John (aka "Bum") is one of our law school friends who also ended up in the Charlotte area after graduation. Bum has been my running buddy for a few months now, and he also ran the Thunder Road Half Marathon back in December (although much faster than I did!) This Saturday, Bum and I embarked on what we thought would be a leisurely jog through my neighborhood. Apparently, I forgot to warn Bum that my neighborhood is hilly. Very hilly. Luckily, in preparation for Thunder Road, we used to run the hills of the Dilworth neighborhood. When we got to the end of our route, with one last steady climb, Bum would motivate me by talking in the "hill voice". We determined the hill was like a gruff old man trying to be scary but underneath it all, the hill was a nice old guy. Unfortunately, this new hill on Saturday was not a nice old guy - it was a steep and painful straight shot up - now referred to as the Hill of Death. Bum and I finished the run a bit more winded than usual (with Bum fairing better at the hills than me). Looks like I have a new way to test my progress this spring, by attempting the Hill of Death on a regular basis.
I logged in my first "long run" of the year at the Y on Sunday, a five miler soundtracked by Toto's Africa.
Unfortunately, the beginning of this week has been a bit less "athletic" as we roll into Snow Day #2 here in Charlotte. Considering my attempts to walk outside have already landed me on my butt a few more times than I would like to admit, running in these conditions probably not the best idea. Looks like things will be somewhat back to normal here in the South tomorrow - just in time for some speed repeats!
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