Faster than a resting hummingbird

I'm happy to say that I've made it out of bed at 5 am the last 3 days for my scheduled workouts. Tomorrow will be 4 days in a row and the first time this training cycle that I have done all my weekday workouts according to plan!  I think I'm finally getting used to the new wakeup time, too, because I've been awake just before the alarm the last 2 days.  Yes, I'm abnormally happy about this.

Anywho, this morning I had 5 miles, 4 at race pace. I made the rather stupid decision to run just with Run Keeper (a great app with GPS and plays my playlists too), which is all fine and dandy except I didn't have anything to gauge my actual running pace with.  Every 5 minutes during the workout Run Keeper tells me (out loud, in a slightly annoyed woman's voice) my average pace over the whole run, and whether I'm ahead or behind target pace.  When the workout is over it gives you total miles, time, and mile splits, as well as a little GPS-driven map of your route.  Left to my own devices, I always run too fast. Which I did indeed do.

After a half mile warmup, I sped up to what I thought felt like an 8:45 mile pace.  Dunno what it was for the first half mile of race pace (avg. was 10:02 over the first mile including warmup), but race pace mile .5 to 1.5 (uphill! dragging Murphy!) was dead on at 8:44.  Mile 1.5 to 2.5 was 8:28, and mile 2.5 to 3.5 was 8:09 (uphill again, steaming past a totally shocked dude with earphones who hadn't heard me coming).  The last half mile at race pace was probably close to the right pace (whole mile was 9:41 but that includes half a mile of cool down).  So yeah, race pace miles were too fast again, and a great lesson to stick with my regular equipment and use the fun toys as extras.  And now I totally know that currently, I don't have a "fall into it" race pace to count on.  Thank goodness Portland has pace bunnies.

Today's Milepost:

Milepost 5.09, iPhone camera.  I know this appears to just be a picture of branches with leaves, but it's not.  As I was stretching on the front steps, I heard a small tweet from one of the Lollipop Trees, as we call them.  I thought it was one of the baby sparrows from the nest on the corner of our roof, so went over to take a look.  Instead, I saw a tiny hummingbird, just chilling on a branch.  If you look above the space between the "be" and "a," almost 2/3 of the way up, you can just see him after the blue sky and the two twigs in the sideways v-shape.  He just sat there and let me take all sorts of pictures of him.  Wish I'd had the big camera instead!

The Details:
Date: 7/29/2010
Departed: 5:25 am
Start temp: 55, cloudy and humid, with a headwind from the south again
Mileage: 5.09
Watch time: 45:59
Running time: 45:29 (about 30 seconds for dog pit stops and drop offs (he only went two miles today))
Average Heart Rate/Max Heart Rate: 170something (forgot to turn off my HRM when finished)/189
Average Pace: 8:56
Race Pace Miles:  8:44, 8:28, 8:09 and two half miles of unknown pace

Tomorrow morning is a nice aerobic 4-miler with Murph.  Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Hood River to celebrate our 6th Anniversary with some hiking, chilling, eating, and drinking.  And instead of running on Sunday, I'm splitting my long run up:  9ish miles into work on Monday, and then 8 miles home (with, I guess, either a mile cooldown walk or a mile bus ride).  Should be interesting!  Last time I ran home from work it was horrible.

Bleccccch!

Sunday's 16-miler was by far my worst run since my 16-miler leading up to Newport (though after that one they were all great, fingers crossed that happens this time too).  This suckfest was definitely due to the hilly bike ride around Vashon on Saturday--my legs were just dead tired and sore when I awoke Sunday morning.  My route was 5 miles down to Gasworks to meet up with the group, 6 miles around Lake Union with Talena (with 3 race-pace miles at the end of the 6), then 5 miles back up the hill to home.  In order to get the right mileage (for once!), I had to drive my car .8 miles south so as not to add an extra 1.6 miles to my 16. 

Sunday's Milepost:

Milepost 16.19, 107th & Phinney.  iPhone, Camera Bag app, Magazine.  I've never been so freakin' happy to see my car!  I haven't been riding as much this year, so a hilly 45-mile ride the day before 16 was just not as easy as it would have been last year.

