I just looked at my Nike+ app to see how many kilometers I’ve logged this month.

55.5 km.

It’s a little bit less than the previous few months which have averaged between 60-70 km.   I did manage two 10k runs this month which I’m pretty happy about, and I’ve even shaved off about 4 minutes  since my first effort back in July. My current PB for 10km is 1:11:16.

I briefly flirted with the idea of increasing my distance to 15k but wisely reconsidered after some discussion with my Facebook running group.  The 10k distance is still pretty new and I think I should focus on making it easier to run before increasing the distance.

I’d also like to break into the 6 min/km range.  Back in August, I started incorporating hill repeats into my runs. I’ve read that hill repeats and can help make your pace faster. I probably did too many too soon without enough rest periods in between because my shins started bothering me.  So much so that I ended up convincing myself that I needed a new pair of shoes.  I had logged about 300km on my Asics, so this seemed like a reasonable thought.  But interestingly enough, the shin problem settled down when I stopped running the hills.  Or maybe it was the new shoes?  Hmm …

The thing is –  I like the hills.  They are a royal bitch but I like the workout I get.  I like the sense of accomplishment when I concur the repeat; I like feeling that burn in my quads and the pounding of my heart like it’s about to leap out of my chest.  It’s the best kind of workout after a rough day at the office.  It’s punishing. It’s invigorating. It’s hard. It cleanses the soul.

As for my pacing, I think the month of hills actually did help.  My average pace in August was 7:39 min/km; in September it was 7:35 and now in October it’s 7:20.  Slowly but surely, I am making progress.

So the next time I take on a hill, I say, “bring it on, bitch!”