Embrace the hills running friends!

I know many people who get excited when a 5k is on a flat surface. "No hills!" they shout with excitement! I am not one of those people. Yes, the hills are difficult but I will tell you why I prefer them to a flat surface. One, gravity. On a flat surface your momentum alone propels you forward. That's great but for me, boring. I enjoy the push of making my way up hill and then the reward of gravity allowing me a quick reprieve on the downhill. It's like running through the ribbon at the end of the race. I made it up, now I get a down, WooHoo!! Two, muscle development. You use different muscles going up hill than down hill and even different ones to run on a flat surface. This adds a strength building element into your cardio. Utilizing all those muscles on a varied running surface also means more calories burned. Your heart has to pump harder when running up a hill which again means more calories burned and let's face it, isn't that why we are running to begin with??? So the next time you run on a hilly path, don't dread it, embrace it! And know you are getting a better workout....and tighter ass;)