Mon 29th - Run 67 - Killer Loop no more

Up earlyish before work, toyed with the idea of going to Lillydale Lake, but ended up just running from home.

I was a little apprehensive as the loop from home is pretty tough even though it is only 7.75k, ever since moving to Chirnside this has been a course that has provided a love / hate relationship with. It has made me walk on a number of occasions, I have regularly avoided it and opted for different locations even if it meant a drive to get there.

So with only my 2^nd run PM, I didn’t know if it was a good idea. So I didn’t pressure myself on the run, I went without a watch.

 

With the long downhill start I just rolled the legs over to get comfortable, the air was cool and there was a little drizzle. I was glad I opted for 2 layers and a long sleeve top.

The first serious uphill and I felt OK, just focussed on a steady claw to get up and over. I then used the down hill to relax and just enjoy the time on my legs. At the start of the 2^nd and longest uphill section, I was not feeling particularly motivated, so I just tried to relax and keep things moving. This climb can be broken into 3 or 4 sections as I hit cross roads and intersections. The first part is a gentle rise, then the next section is a short, sharp steep incline. When I saw this bit, all my past struggles came into mind. But I quickly determined that I had to get past this, so I attacked this hill with purpose. Before long I was at the corner and past the tough section. This felt great, as I now feel comfortable that I’ll never have a mental hurdle with that bit again. The next section levels off and then there is another tough section which is immediately followed by one of the steepest sections on the loop. Given my win just gone, I simply found a nice cadence and cruised to the corner and then easily tackled the last steep bit, since I’d won the battle here previously it held no issues for me.

 

One thing I did realise, which totally makes sense and probably is a natural thought for everyone else…..but hills are hills are hills, it does not matter how slowly you try and run them, if you actually run them then the effort required to get up them is not much less than when you try and run them fast. You have to lift yourself up a hill every step, unlike flat running when you can just roll along and slower pace = less effort and energy. A hill will give you a work-out every time. My speed this year can be attributed to hills I’m sure, but perhaps I had not given them as much credit as deserved.  If you want more speed, get some hills into your week!!

 

Back to the loop, from here a long downhill and a final tough climb. On this one I was day dreaming and before I knew it I was half way up, I felt a bit cheeky so I did some high knee lifts and strides UP the hill!! From here home is less than 2km, so from the base of a steep downhill, I decided to stretch out a bit more and push the pace to home, probably less than 5min effort. But it felt nice to be moving quickly without much stress.

 

Back home, a short walk cool down, then inside and check on Jayden (already awake) before seeing the clock. I was pretty surprised to see that I had probably run the course in about 37-38 min without ever working really hard except for the sections noted. It used to take me that long or longer when I made the whole course hurt…..

 

So, the killer loop has been tamed. I now feel like running it flat out to see how long a fast circuit will take.

This course no longer plays mind games with me.

 

Sorry for the long post on a single simple training run, but I think you can ‘get’ the significance. Since it is much easier to just run from home….