Legs and Lung Capacity

You would think that my four months in Quito would have left me in good shape for hills, but ... no. Perhaps because I didn't have my bike there so was using different muscles. Perhaps because I didn't run much in my last month because of a pesky knee injury. Perhaps because I didn't start up a brisk cardiovascular workout schedule immediately after returning to the US ... who knows.

What I do know is that three years in the middle of Flatsville has left me a decided hill wimp when it comes to biking. Today, for some reason, I was especially without hill oomph. Unfortunately, my little topographic route maps leave much to be desired in terms of hill comparisons.



So, you'll have to take my word for it. In the past three weeks of biking my way to local coffee shops, grocers, and hardware stores, I am pretty sure that I have gained and lost more elevation than I gained and lost in the three years of biking I did in Champaign. I'm hoping that someday soon I'll be able to make it up at least a few of these hills without the sad deceleration at the top, without the huffing, and without the screaming lactic acid in my legs.

Running is similarly challenging. Yesterday we ran down through Rock Creek Park and then rewarded ourselves by *walking* up through the zoo. If you need some hill training in your workout, feel free to come visit.