Run: 10 minute jog out, 5 times hills of one minute up hard, one minute down slow, 10 minute jog home

Distance: 3.1 miles

Time: 30:33

Performance Stats (out of 5 ★)

Legs: ★ ★ ★

Gut: ★ ★ ★ ★

Energy ★ ★ ★ .5

Mind: ★ ★ ★ .5

Overall: ★ ★ ★ .5

Soundtrack: Metallica, ...And Justice for All

It is a beautiful morning out there! We have had some very mild summer days this week, and this morning was a bit chilly - almost like a fall morning. It's the kind of chilly that you get that Frankenstein headache. That's the one where your ears are chilly and it spreads right into that side of your head and upper jaw - right where Frankenstein has his little bolts.

But five sets of hills later, and I'm nice a sweaty! The hills were great. My hamstrings were SUPER sore this week from my little run at the beginning of the week. I finally did a little stretching over the past two days, and what a difference it makes. I'm telling you, every year you have to run a little smarter to avoid injury.

I wasn't too excited to hear the alarm clock go off early this morning, but once I got my feet under me, there was no stopping. Sleepy mistakes made this morning: I forgot to set my coffee to brew before heading out (it just finished now!), and I came down stairs with the wrong pain of running shoes. All quickly corrected, but it's interesting what the sleepy brain can miss!

I love working in hills. It's a great change of pace and mindset. It also works some different muscles, and the same muscles differently. I think the weekend is supposed to be nice, and I'm going to tackle my first longer run in a long time. So far week one of twelve is turning out to be just right. I hope you are all having good running days out there as well. See you on the weekend!