Parking brake rear cables

[rjirvine]

When I was replacing my rear brake backing plates the other day I had to disconnect the parking brake cables. With one end disconnected at the equalizer fitting, and the other end disconnected from the brake, the cables were very hard to move. I had to use a pair of pliers tp grab the inner cable and push it about an inch or so into the sheath. Is this normal, or should the cable move fairly freely? Is there any way to lube these or will I be buying new ones in the future? The cables have about 100k miles on them.

 

2000 Silverado Z-71 4x4 ECSB