Conquer the Mountain

Today was a very interesting run. I did my long run for the week. 9 miles was the goal. At first, I thought I was going to run a similar route to last week, but decided during breakfast, I was going to run in a different direction.

I started out and hit two steep hills in the first mile. Last week, I hit these same two hills around mile 6. It was nice to get them out of the way right away today.

I then hit a flat part of the run and everything was going great. I hit around mile 3 and decided I wanted to test myself a little more. I ended up running down to the town’s main avenue and started at the bottom. It’s about a 1.25 mile run up a mountain basically.

I hit the first third of it and felt great. Happy I decided to do it. Then I was about half way up and what a coincidence but Fergie (Black Eyed Peas) is singing Meet Me Halfway. It was literally half way up the mountain and just over half way into my run. I had a good giggle.

As I popped up higher on the road I saw the final incline and it’s a doozy. This is a section of road that they have to close down during snowstorms due to cars not being able to get up it in snow. I’ve seen buses not get up this incline and get stuck. I had never run this road. Today was the day I was going to conquer. I kept pushing through. My pace slowed but I didn’t stop.

Of course, I’m huffing and puffing and just when I’m a hundred yards or so away, I pass a woman walking her dog and she’s smoking. Oh great I though. Not only am I gassed from running up this behemoth but now I’m basically going to be smoking a cig as I’m just trying to get to the top.

Took me awhile to get my legs back under me but I did. I was happy with my splits over the last few miles.

Now the funniest part of the run happened around mile 6 when I decided to have a Gu. I forgot my water, so taking the Gu was going to be interesting. My mouth was a bit dry but I was able to get the Gu down.

Of course I have it pasted in my mouth and I hit a point where I need to spit. Not thinking, I turn my head, go to spit, and next thing you know it barely leaves my mouth. I basically spit on my face. I wiped it with my hand and of course I see a car passing me. All I could think of was, oh great, probably someone I know.

When I finished my run. I got home and as I walk through the door, the first thing my daughter says to me is, “Daddy, what’s all over your face?”. Of course, I think I’m just a little wind burned or red. I thought, man it was windy but I didn’t think it was that bad. I walk into the kitchen and my wife asks me the same thing. She’s like you have brown stuff all over your face. So apparently, I didn’t wipe off the Gu goober. I simply smeared it into my cheek. Now I’m thinking about all of the people I ran past over the last 2 miles that must have been looking at me like what the hell is wrong with that guy.

Overall, very good run. The mountain took a lot out of me but I was please. I ran the 9.01 miles in 1:28:17 for a 9:48 pace.

Loading Likes...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *