On paper, the Tygerberg 30km seemed like the perfect pre-Boston test: 18.5 miles at marathon pace, five weeks out. When I signed up, I had no clue about the 420m (1,400ft) elevation lurking in the course profile.
As if that wasn’t enough, I had the brilliant idea to do hill repeats with my running club just days earlier. I’d never joined their hill sessions and was actually looking forward to it. When I do hill sprints alone, they’re a relaxed affair: a 15-second dash, a slow trot back down, repeat. Thursday, however, was a different beast entirely: 50-second all-out sprints up an ever-steepening hill. Ten sets. By the fourth, my lungs were exploding, my quads on fire.
I turned to Neil, a strong runner in his 60s, and gasped, “I don’t know what hurts more – my legs or my lungs.” He was just as breathless, but managed to reply, calm as ever: “It’s neither. It’s your head.” That sentence was exactly what I needed. For the next six sprints, I stuck right behind Neil, ignoring my screaming legs and lungs.
Fast forward to Sunday morning. Ten kilometres in, everything felt smooth: flat roads, slight downhills, marathon pace feeling easy. Then, at kilometre 12, we hit a slight incline. Out of nowhere, my quads started to burn. Those Thursday hill repeats were coming back to bite me. And it was about to get worse: ahead of me, I saw a long, winding hill, runners hunched forward, slowly clawing their way up. My heart sank.
By kilometre 15, my quads were screaming. I passed runners who had given up and were walking. Oh, how good it would feel to walk! But I knew that if I gave in now, the rest of the race would unravel. Neil’s words echoed in my head: “It’s all in your head.” I pressed on.
Two cyclists rode past and cheered, “Keep it up, Lady, keep it up!” That reminded me of my new motto: “Keep showing up.” I started breaking the race into tiny chunks – just get to that tree, that signpost, that kilometre marker. I didn’t have to finish the race yet – I just had to show up for the next step. Somehow, that simple shift in focus worked. The endless hill finally ended, and we were rewarded with some glorious downhill – until the next brutal climb appeared. Oh please, when will this stop?!
At last, the final descent came, and the stadium loomed ahead. I was so happy to see the end that the last three kilometres were my fastest in the whole race. I crossed the finish in 2:21, 1st in my age group (official detailed results yet to come).
I got more out of this race than I expected. Not only did I get a hilly pre-Boston workout, but I also got a mental one. And that might just be more important than any physical training!
- Hill repeats vs. speed sessions – which do you prefer?
- Do you break races into tiny chunks to trick your brain?
I’m joining Runs with Pugs and The Running Teacher’s link-up, Tuesday Topics. I’m also joining Runner’s Roundup with Mile By Mile, Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner and Runs with Pugs.
“It’s neither. It’s your head.”
Und deshalb hättest du für den ersten Platz der AK nicht nur eine Medaille 🥇 verdient sondern eine goldene Krone. 👑 Denn auch das Können war nicht nur in Beinen und Lunge sondern in erster Linie im Kopf. Der hat‘s echt drauf!
Herzlichen Glückwunsch!
Oh, wie genial formuliert, liebe Lizzy!
Jetzt stelle ich mir vor, wie ich wie ein verwöhntes Prinzesschen mit einem goldenen Krönchen auf dem Haupt durch’s Ziel laufe…👑😂
Du hast natürlich absolut recht, der Kopf spielt eine riesige Rolle, besonders bei so einem “ich-kann-nicht-mehr” Rennen.
Danke für die Glückwünsche und die grossartige Bildsprache – die Motivation für Boston ist damit gesichert! 😊
Atemlos, da gibt es so einen deutschen Schlager, der so heißt, der fällt mir beim Lesen deiner anstrengenden ” Arbeit ” in den Sinn. Mein lieber Herr Gesangverein, was du dir alles ” antust ” – wow !!
Gratuliere zu deinem Durchhaltevermögen, zu deinem Biss, kannst echt stolz auf dich sein und muss unbedingt dann in Boston belohnt werden !
Ein Satz gefällt mir natürlich ganz besonders: ” It’s neither. It’s your head ” – genau das ist es !! Vergiss es nie in den entscheidenden Momenten !
Du wirst das rocken, ich bin sicher, pass weiterhin gut auf dich auf !!
Irgendwie bewundere ich auch deinen Ehrgeiz, der mir in dieser Hinsicht nie gegeben war, ich habe immer ohne Plan gearbeitet, mich natürlich auch quälen müssen, aber das, was du tust, ist schon ein ganz anderes Brett ! Wie lange willst du das noch tun ?
Wie auch immer, die Daumen sind fest gedrückt, weißt du ja – Viel Glück in der nächsten Zeit…….🍀
Ah, ich kenne das Lied! Jetzt wundere ich mich, dass es mir während des Laufs nicht eingefallen ist – es hätte wirklich perfekt gepasst. Und ja, „antun“ ist da schon ganz treffend, genau das habe ich mich auch gefragt. 😅
Danke für deine Glückwünsche, liebe Margitta, und fürs Daumendrücken – ich nehme beides gern mit nach Boston! Und das trockene „It’s neither. It’s your head.“ mag ich auch sehr, weil es einfach auf den Punkt bringt, worauf es ankommt.
