First time up the water tank hills for me this year. I've felt like the fitness in my legs has been ahead of my aerobic conditioning. Today I pushed them both to the limit. A last second return trip to the bathroom left me trying to catch up with the others (Larry, Jolene, Kent, Kevin, Lyle) going up 1600 N. As I was pushing along I realized I was going to be exhausted before I even started up the hills. Larry's hip was letting him run today, but he was a little behind the others. I was relieved to slow a little and run with him for a bit before he sent me ahead after the others. They were about 1/2 way up the first hill when I started at the bottom. Jolene walked some of the first big hill so I caught her near the top and ran a bit with her. I then pushed on but had no hope of catching the others. My calves felt like they were going to explode going up the steep hill 3 so I walked a bit, at twice the pace I was running. I managed to run the rest of the way through the top of hill 5. I took it easy on the way down. As weak as my left ankle still is, I was nervous going up the hills in the first place. I was especially careful on the way down. Still, my legs felt dead as we approached what is traditionally the "fast half mile" near the end down 1600 N. I managed 8:32/mi pace. I'm still about 2 minutes per mile slower than where I used to be, and would like to be again, but progress has been steady...knock on wood. Later in the morning I walked 2.75 miles @ 16:12/mi with Karen.
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