The Details
Date: 7/25/2010
Departed:  7:06 am
Start temp: 55ish, clear and warm
Mileage: 16.19
Watch time: 2:47
Running time: 2:45
Average Heart Rate/Max Heart Rate:   159/179 (This was from the first 5 miles; my HRM was not working so great for the other 11 and it said my average heart rate was 33!  Umm...no.)
Average Pace:   10:10
Race pace miles:  I know we were going about race pace, but something was wrong with my mileage markers, because we were way off time-wise.  But we did all three, I just don't have accurate date for them.

Tuesday's run was much better, though on Monday I was so sore I wasn't sure it was going to be.  My plan called for an aerobic 5-miler, so I set off with Murphy, intending to run 10 minute miles.  As usual I was quicker for the first 2 downhill miles, but it evened out on the uphill.  After working out the dead legs, it was a pretty good run!  And Murphy is becoming quite a champ at 5 miles. 

Tuesday's Milepost:





















Milepost 4.47, 110th & Phinney.  iPhone, Hipstamtic plus Camera Bag Infrared processing.  This gate has two fully formed glass faces and has always creeped me out, but it's way more creepy this way. 

The Details
Date: 7/27/2010
Departed: 5:19 am
Start temp: 60, clear and warm with a pretty decent headwind as I ran south
Mileage: 5
Watch time:  50:22
Running time: 49:00 (about 1:22 for dog pit stops, picture taking, stoplight waiting)
Average Heart Rate/Max Heart Rate:  153/178
Average Pace:  9:48

Today I did my cross-training and rode an easy ride to and from work for 18.5 miles, plus an hour of lunchtime yoga.  Tomorrow is a race-pace tempo workout.  Fingers crossed it's a good one!

Consistently Inconsistent

I had a horrible headache all day Thursday and I was exhausted to boot, so I skipped my Thursday tempo run in favor of rest.  As a result I felt overwhelmingly guilty on Friday, so ran after work even though it was a hot one.  I did my lap course from the house, once with Murphy (dropping him off at the house after the first 2-mile lap) and once without.  It didn't totally suck, but it wasn't great.  I just don't love running in heat. 

So far in my Portland training, I've only managed three of my four weekly runs each week (still better than I did for my Newport training, though).  Like I said, consistently inconsistent.  Next week, I'll aim for 100%.

Today was a great 45-mile bike tour of Vashon Island.  I was apprehensive, because I knew it was going to be hilly as hell and I haven't been riding as much this year.  But the fast girls took it a little easier today and I was able to hang with them just fine, except a few hills where I was dropped (but I caught up each time).  What a gorgeous day!  I saw some of the best views of Mt. Rainier I have ever seen.  Ever.  Just beautiful.  And I felt surprisingly good at the end of the day, though my legs are a bit tired at the moment.  We'll see how well I recover for tomorrow's 16 miler.

Yesterday's Milepost:

Milepost 4.01, My Back Yard (featuring my new trellises that Kevin built and painted last weekend).  iPhone, Camera Bag, Lolo.

The Details
Date: 7/23/2010
Departed: 5:54 pm
Start temp: 75ish, clear, and hot!
Mileage: 4.01
Watch time: 41:16
Running time:  About 40:30 (got stuck at the light at 105th for like the first time ever)
Average Heart Rate/Max Heart Rate: 158/225 (given that my Max is 205, I'm thinking this number is courtesy of aliens or atmospheric interference)
Average Pace/Max Pace: 10.18/8:42
Notes:  Not a great run, but I was pretty sure going in it wouldn't be.  My left hip was very unhappy on the uphill bits, but I think that might have been due to lunchtime yoga.  Also, running in the heat just kinda sucks.

When in doubt...run 5 miles.

I was a bit confused about what my plan called for yesterday (it said a 5-mile hill workout, but Cheryl said no hill workouts).  So I compromised and ran 5 miles at the faster end of my aerobic pace, with the second half being slightly uphill, 'cause it is, and the last half mile at race pace.   I did not, however, ride a trike.

Today's Milepost:




















Milepost 2.7ish, 76th & Dayton.  iPhone, Hipstamatic, Kaimal Mark II lens, Ina's 1969 film. 

Tomorrow is 5-mile tempo run at race pace.  I can't decide if I should do it before or after work--I've been sorta tired lately (staying up until 11:30 last night to watch the Tour didn't help matters) so I may just sleep in.

