Hill Running

The complement to speed work and long runs touted in the running literature is running hills. I've always figured I work my hill-climbing muscles enough by walking up and down the stairs at BART some fifteen to twenty times per week. But lately I've had a yen to run on real hills, just to see whether I'm as tough as I like to think I am.

Cut to this morning. Me. Cranky and a bit bushed already from running hard Tuesday and then doing a probably ill-advised gym workout yesterday. Up and down this tilted street I went: four times up (pushing hard) and four times down--then up one more time and up another small hill to reach a long downhill leading to the path I usually run on. I ran about 5.5 total, and went home whupped. Whupped but buffed, more or less.

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