Summer running adventure!

Well, maybe adventure isn't quite the right word for this, but, I did run someplace new.  There is a hill here in town where the tv/radio stations have their transmitters, the local university has research stations, and there is even a large telescope.  Wildlife is all around.  There is a paved path up to the top.  It's not long, only 3.1 miles roundtrip - but - it's a great hill workout!  It has an elevation gain of 730 ft... which means you get that gain in about a mile and a half as you zig zag your way to the top.  Yes, my lungs were burning.  Yes, I walked a few feet when I got near the top.  But, the view when you get to the top is beautiful, especially at sunrise, and going down is a breeze!  I made the trip in 33 minutes total, and better yet, I lived to tell about it!  I don't get to do hill workouts that often.  My neighborhood is about as flat as it gets.  Surprisingly, I am not really sore this morning!  I can tell that I did something different than normal, but I don't have that horrid "I don't want to stand up much less move" pain that you get when you've truly overdone it.

I knew about this hill for years but never made the effort to go check it out.  Maybe because from a distance it's ugly?  Or maybe because it reached out of my comfort zone?  I shouldn't have put it off because now I've found a great place to do hills.  Lesson learned!

*Photo - not the acutal hill but the view of the path from the bottom.  I'm kicking myself now for not getting a picture of the actual (ugly) hill or the view from the top!