Hill Training

If you haven't been stalking the Spectator Info site to get a rough idea of where we'd be walking this year, you don't know that our walk is likely to have the majority of the miles ITP! (inside the perimeter, 285) This is a new course for the veteran Atlanta walkers, which is exciting! For those of you who are not Atlanta natives, you probably don't know how hilly Atlanta can be! I'd almost put money on it that we will see hills that don't compare to Cardiac Hill  or Colony Square Hill on day 3! Don't let the hills scare you, because you can do it.  

If you have been following the training plans and keeping up with your cross training, those hills will not bother you! 

In 2008, when I completed my first 3-day, I can tell you that I did not train with enough hills, and many of my training walks involved relatively flat courses. I remember really struggling on the final day. My knees were killing me, and day 3 was the day we walked through hilly downtown Atlanta.  The course included a couple ominous hills like "Cardiac Hill" and "Colony Square Hill". I remember thinking about a piece of advice my dad has given me for years as I approached each hill.  He'd say, "your body can do what the mind can visualize". To add to that, I remembered the first time I saw my mom's best friend Toni, when she was going through chemo. I visualized myself completing all 60 miles of the Atlanta 3-day Walk for the Cure, so Toni never had to see another chemo treatment. Thinking about her helped me as I pressed on for the CURE! 

Take on those hills, because, you can do it! Your blisters will heal, the soreness in you knees will go away, you will recover from a 60 mile walk! Right now, cancer is in our world, and while I wholeheartedly believe we will live in a world without cancer very soon, today we are not there. Keep pressing on, the goal is in sight (another quote from the pops). Thanks to SGK for the Cure, we will see the day! Keep Pressing On!