It's been a few days since I last posted, but don't worry. All is well. The running is still on schedule. Saturday I did my 5 miles which was supposed to include 8 minutes of hill time. Yeah, I got that and then some. In case you have never been to the lovely city of Pittsburgh, let me warn you in advance: it is hilly. Like, crazy hilly. Especially when you get off-track and wind up adding a bunch of hill to your run accidentally. All hills aside, though, it was an extremely pleasant run, when all was said and done, even if a bunch of stuff went wrong along the way.
My plan was to run in Schenley Park, near where I was staying. The directions were relatively simple: take a right, then take a left, then turn and cross the bridge, then I would be there. Except that I am directionally challenged a lot of the time. In this case, I completely missed the bridge. Adding to the fun was the fact that I had my phone, I started the running app, but forgot to completely turn it on, so I ran probably a good half mile before figuring this out (at least I guesstimated it at about half a mile). Then I wound up taking a straight downhill path for a bit in the wrong direction, which naturally required a straight uphill to get turned around again. I think that I probably ran enough hills to make up for all of the slacker Florida hills that I've done so far during training.
Once I actually found the park, though, it was quite pleasant. There were trails with foliage. Not Florida foliage. Actual, honest-to-goodness foliage, with leaves of different colors -- even if they were fringing on past peak. And I got to run right next to them on a lovely trail. Plus the weather was great, in the mid-50s....and this was around noon! Noon! Can you imagine? Because it gets hard to imagine being able to run at noon when you live in Florida for a while.
I did slack off a bit at the end and after completing my guesstimated 5 miles (4.5 miles, allowing for the 'Oops, I forgot to turn on the app' error), walked the remainder. The hills were just....ack. There is no other word. If nothing else, running in Pittsburgh gave me an entirely new appreciation for the term, 'Killah hill.' I just mapped the basic route on Map My Run and discovered that I covered about 450 feet over the course of a 5-mile run. For reference, the highest point in all of Florida is only 345 feet above sea level and it is nowhere near where I live.
Showing posts with label Killah hill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Killah hill. Show all posts
Monday, November 15, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Challenge Week #2
Back in August -- back when 5 miles was my long run for the week but it was really freaking hot -- I instituted a policy that during challenging weeks, I would acknowledge them as such and take the challenges in stride. Sure, things might not go as planned. But it was important to have faith that things would turn out okay. With that concept in mind, I am hereby declaring this week Challenge Week #2 since three out of this week's four runs have not been fun. Unlike Challenge Week #1, which was primarily about scheduling runs around meetings, this time around, the challenges are being posed in different ways:
I came super close to quitting today, or only running half and adding the remaining miles tomorrow, or adding the sprints tomorrow, or something. Unfortunately, I couldn't go this morning because I was volunteering for something and had to be there early. I think that the real problem with my stomach was that I ate too soon before running, but generally this is not a huge problem (and I did leave an hour and a half in between). Oh well. It's done now.
One thing that pushed me through was remembering what was probably my absolute worst race to date. I had food poisoning and still ran (it was a 5k). Adding insult to injury was the fact that I lived in Worcester, MA -- city of seven hills -- and had to walk over a very big hill (some might say killah) to get to the run. Which was dumb. Because you don't want to have to walk over a very big hill to get to a run. Naturally, I also had to walk back afterward, at which point it started raining. Once I got home, I went straight to bed, having given up on that day completely. But what I do remember is somehow finding my way through that run and the fact that I didn't die trying. One of my exercise rules is that while you might think you are going to die at times, you probably won't. It's nice to know that however miserable that day (and it was miserable), I can still take something from the experience.
- The weather. Tuesday and Thursday were too hot and humid and ick. Luckily, here we are on Saturday and the weather has cooled to a reasonable degree. It still got up to 85F today. But the humidity was much lower (~50%) and the dew point manageable (around 60F) when I went for my run around 6pm. Side note: As I ran, I was thinking to myself that probably if I ever move from Florida and have to go running in such conditions, I will probably post something as my Facebook status that says, 'How did I ever do this on a regular basis?!??!!!!?!?'
- My stomach. Today my stomach was not happy running. Not one bit. For about the first mile or so, my stomach hurt on the right side. Then there was around half a mile that was fine, after which the pain moved to my left side. Another break, then there was a kind of dull pain that was lower and across my stomach. By this point, I was around three-quarters of the way through. Today's run was also 5 miles with three aerobic intervals, so that was just awesome all around. It did help me keep them at a reasonable pace, though.
I came super close to quitting today, or only running half and adding the remaining miles tomorrow, or adding the sprints tomorrow, or something. Unfortunately, I couldn't go this morning because I was volunteering for something and had to be there early. I think that the real problem with my stomach was that I ate too soon before running, but generally this is not a huge problem (and I did leave an hour and a half in between). Oh well. It's done now.
One thing that pushed me through was remembering what was probably my absolute worst race to date. I had food poisoning and still ran (it was a 5k). Adding insult to injury was the fact that I lived in Worcester, MA -- city of seven hills -- and had to walk over a very big hill (some might say killah) to get to the run. Which was dumb. Because you don't want to have to walk over a very big hill to get to a run. Naturally, I also had to walk back afterward, at which point it started raining. Once I got home, I went straight to bed, having given up on that day completely. But what I do remember is somehow finding my way through that run and the fact that I didn't die trying. One of my exercise rules is that while you might think you are going to die at times, you probably won't. It's nice to know that however miserable that day (and it was miserable), I can still take something from the experience.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Temple Terrace: it's no Worcester
Today's run was 4 miles with 4 minutes uphill. When I first saw that, I automatically assumed that those four minutes would be on the treadmill since this region of Florida is pretty bereft of hills. All of the other places that I've lived since starting my running career have had a decent hill profile. Boston has some killah hills, and others that are the slow and painful gradual types. These are the ones that you don't even notice until you decide to run them, then you wonder why your run has been so awful for the past 1/4 mile. Looking behind you, you realize that this is because you've been on a very long and gradual hill. Looking ahead, you realize that this very long and gradual hill may never end. Trust me, I've been on this run more than once.
When I started running in Boston, I lived in Somerville, which has several really nasty hills. Somehow, I managed to live right near the crest of one of them. So no matter which way you came to my apartment, the end of the run was inevitably a long, gradual, uphill climb. I initially noticed this as I was trying to finish my very first long run (6 whole miles!) and felt like the last part of my run was all uphill. I then realized that it actually was and that this 'all uphill' feeling was not my imagination. This is the town with Heartbreak Hill, after all (it's a big, long, gradual hill 20 miles into the Boston Marathon, which is not where you want such a hill. Many runners have been felled by it).
After Boston, I lived in Worcester, which is one of those many cities of seven hills. They aren't kidding. It's in the foothills of the Berkshires and you definitely get your hillwork done. I ran more hills in my warm-ups than I probably do now in a month of Florida running. There was a particularly brutal one that I used to use for hill practice which was a pretty decent incline that went on for 5-6 minutes. Back then, I didn't even really think about hills. They were just there.
Then I moved here, where there were zero hills. Where I lived before, the only thing approaching a hill was a pedestrian overpass located on a running trail. And yes, I did actually use that for hill training. It even had the added advantage of no shade whatsoever. So that was my hill. Or the treadmill. Or wait for the summer and Vienna, which has some completely ridiculous gradual hills:
When I was there this summer, I went on a run that had 15 straight minutes uphill. Seriously. And this was a casual hill compared to some.
Anyway, you can imagine my surprise and joy when I discovered that Temple Terrace does actually have a few hills. My first concern was whether it had enough of a hill to constitute four minutes, as mandated by my training plan for today. I decided to tackle 'the hill' to see how long it took, and wouldn't you know it? Two minutes up. So I ran it, circled around a lovely treed neighborhood, then ran it again. Problem solved!
When I checked my phone upon finishing the run, I realized that Temple Terrace actually has several elevation changes in the form of long, gradual hills. So actually, I did more than four minutes. Hopefully this is making me a stronger runner without me even noticing -- although I don't think I'm quite ready for Comrades, the insane South African ultramarathon with completely insane hills:
Here is a photo of the hill I ran today. Feel free to laugh. I should probably put 'hill' in 'quotation marks':
It's no Worcester, that is for sure. But I am running this marathon in coastal South Carolina, so likely I will be okay.
When I started running in Boston, I lived in Somerville, which has several really nasty hills. Somehow, I managed to live right near the crest of one of them. So no matter which way you came to my apartment, the end of the run was inevitably a long, gradual, uphill climb. I initially noticed this as I was trying to finish my very first long run (6 whole miles!) and felt like the last part of my run was all uphill. I then realized that it actually was and that this 'all uphill' feeling was not my imagination. This is the town with Heartbreak Hill, after all (it's a big, long, gradual hill 20 miles into the Boston Marathon, which is not where you want such a hill. Many runners have been felled by it).
