Final run before Ragnar next Friday. Wanted to get in a good long hill, but life conspired to constrain my time. I thought I’d bus towards downtown and run back, but instead I did a loop and tried to make the last half go up. Mission sort of accomplished.
Began as I’ve begun: Roosevelt, 3rd Ave, 130th. Thought I might dash across the road and through the park, past the leash free dog area, and the emerge somewhere onto 1st Ave. But traffic was busy that I didn’t make the cross until I got to 1st Ave anyway.
1st Avenue, Corliss, 125th street-old hat. But then this time I made the left onto Meridian. Mile 1 was a nice and slow 9:32. Dropped towards 105th, where everybody gets a name change: 105th becomes Northgate and Meridian itself becomes College Way. Caught the green light after only a few seconds.
Stayed on College way, and it finally went up a bit at 103rd, although not much; at the top mile 2 was done, 9:10, but that was mostly downhill running. Down some more toward 92nd. I jigged, took the pedestrian cut-through, and Burke for a few blocks south to 90th.
A right turn, up a short bump and then down to the lowest point of the run at 90th and Stone. And then the climbing began. But I was feeling really good, hit mile 3, a 9:24, which was more or less perfect.
Stone leveled out and I took the left on 100th, ran to Aurora, and a right turn until I got to a pedestrian overpass at 102nd. On the east side of the road it spirals up; on the other side of the road it’s a few flights of stairs. And then 102nd itself is sort of steep up to Fremont. A right turn, and some gentle climbing to 105th. I didn’t feel like waiting for traffic, so I turned left, and cross when I got the opportunity. That was mile 4, 9:52, which I’m okay with considering the steepnesses.
That put me at Evenston, and a right turn. Straight as a string, a hundred feet of climbing over a mile or so, and just one song on my ipod the entire time (“Pass It” by Papa Knows Funk). Mile 5 was a 9:41. If I can do that on my first leg of Ragnar, I’ll be happy.
A right turn onto 130, cross Aurora on the pedestrian bridge, feeling just fine. Left on Stone. Right on 131st. Left on Ashworth. A right turn to cut through the highschool and emerge on 133rd. Mile 6 was a 9:10, and when I hot exactly one hour, I stopped. Total distance: 6.3.
And now, the part of run-training I am best at: tapering.