A Return To Top Notch Tuesdays

I added an 'Upcoming Races' page to my blog. There are always a ton of races I want to run but I usually only get around to a handful either because of scheduling issues or cost. I hope keeping a list of races I really don't want to miss will help me remember to register early. I also hope it will give me some long-term motivation to get out and train hard.

So far, the only race I'm registered for is the Hospital Hill Half Marathon in Kansas City, MO. It's coming up on June 3rd so it's sneaking up on me quickly.

Pic Source

I'm not following any strict training schedule for Hospital Hill since there's only about a month-and-a-half until the race. Mostly, I'm using this race to get my base mileage built back up so I can smoothly transition into my summer plans (that I'll talk about later).

The Hospital Hill Half is a very well-known race with 38 years of history behind it and it's obviously going to be hilly. So today, I started running hills. I plan to do at least two hill-based workouts a week leading up to the race. Tuesdays will become 'Top Notch Tuesdays' again. Thursdays, I plan to run The Never Ending Hill Of Doom.

Today was my usual warm-up run leading right into 4 sprints up Top Notch and then a cool-down run home. It was a chilly morning considering the unusually warm weather we've been having. Top Notch is a tough hill but 4 times up it isn't the hardest workout ever. I just want to ease my way into this. I have such a short time before the race, I probably won't take a long time to taper... it will mostly be build-up until the few days before race day.

Tuesday
Goal For The Day: Hill Repeats.
Distance: 2.95 Miles.
Time: 25:45. 8:43 Avg. (8:24, 8:48, 8:32*).
Route: 4 x Top Notch.
Conditions: 45 degrees. 7:15AM.
Run Details On Garmin

Notes: Running up Top Notch would be easier if people didn't park across the sidewalk. That side-step into the street near the top always makes the last 20 meters feel harder. Not a bad start, but I'll need to push myself more on the uphills.

Daily Miles: 2.95 Miles.
2012 Totals:
  Run - 264.34 Miles.
  Bike - 0.00 Miles.
  Swim - 6,550 meters.