A few days ago, I wrote a post about my back-to-back 20-mile runs and climbing the hills on the 2nd 20. Today, I have another “hill” post. If it seems like I’m obsessed with hills, maybe I am, just a little. I’m just so excited to be able to run hills!

When I decided to take on my ultrarunning adventures, one of my primary goals was to become a good hill runner. Living in Chicago for 15 years, I had little opportunity to train on hills as Chicago is pancake flat. However, Boise is loaded with hills, and since last summer, I have been doing more and more hill work – both in the foothills on trails and on roads.

I am visiting family in Shreveport this week, and there are some great hills here. The last time I was here, I had trouble on the hills and I had to walk up them quite a few times.

But today was a breakthrough day for me! I RAN 10 hill repeats on “Thrill Hill”! And, a couple of days ago, I ran 10 miles on the hills and never walked once.

(I’m not sure when or how “Thrill Hill” got its name because it’s actually Gilbert Hill, but it’s been called Thrill Hill as long as I can remember, and anyone who has grown up in Shreveport knows this hill.)

I’m truly seeing some of the effects of my hill training. Moral of the story: Persistence pays off. There have been times when I have wondered, “Are these hills EVER going to get any easier?” Don’t misunderstand – hills are still not easy. However, they are just not quite as hard as they once were.

My advice:  Trust the process and … Never, never, never give up!