Hills, Hills, and more Hills........

I really hate hills.  And no I'm not specifically talking about my upcoming role as Charlie Cowell in Theatre Bristol's production of The Music Man.  As Charlie Cowell, I really do hate hills, Harold Hill, but I guess that is a post for another day.  Getting back to the topic at hand, I really really really really really hate the hills.  Did I type enough “reallys”? I really do.  When I used my treadmill more frequently, I could map out my route or use a route that iFit had already suggested.  If the route had a steep incline or a lot of inclines, I could easily skip it and run one of my “go to” routes that was flat and fast.  I sold my treadmill a couple weeks ago, so now I have to force myself to get out of the house to go run.  The closest, safest place to run right now is two miles from my house at Warriors Path State Park.  The only issue with that is that the official 5k course at Warriors has……dom dom dom…you guessed it a hill.  And not just a hill,  a HUGE hill.  When I started running back in 2010, I would go there frequently due to ease of access.  I hated the hill then, I still hate it.  Well, maybe I don’t hate it entirely.  I guess we can say I have a love/hate relationship with it.  I hate the hill before and during the climb.  I hate it cause it slows me down, especially after not running it for a while.  I hate it because it takes my breath, every ounce of my strength, and makes my legs sore.  I hate it for sooooo many reasons.

But in the end, I really love it.  I love it after I run because I know it has really made me stronger.  The energy I expend getting up the hill makes me better, makes me faster, and gives me the overall feeling that I can tackle any hill that comes my way.  I love it because it makes me sweat.  I love it because it forces me to work beyond my limits, and that is good for me.

When I think about life, I always tell people that life is like a marathon, not a sprint.  We encounter valleys, flat terrain, and, yes, hills.  I preached for 20 years that we do not grow on the flat terrain, or on the mountaintop.  We grow when we’ve been knocked down and climb our way back up. Don’t be discouraged when you do not get what you want.  Don’t be discouraged when you get knocked down.  Don’t be discouraged when you are facing something you don’t know how to handle.  You have the ability to scale the hill again and again and again. 

So, yeah, I have a love hate relationship with hills.  We all do.  Don’t avoid them.  Charge them head on.  Run them with purpose and find yourself at the top.