Sunday afternoon I finished up productive day of work round the house and went for a 5 mile run on the rural roads that surround my home. I don't usually run in the afternoon, but circumstances dictated that it was either then, or not run at all.
I’d not been on what I call the “Clay Hill 5 miler” since last summer and I just felt like trying it again today.
Well, I remembered why I tend not to run it—it’s mean little run. It’s shaped like a lollipop, with the stick end starting at my house and about a mile long, then the loop part runs for 3 miles, then you intersect and repeat the last mile of the stick end from the opposite direction.
The stick end was in full sun and crosses I-81, so that part was sort of a drag due to the sun, the very high humidity yesterday, and the traffic noise. Then you go up a lengthy hill, not high, but long and rolling, with a couple of false summits along the way. I know the route well, so am not faked out by the false summits, it’s just that the hill seemingly rolls on and on and on. Then the road heads into the woods—what my kids call a “slinky road,” completely shaded, with the trees almost touching overhead. That part is pleasant…until another long uphill, again with a couple false summits to demoralize you.
The actual length of these 2 hills, and their height, are not really very significant, but just seem to be.
On the plus side, I should note that the run is very traffic-free, being on sparsely traveled roads, and there are a couple of nice downhills (there would have to be, given the uphills and the fact that it’s a loop course...duh!). I guess it’s not so bad after all.
All in all a good run. Maybe I’ll incorporate it into a 10 miler next weekend….
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