Winning the Head Game and Playing in the Rain

Today was to be our (USAFit/Philly) first group hill workout. There seemed to be interest when it was first posted. And then the rains came. Messages were shared on Facebook questioning the wisdom of trying this given the weather. Most agreed to make it a gametime or "when i'm leaving worktime decision."

If you follow this blog you may recall that I wanted 2012 to be the year of no excuses. So I knew I had to resist making any go or no-go call until as late as possible. If I made a no-go decision based on the weather at noon I simply wouldn't go even if the weather improved. It was difficult to resist making that decision as the rain came down pretty heavy at times and often wind blown during the day.

At 4 pm - my leaving work time - it was a bit brighter out. To say it was sunny would be a big stretch but the system seemd to be taking a break. So I decided to go for it.  Or at least go to the park and see what might happen. I had a few errands to do and arrived at the park about 5:15. I changed in the restrooms and then sat in my car and waited. It drizzled and drizzled. At 5:45 Mel arrived. As she got out of her car she said she'd rather run in the rain than on the treadmill. Amen to that! Shortly after that Michelle arrived and at 5:59 and 30 seconds - just as we were deciding to take off - Mike arrived.

The four of us jogged over the Audobon Loop hill. Then we did three sets of the following:
30 seconds hard running up; 15 seconds walk down
30 seconds hard running up; 15 seconds walk down
30 seconds hard running up; 15 seconds walk down
Then run to the top of the hill. When one of us made it to the top we all turned around and walked down. At the bottom we rested for 45-60 seconds. Once everyone had their breath back we did it again.

Three times.

The rain by the way had stayed at a drizzle but the canopy of trees shielded us. That's not to say we weren't soaked. It was 100% humidty and then some if that were possible. It wasn't pretty. I vowed to keep moving but smiling was a chore. BUT WE DID IT.

The four of us and Perki
The USAFit Philly Mascot

We jogged back to our cars. Took photos to prove we were there :) And met Maureen who unfortunately got stuck in traffic so we missed her.

This is my first official hill workout. In the past I've simply chosen hiller routes to run and often cheated. (Walked the hills). I'd say my immediate goal is to get to the point where I'm not begging for the 30 seconds to be over. Long term of course would be to get to the top of that hill in one swoop and feel good about it. That may be a pretty long way off though.

I will have to stretch more before these workouts. My hamstring has been feeling good on 'regular' flatter runs. I definitely felt it today. Not sore but definitely felt it.

I'm really glad I didn't let the rain keep me in. It really wasn't that bad and as I sit here and listen to it steadily pounding the trees and pavement outside I can smile.