So close...so very close

I tried a new recipe for brownies this weekend. It was a flourless recipe which really sounded interesting. Plus it used PB2. I had some of that for a year now and haven't used it once. So I thought why not. Well they really weren't that great. They were almost spongy and didn't have that cake like taste of regular brownies. The PB2 didn't make it very peanut buttery either like I thought it would. I mean I've eaten 3 so it's not like they were so bad I didn't want to eat them but they weren't the greatest. Actually Stephan and Dallin hated them. I wouldn't say they were that bad (like I said I ate 3 in one day) but I probably won't be making them again. It's interesting...I think that was the first recipe I made from that website that I didn't love. Everything else has been amazing! 

I started my half marathon training last Monday (the 14th). I do Crossfit on Tuesdays and Fridays, short runs on Mondays and Thursdays and my long run on Saturday's. My short runs are 3 miles last week and this week. 3 miles is nice. Easy enough to get in early in the mornings; even if it means running on the treadmill one of those days. My long run was 4 miles. Each week it will go up until I hit 12 miles the week before the race. For my long run this week I decided I wanted to try to get better at running up hill. The one way to do that around here is to master Elk Ridge Drive. That's the long 2 mile road from the State Road to Elk Ridge City. The main problem with it is it's steep. It's a gentle hill at first but then the last mile is harder; with the last half a mile being the worst. Most of the elevation is gained in the last half mile. In the winter it's where the snow line hits...that's how much of an elevation change there is! 

Anyway I parked at the school which is at the half way mark up the road. I was going to run up to the top (1 mile), run down (2 miles) and then run back up to the school (1 mile). I figured I'd run the worst part first  instead of last. One of these days, if I start doing out and back runs it may be last but to start with I just wanted to be able to finish it. So I took on the hardest part first and believe me it felt hard. Right away. I made it to about 3/4 of the mile up. I could see the top of the road, the top of the hill but I just couldn't go any further. I was so mad but at the same time happy with as far as I made it. So I walked the rest of the 1/4 mile to the top. I turned around and ran the 2 miles down. I haven't run that road in a while and forgot about how steep it can be at times. I also forgot about how busy it is, even at 7am on a Saturday. There's no sidewalk or even side of the road so when cars come you have to run in the dirt. I hate that, worry all the time I'm going to step in a hole or something but what are going to do. Anyway, I made it down the hill and felt spent. I wondered if there was any way I could turn around and run that last mile up the hill to my car. I really was worried but I turned around at the bottom and started running back up. 

Like I said, it's a gradual uphill at the bottom so it didn't seem so bad at first. After awhile I started getting tired. I could feel my legs hurting already. Just about then a song came on; one I like, one that has a great beat and I just started focusing on the song. I focused on the song so much that it almost seemed like my legs got into the rhythm. Like they weren't a part of me anymore they were doing their own thing. And they were carrying me up  the road to the school. I made it to the school with no problem. When I finished I was so happy!! Even with walking 1/4 mile at the beginning I still felt good about the rest of the run. I'm getting so much better at running hills! My total time was 41 minutes for 4 miles. Not the best time but good when you realize the first mile took me 13 minutes. :-) 

I was really happy. And I wondered when I was going to get a chance to take a stab at that road again. I'm going to beat it one of these days. I'm going to win. It may be slow going up, but one day I will run the whole way up Elk Ridge Drive. And you know what? I know I will because I've come this far already. 

2 1/2 years ago I was over 220 lbs and could barely walk a mile without getting winded. I've come a long way.