This past weekend was a milestone for me. I did back-to-back 20-milers, and it was awesome! I had been getting psyched all week, and it’s all about what you “dial in” your brain. I knew that I would be running 20 miles on relatively flat on Saturday with 20 miles on hills on Sunday. I’ve never done a double 20 before, and I was so exhilarated to accomplish this endeavor.

On Saturday, our local running group – Boise RunWalk – met to begin the “winter session,” and I ran the first few miles with some folks from the group. After they turned around, I relaxed and ran the rest alone. I’m accustomed to solitary running and I enjoy it, so I had no trouble when I left the group. I felt pretty good when I finished – the greenbelt is pretty flat, so it was a typical 20-mile run.

Sunday was a little different story. My plan was to run up 5 miles, down 5 miles, up 5 miles, down 5 miles – all along the same dirt road. Loaded up with fuel belt, gels, and my ipod, I headed up the hill…for the first time. On the 5-mile climb up 1638 feet, I wish I could say I “ran” the whole way, but that just wouldn’t be true – not even with Tom Petty singing, “Climb That Hill.” As I climbed, the scenery got more breathtaking (maybe because I was having trouble breathing), and the signs of human life grew more sparse. I started pretty early on Sunday morning, and the temperature was around 28 which may have contributed to the lack of fellow runners out there on the road. I saw 4 runners total during my entire 20-mile run.

I ran up 5 miles, then back down, and I have to say that when I got back to my car at the bottom of the hill to trade out my water bottles for new, full ones, the thought of going back up that hill was a bit daunting. Nevertheless, I packed on the new bottles, ate some luna blocks, and headed out again.

I trudged up the hill again, and about halfway up, I heard Tom Petty for the second time…”I gotta get back up and climb that hill again…gotta make my way over that hill again.”

It took more effort and a longer period of time to cover those hilly 20 miles than it did to run my Eugene Marathon. And, during both Eugene and this run, I heard Tom Petty singing to me…”I gotta get back up and climb that hill again.”

As cliché as it may sound, we all have uphill climbs in the various areas of our lives. And, it’s been said over and over that running is a metaphor for life. But it’s true. Just like an actual hill that may take all our strength to climb up, as long as we keep our head up and keep putting one foot in front of the other, we’re going to make it. And, the success is worth every difficult step. Anything worth achieving rarely comes easily.

Frank A. Clark wrote: “If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”

I used to run with a group, and when we would run up a little hill, we would say, “I love hills – hills are our friends.” And, I would tell them…”If you say it enough, you’ll believe it.”

I love running up hills, I love the exhilaration of reaching the top, and I love running down the hill. I’ve said it hundreds of times, and I now truly do love hills!