Old # 7.

Back in the day Old #7 meant one of 2 things to me. My first thought would be Mr. John Daniels. I've known him long enough to call him John now. And #2 Old # 7 was the name of a donkey on that was on a show called Grizzly Adams that I used to watch with my brothers and sisters when I was a kid. Well I can add another meaning to it now. Old # 7 is the amount of times I have run up the HOL at one time. It could change to Old #8 or even #9 but that will only be on a bet when I need the money.
7 will be the maximum times I run up that damn hill. Meredith suggested that 7 was a good # to work with. Now if she tells me 12 or something like that of course I'll have to do them but that could take a while.
The workout today started out a little rough. My ass, back and hamstrings were still in the fetal position from the core workout yesterday so I wasn't very sure if I could do 1 let alone 7. Once I got there I started right in and went for a 10 minute warm up run and my feet weren't coming off the ground much. I thought that this was going to be the day that I crack my skull open running down this damn hill. After the second time up I actually felt pretty good. My times going up were about the same as they have been but my times going down were much slower. I think it was because of the soreness that I had made me a bit cautious going down hill. By the fourth one I was thinking that I was going to actually finish all of them.
The HOL was hopin' today with tons of people. "Tons" is more like a dozen or so. But there were a bunch of friendly dogs and even a hot chick walking her dogs. She asked me how many times I was going to run up the hill. I told her 7 and she thought I was crazy. I'm pretty sure she digs me. By #7 the sun had gone down behind the trees and most everyone was gone. I watched the sun set and it was nice. It was just me in the middle of the woods enjoying the moment. I haven't had one of those moments in a long time. I finished up the last repeat and headed to the X. On my way out I looked down the hill and told it I would be seeing it Sat. a couple of times. I'm sure it will miss me.
Here are my times:
Up: 5:41, 5:24, 5:35, 5:37, 5:47, 5:49, 5:27
Down: 5:09, 4:49, 5:02, 5:10, 5:01, 5:22
Overall I felt pretty good. the temps were in the low 80's and the humidity was not as bad as last week, but still hanging around. My feet felt better this week and I didn't stumble once the entire workout. It's funny how each week the hill changes just a little bit from the week before. There is no one line to take to the top. It starts in some places and goes about 10 feet, then disappears and picks back up on the other side of the trail 20 yards from where it ended. But each week I see something new and wonder how that happened. I say to myself that it's from the rain or the mountain bikers when they go up and kick rocks. I think I have found "my line" for going up because I always catch myself on the same lines going up. I figure if I do them enough I can find ways to make them shorter and that they will take less time. I'm talking about maybe 3 seconds here. There is no real easy way to get to the top. Just hard work and some self discipline is all it takes.

Today is my cousin Teresa's birthday. