Heading for the Hills

Short update: Saturday's training run was steep but--for me anyway--less debilitating than the run last week. (I know, we hope for a higher recommendation than "less debilitating than a killer run," but sometimes "not awful" has to suffice). The run, which fell a little more than a mile short of the 10 miles it was billed at, followed part of the actual Oakland Marathon course. We went from College Avenue up, up, up. If you've ever been in the Oakland flatlands on a moonless night and seen the illuminated Mormon temple hanging high up in the hills, well, that tells you just how up, up, up we went.

Here's the temple, unilluminated but still up, up, up there.

Then we went down, down, down, and I finished with only a bruised toenail or two and a gimpy quad muscle to show for it.

Today, I actually felt pretty human, especially after sleeping ten hours last night. I wanted to move a little but not a lot. The answer? Going to the tennis court with a racquet and four balls and running around for a half hour. Oh yes, and even hitting the ball now and then. I haven't played tennis for some twenty years, so practicing against the backboard is for me a form of aerobic cross-training. Bounce, swing, miss, run. Repeat! But it was a lovely sunny day, and the sheen of perspiration I managed to summon up felt just right. I may even feel energetic enough to make it to the track Tuesday night. Even though some say hill workouts are really speed workouts in disguise, that doesn't mean that actual speed workouts aren't beneficial!


At left: Portrait of a blogger, with tennis balls.