Hills, Hills, Hills, and humidity

Sometimes having a couple days off gives you a false sense of strength.  This was the case yesterday.  Having healed from the 8 miler, we decided to take on the infamous hill repeats I've been reading about in my Runner's World magazine.  The biggest problem in attempting this on a week day is that we live at sea level - literally.  Most of the runs I map out are gorgeous and safe, all the way down around the water with few sidewalks to cross.  But, the only "hills" that exist are the tiny man-made bridges that carry you over the water flowing into the bay. That is except for G street.  In the span of about 4 blocks, the elevation rises 160 feet, steep enough to wind the best runner.  The idea of repeating this hill multiple times in a row is enough to cause anxiety. 

With this concern in mind, we ran a 2 mile warmup and then took on the hill.  At the top, we ran around Thomas Park for the first time.  In doing so, I noticed a bunch of handicapped ramps and staircases climbing up further to the grassy park.  Willing to go off the route with our trusty GPS on hand, we started run up and down sets of staircases and never ending ramps.  The view from the top was gorgeous as well.  On one side you can see all of the Seaport District and the Zakim bridge.  Then, peering over the tops of the roof decks, all the other impressive pieces of architecture appear- the Prudential Center, the Hancock Tower, and all the houses and beach huts.  Anyway, this park was a great find and will prove to be very useful in our future training.

Now back to my point about the false sense of strength.  Having completed the hill workout with such success, we set the alarm at 6 a.m. to take on Castle Island and our 5 miler.  The air was so thick and heavy with moisture, it almost seemed like we were running through a steam shower.  Our legs were heavy and tired, and I was really missing my extra hour of sleep.  Even so, the end of the run provided such a sense of completion, and now I'm able to join my corporate softball team on the field tonight.  Go team Nutter!