The Downhill Whore Lives

I know I have said it before, but on Saturday's run I re-discovered that I am indeed, still a downhill whore. The group run took the fun trek up to Daniel's Park. Depending on how far you go (all the way up to the Park, vs. stopping short at some point along the way; being the whore I am, you know I like to go. all. the. way.) it is 2-4 miles of uphill.

elevation profile the run up to Daniel's Park

I started the morning by running from my house to the rec center where we all met--1.3 miles. The air was cold and I have been trying not to use my inhaler anymore, so when we set out my lungs were feeling those hills a little. I set off at a slow pace as we started climbing. I had a few patches of run/walk (yeah, did you notice the 5% grade patches in that little map above?), but I always picked it back up to run. Why? Because I knew what was coming after the turnaround of the out-and-back, and I needed my legs and body to be warm for the hardcore downhill boning I planned on doing. I refused to stop and quite frankly, I would have clawed, crawled or even done the Snake up that hill if it meant I could run back down it. Indeed, a tried-and-true Downhill Whore.

Run totals: 8.53 miles, 1:35
To illustrate the downhill whoriness of it all, my splits:
Mile 1 - 11:08 (big uphill at the start, took it slow warming up)
Mile 2 - 9:40, best pace of 6:19 (oh crap, I better hurry up or I'll be late...followed by, oh crap maybe I shouldn't have sprinted)
Mile 3 - 12:04 (fu%k that's a big hill)
Mile 4 - 10:55 (fu%kedy fu%ck this hill SUX)
Mile 5 - 9:48 , best pace 7:50 (almost there...turning arond...and now...GIVE IT TO ME BABY)
Mile 6 - 8:33, best pace 7:10 (wheeeeeee!)
Mile 7 - 8:50, best 7:32 (oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah, I love the downhill)

**hourlong break while we meet/eat/listen to Muscle Max presentation**

Mile 8 - 15:33 (walking back home, carrying newly-acquired Muscle Max papers and water bottle)
Mile .53 - 8:30 (damn these papers are a pain, I could be home already if I didn't have to carry these stupid things; curse you Muscle Max!)


On another note, now that I've got myself calmed back down from my Downhill daydreams, Lam had a great post about resolutions--for those of you that set them this time of year and those of you that don't, I suggest reading his take on the power and reason for resolutions. Whether you set them in January or continuously throughout the year, here's to getting going...especially if it's downhill.