The Monument-al hug

As karma would have it, we ran the biggest hill on our list of training routes today – the Monument. It makes me think of that song:

The grand old Duke of York,

He had ten thousand men.

He marched them up to the top of the hill…

And then he marched them down again.

I was just about marching/hiking at some point. I’ve learnt that if you just put your head down and focus on the yellow line, the hill is more bearable.

I actually like the Monument route. It’s scenic, short and rewarding. AND good preparation for the Two Oceans. Have a look at the profile of this race (scroll down and click on image to enlarge). What are those spikey thingies? *gasp*

My calves were quite sore afterwards though. And not burning, but pulling. I tried to give them a good stretch by standing on the edge of the pavement and holding onto the lamp post (which I have now dubbed ‘my’ lamp post for daily stretching). Must remember to ask the HKE experts about stretches on Thursday. *makes mental note to research the importance of stretching* Especially after the podiatrist told me that my calf muscles are too short. (This is excellent for wearing heels, but not so much for takkies and Monument runs.) They actually need to be stretched as often as daily meals – three times religiously.

But the best part of today’s run was the therapy. Who needs happy pills? A good blast of endorphins is simply splendid for emotional uphills – true story. I ran my 10k PB (personal best) on emotional stress. My digsmate often says “Hugs not drugs!” as he heads out the door. And today, the Monument was more of a hug than a hill.