Winning Back What I Lost

Today was another hill day. I briefly thought about going up Shaw Mt. to Table Rock because I wasn't sure if the upper end of the Les Bois 10k course was bogged down w/ the recent rain we've received.  Temp was excellent, mid 50's, but it was windy as heck which alternated between a blessing and a curse on the way up and on the way back.  I decided that I was gonna attack the uphill 5k portion and see how fast I could run it.  About 1/4 mile into that plan I finally got my legs to respond.  The good news is that the narrow dirt trails on the upper portion were in great shape and I thought I might be able to push through the steepest portion of the uphill (12-20% grade) around mile 2 at this accelerated pace- but it wasn't to be.  I bonked and had to walk about .2 miles of the steepest portion.  That said, I was still able to complete the first 5k in 29:02.  The downhill was more encouraging.  Instead of braking on the steepest of the downhill I was able to more or less fall down the slope and really make good time.  For a brief moment I imagined that I was Ice-T being chased by Rutger Hauer through the wilderness.  My overall pace was 8:20.  If I can whittle that down to around 8 mpm by a week from Saturday then I'll be extremely pleased.  I should also add that I learned that eating a Jello Sugar Free Pudding Snack immediately before a strenuous run is ill advised.