The Details
Date: 7/20/2010
Departed: 5:24 am
Start temp: 55 and super foggy
Mileage: 5
Watch time: 49:52
Running time: About 48:52 (picture taking and dog peeing)
Average Heart Rate/Max Heart Rate: 151/177
Average Pace: 9:46
Notes:  Despite my legs being tired at the start, it was still a good run.  Had evening yoga as well, and lunchtime yoga today and an hour bike ride tonight.

Race Pace Sunday = No Monday Funday

I could definitely feel yesterday's hard effort every time I got up from my desk today.  It's been a while since I've been that stiff and sore after a Sunday run (races excluded).  But it's a good sore.

Today's Rest Stop:

RS3, Kitchen Floor.  iPhone, Camera Bag App, Magazine feature.  Stella and Coopy, in a rare moment of peace.  Poor Stella's coat is getting funnier and uglier as it grows back in, but she's spunky as hell and rocking her reverse fauxhawk for all it's worth.

Dems mah socks!

My socks rock.  I heart them.  I also heart Chia Fresca (iskiate); had a glass shortly before I left for my run this morning.  (Water, 1 TB of Chia seeds, lime juice, and a touch of sugar--stir, let sit, stir again, drink.  Floss teeth.)  I didn't feel much until about 7 miles in, but then I felt like I could run. fast. all. day. long. during the second race pace set!  Woot!

It's a recovery week, so I had a 10-miler, but with at least 5 at race pace (8:45 min/mile).  I ran my usual course down to Gas Works Park, via Dayton, Greenlake, and Stone Way, 5.83 miles total with 4.83 miles at race pace.  Then ran 5.18 with the group, with miles 2.2-4.2 at (faster than) race pace.  A few aches and pains but overall felt good and had plenty of energy left to get tons done today.

Today's Milepost:

Well, really, not a milepost at all.  I was done, at home, sitting on the front steps.  I forgot to take a picture today, but that will probably happen with multiple race pace miles.  iPhone, Camera Bag app, processed with Lolo.

The Details
Date: 7/18/2010
Departed: 6:56 am
Start temp: 54 and cloudy
Mileage: 11.01 (oops!)
Watch time: 1:37:35
Running time: Pretty much the same today, not many stops for lights, pictures, etc.
Average Heart Rate/Max Heart Rate: 171/189
Average Pace: 8:51
Notes:  Cheryl wanted me to do at least 5 race pace miles today.  Did 6.83 total, most faster than I should have, but they were all pretty much downhill:  8:15, 8:31, 8:36, 8:30, 6.29 over .83 miles (7:48 pace), 8:07, 8:07 (those last two were averaged, I think the first was well under 8 and the second probably about 8:3; the first was over a great downhill stretch).  Afterward I asked Cheryl if it's okay to do my race pace miles faster...so, yeah, the answer is no, except when going downhill.  So I guess I was okay today, but need to be more consistent next time.  The more I did, the faster I ran.  It's the Chia Fresca, I'm telling you---I felt fantastic.

Orienteering we will go!

Yesterday's run was a treat!  Talena and I managed to make it to Cheryl's Thursday night group for a 5-mile orienteering course.  If you aren't familiar with the sport, you get a topographical map (ours included depictions of the streets but not the names/numbers) with numbered stops to find, and then a sheet that asks you questions of about each stop (number on the telephone pole on the NW corner, how many concrete columns are there, what does the sign say, etc.).  You basically haul ass from one point to the other, and write down the answers to the questions.  It's a fun interval/hill workout for sure, but man, was it hot out there!  Regardless we had a great time and enjoyed the potluck afterward.

Here we are, just after we finished.  And yes, we were very sweaty.

Milepost 4.98, 30th & 70th.  iPhone, Camera Bag app, Magazine feature.

The Details
Date: 7/15/2010
Departed: 6:03 pm
Start temp: 75ish, clear and hot!
Mileage: 4.98
Watch time: 58:51
Running time: No clue, we stopped at each of 12 stops to write the answers and then figure out the path to the next marker.
Average Heart Rate/Max Heart Rate: 169/109
Average Pace: 11:49 (HRM says fastest mile was 6:51; not sure about that....)
Notes:  Quite a hard run with the heat, hills, and sore muscles still from my massage.  But what a fun workout, made even better by great company!

Oh, and an hour of yoga on Friday.  Mmmmm.

Ch-ch-ch-chia Powered!

