Thursday Distance Day.

It's hard to keep a 16K tempo run interesting, but here goes my best try:

Today I ran a grueling 16km hill session in my East Vancouver neighborhood. Hastings from Boundary to Nanaimo St, up Nanaimo, over East Broadway, back up Boundary heading North, and a big, long hill climb home. After grabbing a quick slurp of water I stashed in the doorway of my pad, and I'm off for another 6K.

I head off down the very hill I just climbed to complete my first hill training 10K. Now, with legs still a little wobbly from last night's speed workout, and a 10K run behind me, it's time to test out the ol' legs. I'm from the school of not fighting gravity, so I let the hill take me down, and I actually lean into it. Once you find a position where your knees are comfortable, if you're strong enough to continually hold that position, without your legs going all willy-nilly, you can basically avoid injury and make up some time downhill. I wouldn't recommend it all the time, but I think I might actually be built for downhill as well as up.

The big climb up 1st to Renfrew is quite the long haul. Running next to traffic freaks me out once in a while, but I like this circuit because my house is at middle ground in case I need to get some water or use the washroom, not that I've never gone au naturel. The top of 1st Ave was a tough place to turn around, knowing that the long, torturous downhill would take every ounce of strength for me to test my speed one last time. As I level out at the bottom of the hill, I hang a left for the final climb home.

North Boundary is a good Kilometer at least, starting out pretty flat, and then steadily building to a 45 degree angle at the top. My hammie is starting to burn, and I try to bounce off my foot to stretch out while running. The downhill session of holding my legs in one position really requires me to stretch the legs out afterward. I'm guilty of shortening my stride like a lazy person. Anyway, I power up that hill at 100% and then I level out feeling like there's still a little left in the tank. Still, I need to get off this pavement. My next long run will be on soft trail. Back to my roots at the ol' Lake.