Holy Hills

This morning the Fleet Feet Marathon Group met up for 12 miles at Queeny Park. After 14 miles last week, this was considered to be a 'recovery' week in preparation for 16 miles next week. I had heard horror stories of this park due to the inclines and declines of all the hills. How bad could it be? I mean St. Louis doesn't have that treacherous of terrain- at least not in comparison to the slopes and hiking stuff I have experienced in Denver.

Well the day got off to a rough start. I woke up tired and not in the mood to run. I headed out anyway and decided to jam to my new Lady Gaga cd, which I highly recommend. I started feeling pumped up after listening to "Marry the Night", D.J. version of "Born this Way", and more. That pumped up feeling soon turned to panic because I was nearing the deadline for check in but still hadn't found the road that would lead me to the park. My gut instinct, and odometer, told me I needed to turn around. 4 miles down the road when you should have only gone 2.5....you do the math. I re-consulted my phone, thank goodness for smart phones, and got back on track. I finally found the park but then spent the next 5 minutes trying to find our group. It shouldn't be hard to find 50+ people doing silly warm-up exercises, but for me it was. After 4, probably illegal, U-turns I found them. At least there is no traffic at 6:30 on Saturday morning.

Now I really didn't want to run. But when I met up with the group, just in time for the last of the warm-ups, all of their smiling faces said they were glad I made it. Turns out Queeny first-timers tend to get lost ;). It was a little sticky as we set out, but the terrain didn't seem too bad. We were running on gravel, which was pretty new for me. I found myself constantly tripping over rocks but avoided face planting. Our group leader Paul gracefully hopped over a log thing. Apparently we ran through a horse training area. There were remnants to prove horses had been there, if you know what I mean....

We continued on through 2 miles and no real hills. This isn't so bad. Then we entered the 'woods'; so this is where they hide the hills. My heart was beating so hard and fast I thought this must be what it feels like if you have a cardiac arrest. We quickly finished the first loop, 4 miles, and refueled and hydrated. That wasn't so bad, I guess, let's do this 2 more times. The second go was a little more challenging. I wish I would have taken a picture of this hill. My thighs and butt burned so much by the time I got to the top. It felt like I had done 100 squats in a row. At least my butt will look extra good in jeans this weekend ;)

The trail got a little crowded because I think it was high school cross country training day or something. They were like a stampede of horses. I kind of liked it when they sped by because it stirred up a little extra wind to cool me off. I was pouring sweat the first lap. The second lap I think I got used to it. The third lap the wind picked up and it felt like the temperature dropped 10 degrees. I was actually cold while running!

A storm was brewing. We could hear thunder off in the distance. Someone said they could feel rain, but I thought it was just sweat flying off some of my teammates. There are some sweaty people on my team.....and they know it. The joke is that if you ever get lost, follow their sweat trail. We cruised through the third loop. It wasn't easy. Our legs were so tired. I think my heart and lungs adjusted to the extra effort required for the hills, so that was the only plus. Well, that and the fact that running with my team put me in a better mood. We were all in it together. They are some of the toughest people I know. Kelly is fighting an IT band injury. Another girl almost puked on the course- don't try new nutritionals on hill days. And Mary just cruised ahead and turned around to run up the biggest hill one more time, even though she didn't need to. We finished strong, and just in time. I stretched a bit and then the rain just started to come down in buckets. I stayed in it long enough to grab one of Mary's homemade peanut butter cookies. That cookie made the whole run worth it. Too bad I didn't have my chocolate milk at that time.

I think I made it through today without serious injury. I noticed the bug bite on my foot turned in to a blister, but I think that's about it. Oh and my stomach- because I know you're dying to know- completely fine. So not only will I celebrate conquering the hills, this will be done with ibuprofen and a leg massage from my fiance (he doesn't know it yet), but I'll also celebrate my stomach finally settling. Yay!

So was this as horrible as everyone made it out to be? I don't think so. Then again, I'm one of those weirdos who likes hills, just maybe not that many and not that steep. What a tough but rewarding day.