Well, today I decided I'd run up Big Bertha.

After I reached the mile mark and took a brief walk break, I decided I was going to run up the next hill, Grumbly Volcano. (Yes, like Mario Kart. The hill has a craggy smile like that. But no, it isn't a volcano.) Midway up Grumbly, I decided I was going to run up all of the hills on this loop. After each, I'd take a brief walk break, but some of the breaks ended up being mere seconds, since I felt more tired while walking than I did running.

I ran up the short steep ones. I ran up the longer more gradual ones. I ran up the ones that were both steep and long. And I could do it.

As I turned around to go back the other direction, I decided I was going to run up all the hills on my second loop as well. This meant I got to walk down both Grumbly and Bertha, but it meant going up some other tricky ones (for which I don't have names, sadly, because the opposite direction is not a loop I've taken enough times to become really friendly with the slopes that I've always considered "downhill.")

To be frank, I cheated a little on the second-to-last hill. I ended up walking the last three feet because I was really trudging. But then I ran up the final hill, and was pretty energized.

This was only the fourth time I've done this distance:

1) The first time I walked more than ran, especially for the second loop. It was three weeks before my 10K and I felt pretty numb during the second loop, but pushed on knowing that the race would involve more flat than two rounds of hilly! (Total distance that day was 6.4 miles, so slightly longer than 10k)

2) The 10K race was only the second time I had traveled more than around 7K. (6.2 miles, of course.)

3) Last week, energized off my first 10K, I did a double-loop of what had been "the hard part" of the race. This was the first time I felt the same amount of fatigue as I would have after only one loop. (Total distance 5.5 miles.)

4) Today was the same 5.5 miles I did last week. This was a real victory because I don't feel nearly as tired as I did after my race (which was longer, but flatter) and about the same as when I did the double-loop last week even though I walked the hills then, yet ran up them today. So I am definitely improving. My next race (a 5K Turkey Trot) is a trail run, so getting this hill stuff in is important.

Of course, I have to watch out that I don't push too hard and crash.

But for today, I'm feeling pretty good. Thank you Big Bertha and Grumbly Volcano, for getting me in gear!