After Boston, I lived in Worcester, which is one of those many cities of seven hills. They aren't kidding. It's in the foothills of the Berkshires and you definitely get your hillwork done. I ran more hills in my warm-ups than I probably do now in a month of Florida running. There was a particularly brutal one that I used to use for hill practice which was a pretty decent incline that went on for 5-6 minutes. Back then, I didn't even really think about hills. They were just there.
Then I moved here, where there were zero hills. Where I lived before, the only thing approaching a hill was a pedestrian overpass located on a running trail. And yes, I did actually use that for hill training. It even had the added advantage of no shade whatsoever. So that was my hill. Or the treadmill. Or wait for the summer and Vienna, which has some completely ridiculous gradual hills:
 |
| Yeah, I used to run that. Up. And down. That's running Wiener-style. |
When I was there this summer, I went on a run that had 15 straight minutes uphill. Seriously. And this was a casual hill compared to some.
Anyway, you can imagine my surprise and joy when I discovered that Temple Terrace does actually have a few hills. My first concern was whether it had enough of a hill to constitute four minutes, as mandated by my training plan for today. I decided to tackle 'the hill' to see how long it took, and wouldn't you know it? Two minutes up. So I ran it, circled around a lovely treed neighborhood, then ran it again. Problem solved!
When I checked my phone upon finishing the run, I realized that Temple Terrace actually has several elevation changes in the form of long, gradual hills. So actually, I did more than four minutes. Hopefully this is making me a stronger runner without me even noticing -- although I don't think I'm quite ready for Comrades, the insane South African ultramarathon with completely insane hills:
 |
| Comrades profile map. Insane. I cannot use that word enough in describing this race. |
Here is a photo of the hill I ran today. Feel free to laugh. I should probably put 'hill' in 'quotation marks':
It's no Worcester, that is for sure. But I am running this marathon in coastal South Carolina, so likely I will be okay.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wicked Scenic Boston Run with Killah Hill
I did it! All 5 miles! And I didn't overheat! What a surreal feeling that was.
So the route was: Charles River --> Esplanade --> Cambridge Street (*not* Beacon Street, as I said yesterday, but it was in Beacon Hill) --> Tremont Avenue --> Boston Common. Some of you have requested pictures, so here's one from around the Esplanade:
Not bad, scenery-wise. Boston Common was fun too. There were kids at a tennis camp and I even got to run around the Frog Pond. This picture shows just about where my run ended. However, the Frog Pond was closed, so it wasn't quite so active:
The Killah Hill was...well...not so fun. My run tracker is amusing since it tracks both your pace and your altitude. Funnily enough, my pace went down quite a bit when the altitude started to go up!
This run was fun for another reason (apart from not overheating and getting through the 5 miles). When I first started running, I lived in Somerville, MA. I started -- like most people -- with smaller distances and shorter runs. Then one day I decided that I was ready to tackle what I considered to be a 'real run': my first 6 miles. I don't know why I felt this distance made you officially a runner, but it was the marker that I chose and I set out. I went from Somerville to Cambridge (which might sound impressive but at the time was actually across the street), down to the river, ran for a while, then came up back to my house. This was also the run that I realized we lived up a steep yet gradual hill, one that I really hadn't noticed walking. But I did it. The last part of it was pretty brutal, but I made it and that's all that matters.
It was amazing to me when I considered the difference between suburban Florida and Boston in terms of space. From my hotel to the Esplanade was about 2.5 miles. In that time, I covered several neighborhoods, ran past the MIT and Boston University campuses, and went by three red line subway stations -- the red line stations are actual normal distances, unlike the green line, which is essentially a tram. In Florida, I could probably still be running around the same subdivision after 2.5 miles.
What I also realized as I was heading home was that unless I change my schedule, this was my last 5 mile run in Boston during this trip. Time certainly does fly...
So the route was: Charles River --> Esplanade --> Cambridge Street (*not* Beacon Street, as I said yesterday, but it was in Beacon Hill) --> Tremont Avenue --> Boston Common. Some of you have requested pictures, so here's one from around the Esplanade:
Not bad, scenery-wise. Boston Common was fun too. There were kids at a tennis camp and I even got to run around the Frog Pond. This picture shows just about where my run ended. However, the Frog Pond was closed, so it wasn't quite so active:
The Killah Hill was...well...not so fun. My run tracker is amusing since it tracks both your pace and your altitude. Funnily enough, my pace went down quite a bit when the altitude started to go up!
