Hot, Humid, and Hilly Sunday Run

I'm sure all of us have our favorite routes. We run this route for tempo, that route for recovery, and the other for long runs. I'm certainly guilty of relying of running the many of the same routes over and over again. The problem with this is they become familiar and dare I say boring.

Today I decided to switch things up today and run a new route. Today was a very hot and humid day in NJ. I decided to take it easy and enjoy some new surroundings. The toughest part of the run came right after mile 7.  This is where an almost 2 mile uphill began. I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking incorporating a long climb into my run on what felt like the hottest day of the summer but I stuck with it and finished the 9.84mi run in 1:25:00 for a 8.38 pace. I walked in the door just in time to see Paula Radcliffe wint the New York City Half Marathon.

Later in the day I was in the car with a friend who is not a runner who said you only begin to appreciate hills when you're on a bike or on foot. It's easy to go up a hill in a car but not so much when you're cycling or running.

Lastly, congrats to everyone who completed the New York City Half Marathon. It was not an easy day for racing.