All Downhill From Here

My last week before the marathon only calls for me to run 3 times. But since Boston is run on a Monday, and my last long run was on Saturday, I figure I can get in one more run, if I don’t make it too strenuous.

I drop of our copy of our state tax return at the post office (I “e-filed” the federal last week), and I drive over to an empty subdivision about a mile/two west of my house. I read in Runners World that it was good to get used to running downhill for Boston, but doing it in a more controlled way. So I chose this spot because it is near the peak of a 2 long, gradual hills. I run about ¾ mile to warmup, and I head down one of the hills. I want to keep my speed close to 7:30, only 30 seconds per minute faster than my goal marathon pace. But within a few hundred yards, I am showing 6:19 per mile. I slow that up and see the Garmin GPS watch show 8:00, so I maintain that speed, and I let gravity and momentum gradually increase my speed until it’s about 7:40 minutes per mile. This is a cool road, it transitions from the empty subdivision to a 150 year-old cemetery, with a gated estate next to it, and a big bond with a horse barn on the other side of it. Even though there is no shoulder to buffer you from the cars, it is wooded, and hilly, so it is a diversion from the cookie-cutter suburban streets. I get close to the bottom of the hill, where a small bridge goes over a creek. I have run a half-mile downhill, so I turn around and jog back up. I give myself some chances to walk, which I almost never do, unless I need to stop to tie my shoe, or fix something with my running gear.

I go past where my car is parked, and climb further up to the crest of the hill. Now, I am at the top of what my wife calls “the Never-ending hill” We usually run from the other direction from our house, and this street winds through the neighborhood, first with a steep downhill dip/hill, and then a series of gradual plateaus to where I am at. I run the half mile or so down this hill, keeping my speed between 7:30 and 8:00. Before I get to the bottom, I see a walking path that creates a shortcut back to where my car is. I want to keep the distance down, and I think this route will not go as much uphill as reversing my route.
As I run though this nature path easement between the developed neighborhood, and the empty subdivision, I think about the effect of the housing mortgage crisis on this area. Not just that I am out of work, but that this is a hole in our community. There haven’t been any problems that I can see, but it is sad that several hundred lots sit vacant. As I get closer to my car, I see a truck drive by, and I hear hammering. Through the tree line, I see one house being built, next to a model home that has been there for a while. Maybe the economy is starting to turn. Going uphill isn’t easy, but you have to do it to get to the top.