How does this look to you?It's the course elevation chart for the Valley of the Sun this weekend ~ and I was pretty comfy with it until yesterday.
Lisa's super speedy runner friend ~ the one who kicked my tail for 6 miles a few months back ~ was shocked that we were running this thing ~ calling it one of the hardest half marathons she has done!!!! YIKES.
But since it's too late to be nervous about it, now I am just curious.
To me it looks mostly downhill, with a few small inclines. I guess I have a hard time intepreting what 100-150 foot elevation change really means when spread out over a mile. Am I underestimating these inclines?
I guess I need some Elevation Training :)
14 comments:
Ummm... I'd take that any day :-)
Honestly, I have NO idea. I should probably look at the elevation readouts on the Garmin, huh? LOL
Ok I did a quick check and one blogger talks about how nice, flat, and downhill it is LOL
Here is the post:
dommy.com/ihaterunning/2006/03/12/valley-of-the-sun-run/
Sorry last one was me, wrong account BAH!
Looks downhill to me.
it's looks great to me! maybe people think it's harder than it needs to be because of the uphill at the end. if you save some 'kick' in the tank for the end, you'll fly right by them...uphill!
head over to gmap-pedometer and map some of your training runs -- it has an elevation option that may help you find something with a similar climb you can compare.
Good luck!
I think mile 4 to 5 looks hard but other than that it looks pretty good to me. Of course we have no hills here in South Jersey so what do I know.
It looks easy to me if you have on rollerblades...Just a thought. I do know that you will probably feel your leg muscles killing by the end of the run. That is a gradual downhill, but it probably will not be easy. Better you than me. I know you did not want to hear that, but honesty can hurt.
Any elevation change can be a challenge. Certainly going downhill after a long uphill can be a relief, but for me, flat is where it's at.
Don't underestimate downhill, that can be tougher than uphill -- a steep grade and you have to change your stride, almost holding back.
I have no idea, Poke. My Garmin showed inclines of 400ft this weekend at the race, and they seemed like Mt. Everest to me. I know you and Lisa are going to do great. All, I can do is send you some good vibes for those strong legs :-)
Biting nails and reading comments....
It doesn't look too bad to me, but mabye I'm reading it wrong? It has been a long day and I've had quite a bit of cold medicine!
It's look ok. But note that they aren't steep but the last few miles are uphill. (Overall though it's mostly down.) So you go down to 1350 or so then back up to 1500, so maybe that's what makes it harder. But not stupidly so...
I'd do it.
Yeah, it doesn't look like you climb a lot. Come run here, with me. I'll show you some hills! J/k. I hope it's mostly downhill for you girls, with just a little hill for ya.
I can't wait to hear how the half goes for you!!!
zane grey - the toughest 50miler out there - is usually run in a generally uphill direction. last year they ran it in the opposite, generally downhill, direction. the times were slower, the runners were more sore, and the consensus was it's harder.
ok, so that's not quite the same as a half, but don't underestimate the effort and pounding on your quads during a downhill race. it won't be your lungs hurting by the end. but it'll be fun! i LOVE downhill courses!
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