Monday's Abe's Army run started in Lincoln Park in a shelter just beyond the Nelson Center parking lot. This run was where we're going to learn how to navigate the hills of the park and Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Group leader Barry House told us to remember three things when running hills: "Shorten your stride, lift your knees and pump your arms."
As we started to run, Anne Baker, a group leader, said she likes to look down when on hills.
"Ten feet in front of you," she said. "It helps not to see how much more of the hill you have to climb."
Baker also slows down and takes smaller steps when running on hills.
I kept up with the pace as we went up and down the hills toward the cemetery. We were doing the run at a pace of three to one - running every three minutes and walking one minute with an occasional four-to-one.
Along with the hills, we were told to watch for traffic as we went into the streets and to stay in a single file line. This was a first taste of running in the streets of Springfield. Everyone helped out with the occasional shout of "Car!" that was carried from leader to leader.
A pebble in the mouth
At a water station in the cemetery, Lesa Schaive, a runner, said that her brother-in-law, Jim Schaive, a coach, told her that putting a pebble in your mouth would keep your mouth moister.
She cleaned off a pebble and I decided to try it.
"But, what if I swallow," I said.
Lesa said she had been worried about it, but just put it between her cheek and jaw.
I popped it in my mouth and ran the rest of the way with only taking it out when we were at a water station.
To be honest, I am not sure if it worked. I was less thirsty, but I'm not sure if that was due to it being a cooler day, so I might try it when it's warmer. Also, I think I'll go for a rounder pebble next time.
How we did
We made it back to the shelter in 45 minutes and ran a total of 3.5 miles. The hills made the trek harder, but I felt good about how I did. I wasn't overly tired at the end and felt ready for the next challenge and the many more miles to go.
My earlier columns:
The halfway point on the way to Abe's Amble
My training hits a rough patch
My debut in the Abe's Army training program
Preparing myself for the Abe's Army
Where to go to comment and keep up on my training?
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