To those who run hilly terrain:

[sweetpee_1993]

I applaud you!

I live in coastal Southeast Texas. Our terrain is flat with salt marshes and more flat. "Hills" are man-made highway overpasses that are not safe for a runner or pedestrian. I'm currently at my folks' house in south Alabama visiting. Yesterday my 13 yro & I went up to the local college I went to a bazillion years ago and ran the paved nature trail. Beautiful! Gorgeous! The steep downhill areas were fun. I could definitely feel a whole different set of muscles stand up & say "Nice of you to join us!" Then....we had to go uphill at steep inclines. :lookaroun. Uh...ouch. That's when the other half of my legs put the punishment on me. All I could think of was the stories I've read from runners who enjoy beautiful scenic rolling hillside runs and how I had been so envious. Those people deserve their gorgeous scenery. They definitely earn it.

Just thought I'd send a shout-out to those who run hills. I'm in awe of your ability.

Signed,
The Elevationally Challenged

Ps. I shall not give up or give in. I'll be heading back out shortly to pay my dues.:wave:

 

[joel_maxwell]

Nice job on not shying away from them. Makes you feel good doesnt it.

Here in Bham, you have probably read about the hills I have when I post terrain/elevation that I climb on long runs. Nothing compared to others that live in the Appalachian mountains obviously, but we have some very challenging stuff.

I would love to know what/where you ran. Being form the state, Im familiar with a lot of stuff.

I love hills, but only going up them. Not fond of the downhill.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Alabama Southern Community College in Monroeville, Alabama. I would be shocked if you knew where this is. It's the county seat but still well under 10k for the population. This is where Vanity Fair's factory used to be (pre-NAFTA...before they moved all operations to Mexico & put 2k people out of work). Also, this is where Harper Lee was born, raised, and still resides. I met both her sister (Alice Finch Lee) and her (Miss Nell) years back. Very cool ladies. I'm not at all a small-town girl. Can't stand it, actually. I come back to visit my folks and tolerate the rest until I can leave. Lol!

The trail at the college is quite nice now. When I went to that school it was literally a trail thru the woods. Now it's all asphalt with several areas with benches. It has lamp post lighting the entire way. Oh! And the trail is like 1.3 miles long. I wish we had something that nice closer to my house in Texas. Just the shade of the trees is a real luxury to us. Lol!

 

[Disney Dawg88]

Nice job on not shying away from them. Makes you feel good doesnt it.

Here in Bham, you have probably read about the hills I have when I post terrain/elevation that I climb on long runs. Nothing compared to others that live in the Appalachian mountains obviously, but we have some very challenging stuff.

I would love to know what/where you ran. Being form the state, Im familiar with a lot of stuff.

I love hills, but only going up them. Not fond of the downhill.

jmaxwell - I live in Atlanta and work in Birmingham about once a month, I usually stay at the hotels at the Colonnade or at the Hampton on 280. If you know of any places to go run around Birmingham I'm definitely open to suggestions. I know about that trail that runs next to Mountain Brook Parkway, but I was wondering if there are any other good trails around that area. Thanks very much!

 

[joel_maxwell]

Alabama Southern Community College in Monroeville, Alabama. I would be shocked if you knew where this is. It's the county seat but still well under 10k for the population. This is where Vanity Fair's factory used to be (pre-NAFTA...before they moved all operations to Mexico & put 2k people out of work). Also, this is where Harper Lee was born, raised, and still resides. I met both her sister (Alice Finch Lee) and her (Miss Nell) years back. Very cool ladies. I'm not at all a small-town girl. Can't stand it, actually. I come back to visit my folks and tolerate the rest until I can leave. Lol!

The trail at the college is quite nice now. When I went to that school it was literally a trail thru the woods. Now it's all asphalt with several areas with benches. It has lamp post lighting the entire way. Oh! And the trail is like 1.3 miles long. I wish we had something that nice closer to my house in Texas. Just the shade of the trees is a real luxury to us. Lol!

I have been to Monroeville, but have never stayed long enough to see the college. I think we went there for a field trip one time. :shrug:

jmaxwell - I live in Atlanta and work in Birmingham about once a month, I usually stay at the hotels at the Colonnade or at the Hampton on 280. If you know of any places to go run around Birmingham I'm definitely open to suggestions. I know about that trail that runs next to Mountain Brook Parkway, but I was wondering if there are any other good trails around that area. Thanks very much!

