Friday Ramble 09/09/22

This week: Running up that hill. Plus a note about body image, weight gain, and getting comfortable with yourself. 

In every runner’s life, there is a hill. It’s not the biggest hill you’ve ever encountered, but it’s certainly not the smallest either. 

Perhaps your hill rises adjacent to your usual route, whether that’s down the street, around the block, or up a trail. It’s there, and you know it’s there, but you’ve got to make an effort to confront its steady, soul-crushing slope. 

Honestly, it’s just as easy to avoid your hill. No one will know the difference, and even fewer will care. In fact, the only person who will know whether or not you ran up that hill is you.    

No matter how rugged, rough, or runnable, your hill serves as a permanent reminder that you really should get after it every once in a while. Like eating your veggies and flossing your teeth, going up that hill is good for you. 

My hill is located in the Middlesex Fells, where I typically train 2-3 times a week. Known locally as Wright’s Tower, it’s a bit of a tourist attraction because from the top of the hill you can see clear into Boston. 

It’s a short hill, about 240 meters in length, or a little more than halfway around a track. With an elevation gain of 70 feet and a grade of 8.2 percent, it’s just about perfect for hill strides, short powerful bursts of speed at a pace that’s both challenging and sustainable.  

According to Strava, I’ve run this hill 57 times. This week I ran up it faster than I have before.