Hillwork on the Memorial Park Bridge

From home, I ran two miles to a Memorial Park water fountain and ate a Powerbar gel. The strawberry/banana flavor is very banana-flavored. (I ate one at mile 6, too.) I crossed the street and ran through a couple of pine trees and to the bridge.

I topped the bridge and made my way down the other side and under the bridge, up to the top of a hill beyond the bridge and came back to run back up the bridge.

I went back after the run to take photos.

Beautiful flowers and native grasses make this a pretty place.

Soon I was on the downhill side of the bridge with the breeze cooling me off. I ran to a pine tree where I made a u-turn and did it all again.



Plums

I ran 6 miles of hills except for one sprint after a couple of lost runners who asked me for directions. I mistakenly gave them bad directions and when I realized that, I sprinted back to catch them. I clocked a marathon paced mile there! I wasn't thinking about the heat or my pace - easiest MP mile ever!

These short hills are what I trained on before the Big Sur Marathon. Compared to those hills, these .15 mile hills are just bumps in the road, but it's within running-distance to home and it's nicer than running up parking garage ramps like I used to do. 



Running up and down and beneath the bridge and the nice morning breeze made this 10.3 mile go by quickly. I felt sore afterwards, but it was a good sore.