Uphill Battle

 My ankle is a jerk.

Maybe I just need to learn how to hop?

So I've been doing a lot of not-really-running, in an attempt to let it heal a bit. 

..as well as enjoying some other hobbies.

Of course, I'm not very good at staying off my feet...so I've been trying to stick to soft surfaces like trails.

Which has also let me catch the peak of trillium season

These are all very lazy "I'm all on my own and doing whatever the heck I want" trail jaunts - traipsing through the delicious scents of lilacs and lily of the valley - but the majority of them still tend to be running vs walking. 

 

Sometimes it's just a 51% majority, but still

On pavement, though - the only thing that I really have access to during the week - I mostly walk. In order to try to preserve some shred of fitness, I've had to get a bit creative with ways to get my heart rate up. Sometimes that means adding an element of resistance.

Though it does tend to be a bit tire-ing

Towing Priscilla around for a few kilometers not only provides a decent workout - especially with a few teenytiny run intervals - but also gives my neighbours a decent laugh at the idiot in the inner tube harness doing the dragging.

Fortunately I learned to stop taking myself seriously ages ago

But mostly what I do is try to find ways to go up.

Spotted: a prime candidate

I've kind of avoided running hills - particularly hill repeats - for ages, much to my detriment. I mean, I mostly walk them in races (as if I've actually raced in years) anyway, so what's the point of running them in training? I'd "power hike" instead.

I mean I'd run up little ones like this...but just in passing, not as repeats.

Here's the thing: I'm trying to avoid too much impact force on my grouchy ankle, and running uphill is much easier on your joints than running on flats or (particularly) downhills. So, with the above hill being around the back of the larger crescent off which my street curves, I can get a good brisk walk in (maybe half a kilometer) to the bottom of it, then run up it and walk back down again.

I may or may not have done that a baker's dozen times last week, and then walked the half-kilometer home from the top of it.

Passing a lilac bush in full bloom on each repeat

If I'm feeling brave, I'll go for something bigger.

Like this heckin thing

I live on top of a good size hill, with 5 ways (that I know of) to climb it - 2 of them have sidewalks or multi-use trails, one only has sidewalk for the top third, one (pictured above) is an access driveway for a stormwater management pond, and one is a trail strewn with fallen trees that doesn't actually go all the way to the top.

No sidewalks til you're already out of breath

This means I can go for a walk in almost any direction until I reach the bottom of the hill, then go climb it a different way. Hiking up Shantz Hill is a decent workout itself, but I've actually been shocked to find that I'm stronger running up hills than I would have expected.

Which is a pretty pleasant surprise, let me tell you

I don't know how well my fitness preservation strategy will work when I eventually get back to more sustained running, but it's better than nothing and is at least helping me avoid weight gain while I try to let things heal. I really long for the days of spending hours just rambling around in the woods, and can only hope I'll be back to them soon.

At least I'm still getting a taste, even if it only leaves me wanting more.

Fingers crossed I'll get this thing licked, without too much more of an uphill battle..