Kenyan Way Hills #4 – Four Hills

4.61 miles, 16:13, 8:43 pace

Warm-up (1.15), four hills for 10 minutes (1.14), 5 minute rest, four hills for 10 minutes (1.23), warm-down (1.09)

Hill Laps:
2:38, 2:23, 2:22, 2:20, 0:20 (partial), Avg HR = 148, Max HR = 159, avg pace = 8:49
2:14, 2:09, 2:13, 2:13, 1:14 (partial), Avg HR = 157, Max HR = 171, avg pace = 8:12

Today was a good workout. I joined the morning session of Kenyan Way, and not too surprisingly it was very dark outside. Sean trained his headlights on the course, and the cones were accompanied by flashing lights so we knew where to go. Being admittedly overly-cautious, it bothered me to be running without being able to see my footing. Stepping into a hole could cause a serious knee or ankle injury. But Sean is a professional, and maps out the course to be free of those worries. Regardless, I better get used to it because the days are going to get shorter until the winter solstice in late December. By then I will have my marathon behind me.

Back to the workout: We ran up four hills on a .27 mile course -- up fast and down easy. I took the first set easy, and tried to work it very hard on the second set. I ended up running 37 seconds per mile faster on the second set. That was good enough to place me at #5 among the approximately 100 people there this morning.

For some strange reason it's a great feeling to have weak legs for the rest of the day. I guess it's a constant reminder that I kicked butt at 6AM this morning while everyone else was still in bed. But it's also a reminder that I already put in my miles for the day and I can cruise for the rest of the day.