Realizations

58°,    NE 10,   80% H,   UV 0,    Dp 47°

This was my second time running the Selden Hills, this time, with the self appointed "Hillbillys". It so happened that today was 'newbie' day. And although I had run these hills before, I still felt like a newbie, because I had yet to meet the group.

I managed to get lost on the way there, so all those hillbillys had already left without me. There was, however, a gentleman waiting in the parking lot. A tall and lanky man with a friendly face. He was dressed in his red Selden Hills shirt. We exchanged pleasantries while waiting just a few minutes more to see if anyone else would show.

Even though I had my all my electronics, I didn't start any up.  The conversation was non-stop - mostly on his end. He asked me what he thought my pace would be, I told him anywhere between 10:30 and 9:30. He seemed good with that, and told me that we would run the entire course together. He explained some of the history, described the course, explained the philosophy of the group, and everything in between. I tried to be gabby, but I found it was wearing me out. I explained that I always run alone, so talking while running was not easy for me. He totally understood, and told me I did not have to participate in the conversation, but - he would keep talking anyway. He was awesome! What a great introduction into this hard running group!

The hills were just as challenging as before, and I had to walk several times. My guide and escort, K.C., slowed his pace down for me while I recovered. Only once he went on ahead, and that was to scout a dangerous section of the route that was blind to both drivers and runners, and he would wait for me at that crest.

It was nice to have him prepare me for each of the hills that were coming up.
"OK, this is the second to last, and then it's down hill and a right at the stop signs"
"OK, we get a decent break here, about a half mile of flat"
"And here's the halfway point, but now we've got to go up again for a mile and a half" - and so on.

I had asked him our time on the way back. He told me that we were about 31 minutes at mile 3, and we were 38 minutes out as the answer to my question.
I was surprised. It felt fast, but I thought it was because I had company, and that it was an illusion. I was really running these hills faster than I thought.

First important realization: In order to get faster, for me, I need to run with someone faster than myself. I let myself get away with too much slacking during training.

By the time we were about 2 miles out from the finish (10k) we had come up on two runners from the back of the pack of the original group that started about 6 minutes ahead of us. The woman was going to run in Brazil in a few weeks. Her longest run had been 4 miles - and it was her first run on the hills, too! She had an escort in the gentleman who was running with her, as well.  We ran together for about 400 meters until K.C. and I pulled away from them to continue on for yet MORE hills. At the end of the last hill, we had 1.2 miles of flat. It was a straight line back to the parking lot. Marty let the woman he was with finish at her own pace, and he caught up to us before the final quarter mile. As we turned right into the parking lot, K.C. mentions that we have 30 seconds to go to finish in exactly 60 minutes! We had to haul ass.

Ugh! I was exhausted! But, to the left - about 200 meters away, was a sea of red shirts, about 20 or so folks, waiting. And when they saw us break into a sprint, they must of realized we had a goal. The cheers and encouragement where amazing! I was genuinely moved.

So, Cow Harbor had just become a docile, familial pet.  Selden Hills is the untamed, relentless beast. And, running with a coach of sorts, it took me only 3 minutes more to harness the potential power in not only myself, but those hills as well.

Realization #2: Hills are your friend. In order to build endurance, besides cycling as cross training, hills can't be beat.

I met only a handful of the group. We were talking about fueling, how long it takes us to get to the hills from where we live, tackling the declines, etc. I was told they will be running every Wednesday at 4:30 pm and Sundays at 8:00 am.
I will try to get out there at least 2x a month. I have a feeling it might be 3. (But I'm still a little high from the morning!) Economically speaking, it took a quarter of a tank to get there and back. The good news is that gas prices are dropping. 4.09 for premium last week to 3.97 last night. How serendipitous! And now that I know the correct way to get there, I'll be shaving miles and time from the ride.

Realization #3: There is power in camaraderie. And THIS is coming from a self-proclaimed introvert.

No pictures, not much data. I had the sense to start Magellan up about 2 miles into the run. It's not as elegant as Runmeter's data, but I'll post the link nontheless.

Magellan Data

Hey. Did you hear about the new Garmin 620? It's coming soon.. and it looks AWESOME. I'll be trying that baby out, and maybe put the Magellan up for sale.