Tuesday's run was a nice 4-ish mile recovery run.  Instead of taking my getting-really-old normal 4-mile loop, I decided to do two laps of the shorter route.  It's mentally harder because I pass by the house after the first loop (always confusing to Murphy), but it splits the uphill so instead of being two miles down, two miles up, it's one mile down, one mile up, repeat, and I feel like I keep a more consistent pace doing so.

I ate my Pinole Breakfast Cookie with half a cup of coffee before heading out the door.  It was surprisingly tasty, though I am going to tinker with the recipe a bit---I think next time I will let some of the chia seeds dissolve into a gel, and mix the gel with the cornmeal and some whole seeds.  Should make for a slightly moister cookie, though for a first try I was pretty happy.  Kevin ate one before his ride into work and was surprised at how good it was.  I didn't notice much in the way of performance enhancement the first two miles, but definitely noticed some extra pep in my step the last two, especially on the last uphill mile home.  I'm going try to make some to bring on my long ride on Saturday.

In addition to my performance-enhancing ch-ch-ch-chia cookies, I wore my leg-encasing compression socks again.  LOVE them.  They hug everything tight so you just don't notice the usual aches and pains.  I'm going to try them on this Sunday's long run to see how that goes.  It's time they made their photographic debut here, anyway.  Until then, here's today's milepost:

Milepost 4.13, 122nd & Evanston.  Taken with my iPhone, processed through Lolo lens in Camera Bag app.  This picture doesn't come close to doing it justice due to the lack of light and tight angle, but this is my favorite house and garden in all of Seattle.  Someday I want our front yard to be this awesome.

I registered for Portland Tuesday!  Bib Number 7200.  It has a good feeling to me for some reason. Of course I entered my projected finish time of 3:50.  BQ, baby!  And finally got in for my massage last night; Darian was booked so I saw Chris.  I still like Darian better, but Chris was able to kick the hell out of my lower legs and they do feel looser.  An hour of yoga today helped, too.

I was supposed to ride today, but ended up having too much fun last night over at Rick & Colleen's and couldn't get out of bed in time to get it together this morning.  Oh well.

The Details
Date: 7/13/2010
Departed: 5:24 am
Start temp: 53 degrees and partly cloudy
Mileage: 4.23
Watch time:  42:08
Running time: 41:50 (about 18 seconds for picture taking and dog peeing)
Average Heart Rate/Max Heart Rate: 157/176
Average Pace:  9:53
Notes:  A decent little run.  Felt good all day long, too. 

If Mondays weren't rest days, they would suck.

I was crazy tired all day at work, but not totally sure why.  It could have been the 15.93 mile run yesterday.  Or maybe because I got up at 5 am again (even though I wasn't running--but this is really a good thing).  Or because Amazon Fresh delivered around 4:30 and of course Murphy heard the truck and alarm barked.  Or possibly it was because Stella has been a complete psycho the past few weeks.  Ding ding ding, we have ourselves a winnah!  Her latest act starts with jumping onto the bed in the dead of night, then to the narrow windowsill about two feet above our heads, pausing there for a brief break before leaping down onto one of our sleeping bodies (Kevin mostly).  Thankfully she's only 8 pounds, but she's 8 pounds of pure spring-loaded muscle.  Then she throws herself off the bed and gallops around like she's being chased by a ghost.  Repeat.

Perhaps that's why Cooper likes his catnaps so much.  Here he was yesterday, back when it was summer.

Today's Rest Stop:

RS 2, Dining Room Floor.  iPhone Hipstamatic app, Kaimal Mark II lens, Kodot Verichrome film.  As you can see, he's a little peeved I didn't wait for the shadow from the window frame to move off of his face. 

Thanks to a miraculous late-day rally, I had the energy to stop by PCC on the way home from work to get fixins' for the best brownies on the planet to take to Rick & Colleen's tomorrow night, and picked up some Chia seeds while I was there.  (I've been intrigued by the whole Chia seed thing since reading Born to Run (a great read even if you aren't a runner), and when Erin mentioned something about them this weekend I learned they weren't hard to come by.)  So after I made the brownies I whipped up some Tarahumara-style Pinole Breakfast Cookies to try before my run tomorrow morning:

iPhone, Hipstamatic app, Kaimal Mark II lens, Ina's 1969 film.

