about to puke, must stop now." Somehow, I pushed through and ended the run feeling perfectly gleeful.
In vipassana practice, Rodney would label these thoughts doubt and advices dealing with this emotional hinderance by acknowledging that doubt is arising. I suspect that a similar strategy would help my running doubt as well. At least being aware that I am prone to several miles of doubt will help me make it through to an easier state of mind, particularly in the upcoming race.
And running more hills will no doubt help too. Who knows, maybe someday I'll be a wild, hill-running fiend.
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