Wie lange ich das noch machen will ist eine gute Frage! Ich bin jetzt 57 und hoffe, dass ich das noch mindestens 20 Jahre durchziehen kann – vorausgesetzt, der Körper spielt mit und es gibt weiterhin Altersklassen. Es gibt ja einige beeindruckende Läufer, die mit Mitte 70 noch ordentlich Gas geben. Mal sehen, wie es läuft! 🏃♀️😃
Liebe Grüsse nach ganz oben! 😊
Liebe Catrina,
wow, drei Tage nach Hügelintervallen so ein Rennen zu laufen ist schon grandios! Gratuliere auch hier noch mal zu dieser super Leistung und vor allem zu der grandiosen Umsetzung von Neils Rat. 🙂
Wow, der Countdown läuft! Ich kann mich noch so gut erinnern, als du das erste Mal von Boston erzählt hast, da war der Marathon noch soooo weeeiiit weg. Und jetzt?
Du bist super im Training und die nächsten Wochen werden verfliegen! 😀
Liebe Doris,
Hätte ich das Höhenprofil vorher gekannt, wären die Hügelintervalle definitiv gestrichen worden! 🤣
Hier gibt es im Voraus kaum Informationen – man muss jemanden kennen, der den Lauf schon gemacht hat. Und ich bin einfach naiv davon ausgegangen, dass die Strecke grösstenteils flach ist (wie dumm kann man sein?! 😆). Aber Neils Rat umzusetzen, war goldrichtig!
Wahnsinn, oder? Damals war Boston noch in weiter Ferne – und jetzt sind es nur noch 34 Tage. Die nächsten Wochen werden sicher wie im Flug vergehen, und in knapp zwei Wochen fliegen wir schon nach Zürich. Ich freue mich riesig! Aber noch mehr freut es mich, dass es bei dir läuferisch wieder bergauf geht! 😃
🎊Congrats again on completing this rugged hilly 30km. Yep that is exactly the way to get up the hill, small steps, driving w your arms and choosing a landmark close by. Oh standing straight and leaning forward too for some help from gravity to actually pull you up the hill.
I did a HM that was nothing but long steep hills. I am talking 2km hills w a short downhill to meet up w a 3-4km downhill. Get this. The finish was at the top of a 1 km 9% grade. One got the impression that everyone was walking as the approach to the finish was so steep after all those other 5% plus climbs.
Just like you described the legs and breath were not normal. However, it was something we practiced running before. Repeat of steep hills sprinting as hard as we could AND when we get to the top keep running rather than stopping. The trick at the top was to learn to manage your breath. After 30 seconds if continued effort, the breathe falls back to where it is normally in a race. Most will stop if they did not train to push past the summit. Great hint there as that is exactly where you will pass many runners.
Well that was an impressive effort. And look at all the ZAR you got? 900? Most ever if I think. Like I said you are now a pro racer. Just need to find a sponsor. Maybe you should start looking? After you do well in Boston, you will have another impressive race to add to your racing CV.
Do you have a racing CV? I bet you don’t! That is a great tool to also give you confidence and show sponsors who you are! Think about it! Sponsors should be happy to back a serious runner like you. You represent a certain demographic that is interesting for sports gear companies. Get gear, race entries, travel costs and maybe even money & more. I had such a sponsorship w gear, race entries & travel taken care of several years ago. Why not you?
Well have fun tapering soon to absorb all that training.
Thanks, Yves! 🙌😄
Oh my goodness, your half marathon sounds absolutely brutal! Those hills must have been soul-crushing by the end. And that 9% grade finish is EVIL. We have a race here with a nasty climb at the very end and they call that hill the Black Mamba. Very fitting! 😅
Your hill training strategy is spot on. Pushing past the summit instead of stopping is such a game-changer. It feels like a mini victory every time! And you’re right, breathing settles way faster than most people expect.
Haha, that was definitely my biggest race payday yet! I just checked: ZAR 900 converts to about CAD 71. At this rate, I’ll need a separate bank account soon! 🤣
I actually scored a tiny mini-sponsorship for my next race: a free entry to a women’s 10K race in two weeks! Pretty exciting. No podium expectations, though. The country’s strongest women will be there, and I’m just aiming to hang on. 😬
And you’re totally right about the demographic angle – women in their 50s do have money to spend (usually). Now, if I could just land a deal for free shoes, that would be the dream! Maybe it is time to start drafting that racing CV… 😃
Taper time is just around the corner! 4 weeks and 6 days to go to race day! I can’t wait for Boston. Thanks for the encouragement, Yves!
Amazing! I can’t wait to see how this plays out on Heartbreak Hill in 40 DAYS!!!!! I’m so excited for your race!
I hope it will be better than those hills on Sunday, Birchie! But I’m sure the training helped!
Oh my goodness, that looks massive on the map! It’s true that so much of it is in our heads. Well done you for pushing through! That is a fantastic achievement. You’ll be in good form for Boston!
Now when I’ve chosen to not run anymore, I’m a big fan of hill walking. Speed isn’t important to me but I love me some good challenging hills and I definitely live in the right area for it too.
Exactly! I’m sure you experience this mind-of-matter thing in your strength training as well. I really hope all will go well in Boston, Susanne!
I definitely have some mantras and strategies for getting through certain sets in the gym!