Long Run + Long Hill

Distance: 9.01 miles
Time: 1:50:44
Pace: 12:17 min/mil
Most Challenging Moment: That hill, man
Most Inspiring Moment: Cheering on Abby for the last few feet up the hill


Another long run done!

Nine miles is actually the longest I've ever moved in one go (a few years ago I hiked 9 miles in one day in the Grand Canyon), so I was excited/daunted by the idea. It went okay! I think because I tend to run these long ones tortoise-like (slooooow and steady), they actually end up being not terrible, even if it means I'm out there for a long time.

Of course, it might have just been that Dave took the baby the night before and I slept alone in the blissfully-sound-proofed basement. I got my first full night of sleep since the baby was born (since June-ish if you're counting all those third trimester nights when I woke up to pee). It was amazing.

"Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza," Dave said the next morning. "Happy Valentine's Day, Happy Mother's Day, Happy Anniversary..."

After taking two runs off, my running partner met me in the kitchen, rearin' to go:

And we set off!

For my last suburb run, I decided I wanted to tackle the big hill by my house, the one so high that on a clear day you can see Manhattan.

This is not a very intimidating picture, because the hill is so steep and curvy, it's actually impossible to get a shot of the whole thing. Here's the top, and here is the next curve:

 And the next curve:

And then the view from the bottom:

See how it looks almost flat? That would be an optical illusion, because it is so steep that I was forbidden to go near it with a sled and my elementary school bus would regularly get stuck on it.

Running up it took a good five minutes, and even though I wanted to scream obscenities for each of those five minutes, instead I looked down at Abby and cheered her on.

"Keep going! We're almost there! Just a few more steps!"

I looked like an idiot but we made it to the top. And this in spite of the weird marble lion with the inexplicably red eyes that equally freaked out both me and Abby (only one of us growled, though):

Nine miles, three podcasts, and four doggy pit stops later, we made it home. Then we got in the car and really made it home, back to good ole flat Boston.

Today was a cross training day, and I'm counting the hour and a half I went walking with the baby strapped on my chest, burdened by four bags of groceries and/or one over-excited pup. Gotta get that cardio in any way I can.

Tomorrow: glorious, glorious rest.