Stay tuned for the results!

An unremarkable day

I paid for my hard-partying and BBQ-eating ways this weekend on today's run, though thankfully it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  Mapped myself a rather difficult and sadly uninteresting 7.5 miles to Greenlake on Map My Run using their new program, which is vastly improved over the old one.  Uninteresting=very few places where I felt inspired to stop and take pictures, though part of that can probably be attributed to the foggy weather.

Cheryl told me to include hills on my long runs to prepare for the few hilly bits at Portland, and boy howdy did I add hills today.  I guess I should know the roads I'm sending myself up before including them!  Did a bit of uphill on 8th before it crosses 85th, and a few inclines heading east on 75th, but 56th up to Phinney Ridge was completely brutal.  And then of course the 3.5 miles home from the lake are all uphill, but Talena (bless her for running home with me) and I managed those at a decent clip of about 9:45.  All in all I just never felt great today, which is not what I'm used to anymore on my long runs.  When I got home, I was completely wiped out and took a loooooong snooze.  Sadly I'm still tired and uninspired to move off the couch, but the house is a disaster and I need to do some work---maybe I need some Red Bull.

Today's Milepost:

Milepost 7.65, Greenlake (inner trail by the boat house).  iPhone photo processed using Silver in Camera Bag app.  The couple in the canoe had just pushed off from the dock when I came around the corner, and the lake was steaming and overhung with low misty fog.  It was early, and very still and silent.  I love Seattle.

The Details
Date:  7/11/2010
Departed:  6:08 am
Start temp:  60 degrees, overcast and very humid
Mileage:  15.93 (oops,  I did it again!)
Watch time:  Don't really know, too many stops/starts with the group and I wasn't good about pausing and restarting my watch.
Running time:  Same as above.
Average Heart Rate/Max Heart Rate:  146*/188
Average Pace:  10:00 to 10:15 (a guess based on looking at my pace on my watch a lot) plus two race-pace miles (miles 10 & 11) at 8:26.7, 8:31.9
Notes:  Other than the usual "marathon training" twinges from time to time, my legs felt good until the last three miles home.  Then the left leg/calf pain started kicking in a bit.  Stretched well, used the stick a bit, then right into the compression socks, plus ice on the leg.  Massage on Tuesday.  Hopefully that'll do the trick.

*Note that this includes about 30-40 minutes of standing-around time between my arrival at Greenlake and my departure for the group workout.  From now on I need to stop my watch and restart upon departure rather than pausing it and just average the two times so I can get a more accurate number.

A little too Zane-y, thankyouverymuch!

As a result of a bit too much liquid fun last night, I was unable to drag myself out of bed at 6 am for my Saturday long ride.  After a couple more hours of sleep, I was able to rally and get a significant bit of yardwork done.  I still wanted to get in a ride, so took off on a hot 17 miler down to Shilshole, through Ballard, Fremont, and up Stone Way, taking the long way around Greenlake. 

My timing was great, because the Fremont Bridge opened just as I passed by. 

Fremont Bridge from the Burke Gilman Trail.  iPhone photo processed through Helga option in Camera Bag app.

Zane-y Night

Fridays are for lunchtime yoga. While I don't have any photos of my down dog (and that's a good thing) I will try to supplement later with a pic from our evening entertainment--Zane Lamprey of Three Sheets fame.

Not Me

Why do I persist in breaking the cardinal rule of running with Murphy?  I know better than to run with him when it's over 60 degrees.  But hey, the sun wasn't even up when I left, and how sluggish can a stocky, furry yellow lab get on a 67 degree morning with no sun?  Well, not sluggish so much. 

Today's Milepost:

Milepost 2.46, 90th & Dayton.  Taken with my iPhone and processed with the Magazine option in my Camera Bag app.

I was trying for a tempo run, but dragging a hot dog along behind you does not make for a particularly fast pace, so I was happy to average 9:22.  Alone I could have easily managed 9:00 or better today, even though my legs have been pretty tired this week.  But I felt much more fleet of foot than the Schmoo this morning, thanks to my new compression socks.  They really work!  I sat in the 80 degree house with them on last night, and then ran with them this morning.  No noticeable leg pain today, so that's good news.  A little warm, a lot nerdy looking, but I'll take it! 

One bonus of getting up early to run is that it leaves my evenings free to do whatever.  On this hot sunny Seattle evening, we headed down to Richmond Beach with the Neighbs from across the street.  Picked up some fried chicken and beer at QFC, and spent a couple water-cooled hours watching the dogs play in the water and the sun drifting behind the mountains.  Just lovely.

The Details
Date:  7/8/2010
Departed:  5:20 am
Start temp:  67!! degrees
Mileage: 3.93 miles
Watch time:  39:45
Running time: 36:50 (Watch Time minus 2:55 minutes for hot dog walk breaking and photo taking---I actually lapped it this time so this is not just a guestimate.)
Average Heart Rate:  166
Average Pace:  9:22
Notes:  No noticeable achilles pain or leg pain!  Yay for icing, the stick, and compression socks.

A new leaf?

I could tell Murphy was skeptical when I asked him Monday night if he wanted to go running in the morning, especially after our weekend filled with parties, food, booze (us) and swimming, dogs, and emergency vet visits (him).  Imagine his surprise when the alarm rang at 5, I got out of bed immediately, put on the clothes I had set out the night before, and had to coax him out of bed!  Unheard of.

Today's Milepost:

Milepost 2.5, 93rd & Dayton, iPhone (sun wasn't up yet so not quite enough light).

The Details
Date:  7/6/2010
Departed: 5:13:11 am
Start temp: 52 degrees & clear (yay summer!)
Mileage: 3.93 miles
Watch time: 41:04
Running time: 39:34 (Watch Time minus 1.5 minutes for picture taking, jacket removing, and dog peeing.)
Average Heart Rate: 161
Average Pace: 10:08
Notes:  Just okay today.  Left leg bothering me more than I would like it, so need to baby it a bit.  Can't get in for a massage until the 19th, unfortunately.
Other:  55 minutes Yoga at Art on the Ridge with Stacie

Fitting End to a Busy Three-Day Weekend

Today was a much-needed rest day.  My right achilles was stiff and a bit sore this morning, so I did some stretching, massage, and icing.  And a whole lot of couch-sitting and internet surfing.  I think it's time to get in for a massage very soon.

No milepost today, rest days are for Rest Stops:

Rest Stop 1, Living Room Floor.  Taken with the Hipstamatic app for iPhone (John S lens, Ina's 1969 film, no flash).  Nothing says rest day like Murphy taking a snooze in the sun.

Independence Day

Last Tuesday I decided to run the Portland Marathon on October 10 to try to get my BQ before I turn 40.  I ran Seattle Rock n Roll last Saturday with my lovely cousin Stephanie from Iowa, so despite the fact that I don't actually have a training plan yet, today was a 14 miler.  A solo, music-free 14 gives you a lot of time to think, and at some point around mile 8 or so I thought I would start this training journal, taking pictures of my travels along the way with my iPhone.  So here we are.

Today was one of my favorite routes through Ballard. I stopped to smell a rose on 70th, used the facilities in Salmon Bay Park, patted a Basset Hound waiting for his master on Ballard Avenue, memorized my photo mileposts while running up Stone Way too fast (turns out a series of five two-digit numbers is a nice tempo for running up a hill), and refilled my water at Greenlake.  Also, saw lots of people Geocaching. I knew they were Geocaching because I read about it here earlier this week.  Apparently they were looking for the Triad.  It was kind of funny watching them beating the bushes and loitering along the trail.  I didn't want to take their picture, though. They might have thought I was weird.

Today's Milepost:

Milepost 9.29, Stone Way N. & N. Northlake Way.  In retrospect I realize I should have taken a picture of the Bassett Hound, but he was before mile 8.  Oh and iPhone camera is not so great on darkish overcast days.

The Details

Departed:  8:04:49 am

Start temp:  54 degrees

Mileage:  14.72 miles (oops!)

Watch time:  2:29:29

Running time:  2:25:29 (Watch Time minus about four minutes for rose sniffing, dog patting, intersection crossing, bathroom breaking, water refilling, photo taking, and calf stretching.)

Average Heart Rate:  165
Average Pace:  9:53
Notes:  Really a good run!  Struggled to keep my pace slow enough, query what my LR pace should be if I'm having to slow myself down?  Some aches and pains (right achilles, left low shin).  But overall felt great, even heading home from the bottom of Stone, which is pretty much uphill for 4 of 5 miles.