Up Big Hills

Today, I began hill training in earnest. (It's really more impressive if you turn on the elevation feature and see I ran UP a 200 foot elevation change and then up another 75-100 feet a mile later.)

Those of you familiar with the Twin Cities will note this route is in St. Paul. I took my running gear to work and ran at the end of the day. (Nice thing about the winter is it's not too hot to run in the afternoon.) I was super pumped at the end of the run so I came back and talked to Pam, our receptionist who is also a sometimes runner. Currently the plan is to do this once a week, at least until I run the pig with Deb. Note that the hill on that half-marathon course changes 500 feet. (Yeah, now you see why I need to train.)

I went to the gym last night for weights and did, among other things the one-leg-dead lift and lunges for quite a long time. So my, um, up-hill running muscles were already on the road to fatigue. By the time I got time climbing hills today I was glad I can take tomorrow as a day off from running. I'm not sure I'll be able to move when I wake up.

After the run I talked to Amanda on the phone (ha, "talked" got typed as "stalked" at first...). Amanda also ran today. This lead to a good conversation about running music.Plus , when I finished my run, Pam asked me what I listened to while I ran. I sheepishly replied "music with bad words in it". Which is true for some of the songs I listen to but not all of them.

So, typically Amanda's and my taste in music has a sizable overlap but is generally different. (I could make a ven-diagram if you need clarification.) For workout stuff, we typically enjoy similar music meaning anything with a good drum section. Amanda told me I should "burn her a disk" of some of my songs. (Reminds me of mix tapes.) I lean towards using Skreemr for all my Mp3 needs. (I have a strict "don't ask" policy about the legality of the whole thing.) In honor of Amanda's request, I'm sharing some songs with you. (Clicking these links will play sound but you can save these links as Mp3's if you have a similar "don't ask" policy.)

• Paul Simon - The Obvious Child: A great song from Rhythm of the Saints and no bad words makes it even better.
• 4 Minutes - Madonna although it's actually several artists, Madonna just gets most of the credit. This song has a big part in the Get Smart remake.
• Remember the Name - Fort Minor. This one does have a couple bad words but not so bad for hip hop.
• Temperature - Sean Paul. This song is more fun in the summer but it's nice to pretend.
• Burnin' Up - Jonas Brothers. I see nothing wrong with this and feel no shame.
• A Little Less Conversation - Elivs. Amanda, that's totally for you.

After the run I came home and had a big bowl of pasta. (I know, usually runners have pasta first.) Then I went out with Cheryl to see Elephants, one of the movies at OmniFest. I realized I'd seen the movie before but it took on a whole new world to me now that I've seen Avery Brooks in other places. (He's the narrator of the movie.) After that, I picked up my teenager from work and gave her a ride home.