5.1 miles (my new favorite run), 41:30 (8:08 pace). It was warm out today, somewhere in the mid-30’s. My road (the first and last 1.4 miles), while not completely clear or dry at all, had plenty of nice (albeit sandy) asphalt to get into a quick rhythm on. The rest of the run is on roads which really don’t get winter sun and almost no traffic, so they still had a good thick layer of snow. It’s a long steady hill, though, and the town is on the ball, so there was such a heavy layer of sand that it was a most excellent running surface. I changed heart monitors, and kept the HR locked on 140 for the entire downhill run, after using the first mile as a warmup. 8:41, 7:40, 4:04 (20:26 out, 8:01 pace). Looks like a negative split is out of the question.
My plan was to keep the HR near 145 on the inbound (uphill) run, and that’s pretty much how it worked out, with a few spikes to 150 on the steepest sections. 145 is a mostly comfortable pace, and I was able to maintain a decent pace up the hills and a pretty hot pace on the downhills. The splits back were 4:53, 8:21, 7:49 (21:04 in, 8:16 pace). Not half bad! Only 38 seconds slower on the run back, with about a 250 foot climb over the first 1.8 miles. I thought I would feel tired today, and did for the first half mile or so, but once warmed up my legs insisted on feeling good, and begged me to let them run fast. The best thing about winter training is running fast in the spring. I am now officially cautiously optimistic.I used to be a good hill runner – my specialty, actually. They don’t kill me anymore (read November entries for a reminder of when they did). Once I get my long run up to 13 miles (scheduled for March), I’ve got a 13.1 mile loop which climbs Prospect Mt - 900' climb over 2.1 miles. Big fun in the spring sun.
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