The one in Mtn Brook parkway is nice. Have you followed it all the way in front of the mall and it continues following a creek? You will run in front of Samford and Homewood High School. Going from that one across the mall is a bit tricky, so I might just go park in front of Brookwood hospital at the bottom of the hill behind the Shell gas station. You will see a foot bridge. That is the starting point and it goes about 3 miles and then ends. Nice out and back.

If you are staying at the Colonnade, I have 3 possible options.
1) If I was looking for something really close to your hotel, you could go a mile away to the Summit shopping complex and park down by Barnes and Noble. Running on the sidewalk in that outdoor mall might be fun. An out and back might be around 1.5-2 miles.
2) If you drive south down 280 to Highway 119 (Shell Station on the corner), take a right and drive a few miles, Spain Park football field would be on your right. They have a very nice track that is open to the public.
3) If you drive south on 280 and take a right on Valleydale Road (Regions and CVS on the corner across from the Home Depot) and drive a few miles, you will see Spain Park high school. There is a park in front of it called Veterans Park. They have a trail that is 2-3 miles I think. You cant miss it.'

Hope this helps. :wave:

 

[dreamfinder]

I've come to the conclusion that I live in a valley. I have pretty much one direction I can run that is mostly flat. A few small rollers on a 6.65 m loop. Lately I got bored with that and started running in the other directions. And my legs did the same thing as sweetpea, reminded me they had other parts to them. But as you said, the important thing is to get back out there on them. Always good to mix up the workouts.

 

[JillC LI]

I applaud you!

I live in coastal Southeast Texas. Our terrain is flat with salt marshes and more flat. "Hills" are man-made highway overpasses that are not safe for a runner or pedestrian. I'm currently at my folks' house in south Alabama visiting. Yesterday my 13 yro & I went up to the local college I went to a bazillion years ago and ran the paved nature trail. Beautiful! Gorgeous! The steep downhill areas were fun. I could definitely feel a whole different set of muscles stand up & say "Nice of you to join us!" Then....we had to go uphill at steep inclines. :lookaroun. Uh...ouch. That's when the other half of my legs put the punishment on me. All I could think of was the stories I've read from runners who enjoy beautiful scenic rolling hillside runs and how I had been so envious. Those people deserve their gorgeous scenery. They definitely earn it.

Just thought I'd send a shout-out to those who run hills. I'm in awe of your ability.

Signed,
The Elevationally Challenged

Ps. I shall not give up or give in. I'll be heading back out shortly to pay my dues.:wave:

I despise hills but there's nothing quite like the feeling of conquering a biggie. And running them often definitely does make you stronger. So I try to subject myself to them from time to time. I only wish I had some around here with great views at the top. You do know how to change your stride as you're running up a hill, right? Shorter steps and pump your arms to help you.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I have been to Monroeville, but have never stayed long enough to see the college. I think we went there for a field trip one time. :shrug:

You most likely went to the old courthouse on the square for the annual reenacting/theatrical performance of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. The movie was filmed there and it's a museum now. I stalked a little when I worked for a local insurance agent and handled Miss Nell (& and her sister)'s insurance. I read their entire file which was huge and went back a really really long time. One of the oldest documents was a letter from Miss Nell about a claim when their home had been broken into and some items stolen. One of the items that was being discussed was the value of a pocket watch that had belonged to the Lee sister's father. Richard Peck had this watch on his person when he accepted his Oscar for his performance in the movie. Didn't see anything that indicated the outcome of the claim but it sure was interesting to see and read and think about.

I've come to the conclusion that I live in a valley. I have pretty much one direction I can run that is mostly flat. A few small rollers on a 6.65 m loop. Lately I got bored with that and started running in the other directions. And my legs did the same thing as sweetpea, reminded me they had other parts to them. But as you said, the important thing is to get back out there on them. Always good to mix up the workouts.

Absolutely. Change is good. I'm wondering where I can find elevation change back home without driving an hour or more each way. Maybe this means I should take more time to be over here with my folks so I can run around here. There's so many hills. Heck, I could jog up & down the steep driveway for an hour. LOL!

 

[tink65]

Nice job on not shying away from them. Makes you feel good doesnt it.

Here in Bham, you have probably read about the hills I have when I post terrain/elevation that I climb on long runs. Nothing compared to others that live in the Appalachian mountains obviously, but we have some very challenging stuff.

I would love to know what/where you ran. Being form the state, Im familiar with a lot of stuff.

I love hills, but only going up them. Not fond of the downhill.

I can certainly relate to the Appalachian mountains terrain! I live in the very upper eastern tip of Tennessee and there is not a single road or running path that isn't hilly! While it's certainly an awesome workout, there are times when I long for a long, flat stretch of road!:lol: