Hills

You know the drill. Sorry it has been so long blah blah blah.  Life has just been so crazy blah blah blah.  Well now that we have that out of the way... I really have missed writing  :)

Before you start reading, this post isn't about scary hills with pupils or drama filled beach scenes. It's about how I have come to realize there are life lessons in just about everything you do.  You just have to be open to them.

This January I started training for my first half marathon.  Before 2015 the longest distance I had ran was 3.1 miles. Now in a little under 3 weeks I will be running 13.1 miles! (I can't focus on this too much as it does make me emotional but I'll save that for another post). In my early days of training, I wanted to run on the flattest routes I could find.  Hills were evil, all they did was ruin my motivation. I tried complaining about the hills to my boyfriend and all he said was "They'll make you a better runner." All I could think was "Phish! what does he know." Maybe its because he already has 5 half marathons under his belt that what he said did have a little weight.  So I started trying to look at hills like they were a pill or supplement. The more hills I had, the better I would become (in moderation of course).

Now, whenever I run up a hill, I look at it like just another obstacle in life.  Life is filled with hills and downhills (also crests but I'll get to that). The uphills can sometimes seem daunting, impossible, and you may wish you could just avoid them all together. But if you just tell yourself that you will be a better person once you get over that hill, it makes the climb a little less horrible.  The down hills are great. When you have to climb up a hill to get to the down hill, that is when they are amazing!  The last part of the hill, the part I probably hate the most, is the crest. The part of the hill when you aren't quite to the top. You see and feel the top, maybe even see the downhill side of it but you are just not...quite... there. You can't celebrate but you don't know if you keep the motivational thoughts flowing much longer to get you past that last part... of.... the hill.  Then you get to the top and give yourself a grin, maybe even a laugh because it is just a hill.  Did it really think it could defeat you.