Hills!!!

[hebdenlaura]

I’m on week 7 and it’s so good to feel able to run sometimes without constantly wondering about how many seconds are left! But... I’m finding steep hills so tricky, sometimes I start thinking about upcoming hills and getting daunted before I even reach them. By the time I get there I’ve usually talked myself into thinking I can’t run up them so I walk instead, then feel disappointed and decide to repeat the week. Live in Calderdale so there is no such thing as a run with no hills. Any thoughts?

[linda9389 Graduate]

That's a tough mental challenge to add into the mix. First off - walking and running is OK, and can be the perfect way to deal with a hill! But as you're aim in this program is to run continuously I can see why its not quite perfect just now. One option may be to run laps of a shorter route that avoids hills? Or could you run from home and back in different directions (so maybe 0.5k out and back in one direction, then 1k out and back in another direction ... ). But if you absolutely have to tackle a hill, then do it super slowly (take much smaller steps, still as a run action but tiny tiny steps forward each time your foot hits the ground - it may be no quicker than a walk but it's still a continuous run action and uses every bit as much energy as running on the flat). Good luck.