This run was fun for another reason (apart from not overheating and getting through the 5 miles). When I first started running, I lived in Somerville, MA. I started -- like most people -- with smaller distances and shorter runs. Then one day I decided that I was ready to tackle what I considered to be a 'real run': my first 6 miles. I don't know why I felt this distance made you officially a runner, but it was the marker that I chose and I set out. I went from Somerville to Cambridge (which might sound impressive but at the time was actually across the street), down to the river, ran for a while, then came up back to my house. This was also the run that I realized we lived up a steep yet gradual hill, one that I really hadn't noticed walking. But I did it. The last part of it was pretty brutal, but I made it and that's all that matters.
It was amazing to me when I considered the difference between suburban Florida and Boston in terms of space. From my hotel to the Esplanade was about 2.5 miles. In that time, I covered several neighborhoods, ran past the MIT and Boston University campuses, and went by three red line subway stations -- the red line stations are actual normal distances, unlike the green line, which is essentially a tram. In Florida, I could probably still be running around the same subdivision after 2.5 miles.
What I also realized as I was heading home was that unless I change my schedule, this was my last 5 mile run in Boston during this trip. Time certainly does fly...
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
In the unforgettable words of Han Solo....
Don't get cocky.
I'm in Boston and had my first run by the Charles today (yay!). Boston is a running kind of town. It is almost impossible to be somewhere and not see someone running, which is great. You see all kinds of runners: ridiculously fast ones, slow ones, beginners, old people, the works. Today I even saw a family of three. It is inspiring. Plus, the Charles is super nice because you can run right next to it. Mind you, in places it is not so great since it's also right next to two major arteries (Storrow Drive and Memorial Drive) -- plus the Mass Turnpike. But life could be worse than looking out over a river while you run, plus there are nice shady trees pretty often. Sometimes you even see rowers (disclaimer: I used to row. I loved it more than almost anything).
Today was four miles. Because it is not so killer hot/humid, I really let it rip on the first mile. This was a big mistake because while it was not *as* hot/humid, it still *was* hot/humid and I had to slow the pace down quite a bit for the remaining miles. But the important thing was that I ran a fast mile! Much faster than any pace I've been able to maintain for a while -- a full 2 minutes faster than those brutal runs last week. And the moral of this story is that heat makes you run slow.
I am staying right next to the Charles by the exit for the Turnpike. Today I made it to the MIT Bridge. The plan tomorrow is to pass that, get to the Esplanade (that part they show sometimes on Cheers with all of the sailboats), hit the killer hill (or 'killah hill' as the locals would call it) up Beacon Street, go through Boston Common, and finally go to Commonwealth Avenue. This is about as scenic a run as you could do in Boston, I think. Although considering that I am from Florida and I live in a region with zero hills, this run might do me in! Good thing that Friday is a rest day.
At the same time, I don't want to get cocky. It still can get hot here. So I need to pace myself better because the rest of the run was less fun than it could have been. Here's hoping that I can stay steady and not let the hill beat me.
I'm in Boston and had my first run by the Charles today (yay!). Boston is a running kind of town. It is almost impossible to be somewhere and not see someone running, which is great. You see all kinds of runners: ridiculously fast ones, slow ones, beginners, old people, the works. Today I even saw a family of three. It is inspiring. Plus, the Charles is super nice because you can run right next to it. Mind you, in places it is not so great since it's also right next to two major arteries (Storrow Drive and Memorial Drive) -- plus the Mass Turnpike. But life could be worse than looking out over a river while you run, plus there are nice shady trees pretty often. Sometimes you even see rowers (disclaimer: I used to row. I loved it more than almost anything).
Today was four miles. Because it is not so killer hot/humid, I really let it rip on the first mile. This was a big mistake because while it was not *as* hot/humid, it still *was* hot/humid and I had to slow the pace down quite a bit for the remaining miles. But the important thing was that I ran a fast mile! Much faster than any pace I've been able to maintain for a while -- a full 2 minutes faster than those brutal runs last week. And the moral of this story is that heat makes you run slow.
I am staying right next to the Charles by the exit for the Turnpike. Today I made it to the MIT Bridge. The plan tomorrow is to pass that, get to the Esplanade (that part they show sometimes on Cheers with all of the sailboats), hit the killer hill (or 'killah hill' as the locals would call it) up Beacon Street, go through Boston Common, and finally go to Commonwealth Avenue. This is about as scenic a run as you could do in Boston, I think. Although considering that I am from Florida and I live in a region with zero hills, this run might do me in! Good thing that Friday is a rest day.
At the same time, I don't want to get cocky. It still can get hot here. So I need to pace myself better because the rest of the run was less fun than it could have been. Here's hoping that I can stay steady and not let the hill beat me.
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