10 Hill Run

I got new shoes! Same as the old shoes. (Saucony Kinvara 4. IN PURPLE.)

It's two weeks out from my next half marathon, so I really wanted to do some hills before I start to taper off a little bit. I combined some favorite bits from other runs and came up with a 10 Hill Run. If you know Brattleboro, this involved Western ave- Greenleaf- Hinesburg- Goodenough- Akley- Bonnyvale- Western Ave- Orchard/ Gibson/ E. Orchard/ Orchard- Western Ave.

Every time I top this hill I take a picture

I figured out the course included 10 hills by counting them as I ran. There are two tiny ones on Greenleaf, two large ones on Goodenough, one huge and two medium on Bonnyvale, one long and one short-n-steep on Orchard, and one slow burn on East Orchard.

There were 3 noticeable downhills on this route. I read recently that downhills are recommended training because they cause "eccentric tearing" in the quadriceps, which then heals into even stronger thigh muscles. I liked the idea of eccentric tears right away. Did they smoke using a long cigarette holder? Collect squirrel skulls? Have pet leopards? Eat only orange foods? Then the same week I learned that a Finn invented an eccentric axe, and from the depths of my SAT vocab memories I recalled that "eccentric" is a geometry thing... i.e. not having the same center, as opposed to concentric. Well!

Besides considering squirrel skulls, in the course of doing the 10 Hill Run I think I accidentally ran farther than I ever have before. After I completed a half marathon distance--13.1 miles--I was still almost a mile from home. So I kept running, making it 13.70 miles for today. I would remember running that far before, wouldn't I?

One last note... I did regret breaking the rule of NOT trying a major run in new shoes. I should have done 3-5 miles in my new Sauconys a few times before taking them for a double-digit spin. My left sacro-iliac joint was not happy with me (that is my weak spot), but it's feeling better already and I've learned my lesson.

My race is on Mothers Day and I'm excited. My mother is coming along! My goal is simply to beat my last half marathon time of 1:59:04. Stay tuned!