Back in my running days, I hated running hills. Even as I ran marathons and thought nothing of going on a two hour run, when I got to the hills, particularly the steep ones, I was not happy. At a certain point, I realized that unless I was going to run on a treadmill, hills were inevitable. Between the fact that I couldn’t get rid of them, and that they are one of the best ways to build speed, I decided that I needed to change my attitude. I wasn’t about to start looking for steep hills to climb, but I decided to embrace the ones that would come my way. By doing this, I became a better runner, and reached my goal of running Boston.
I don’t do much running anymore, but it’s not just running that has hills; challenges that are inevitable, that can stretch me and make me more resilient. No matter what, these challenges are coming my way. I may as well embrace them.
