This past weekend, rather than focusing on distance, I focused on hills. I’m getting set for Hood to Coast this coming weekend, and I will be running the dreaded 20 th leg (dreaded by me anyway). I ran HTC last year for the first time and decided I would never be the 8 th runner, but got assigned to run that leg this year. The total distance isn’t bad (14.39 miles), but the 2 nd leg is 5.75 miles, mostly uphill, partially along a dirt road. Hills have never been my forte, being from flat central NJ, so I need some extra practice. After my usual 6 miles per day Monday – Friday, I did a ten-miler on Sunday, which culminated with 3 miles uphill on a gravel road. The hills are getting easier after living in Oregon for 3 years. I’m looking forward to this upcoming weekend now.

Now back to reminiscing…my second marathon was in Atlantic City, NJ. It was October 1998, 2 years after my first. A year earlier I decided to have my bunion fixed (thus piquing my interest in Podiatry), as it had been bothering me my whole running career. After recovering, I began marathon training again, with the under-4 hour goal still fresh in my mind. This time I incorporated more length into my long runs (23 miles max) and really focused on fluid and electrolyte replenishment while running. I also chose a race that wasn’t one of the most popular marathons in the country, thereby giving me the ability to control my pace (at least early in the race). Although not New Jersey’s finest beach, Atlantic City has a nice, long boardwalk, which was the starting, middle and finishing point of the race. We began in front of the Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino and headed north to the Marina. The course took us 6½ miles north, then back to the start, then 6½ miles south, and then back to the finish. I kept a pace just under 9 minutes per mile for the first half. At the halfway point my husband met me along the boardwalk and ran with me about ¼ mile. He told me about the $20 he lost at the Blackjack table so far and the sausage sandwich he had just eaten. After a brief sense of nausea (thinking of the sausage) I was feeling pretty good and even heard a spectator comment on how strong I looked. I crossed the half in 1 hour 50 minutes, well on my way to my goal. I made it 22 miles before the cramps started. I stopped for a moment to stretch, walked a little, and then ran some more. I needed to stretch and walk two or three more times, but I was able to make it across the finish line in 3 hours 57 minutes! I still needed to work out the muscle cramping issue. I felt that I still wasn’t replenishing enough and really needed to focus on that, especially early in the race. I felt much better after this race than the previous one, but I still wasn’t completely satisfied with my performance.