I was not looking forward to the half-marathon training run tonight. Everyone was a little gloomy about the anticipated difficulty of this run -- we were doing hill repeats in the middle of a 4-mile run. I thought to myself that perhaps I should bump it down to the slowest group. Or maybe I should even run with one of the 10K training groups, since they were doing something shorter.
And then-- it was terrific. I ran the full distance, with my usual pace group, and it went really well. I actually love running hills for the same reason I love running intervals -- it's a short intense burst of activity in which the end point is always clear. I suppose the end point is always clear during a 7-mile slog as well, but there's something delicious about cresting the top of the hill, knowing that there's a moment's respite ahead. You can take the girl out of West Virginia, I suppose, but you can't take the West Virginia out of the girl.
After the run was over, the coordinator invited us over to have a beer in her driveway. I met another mom of 5, and we talked about sending kids off to college. I am feeling more comfortable, and less like an outsider in this group, and boy do I love riding that endorphin buzz after a hard run.
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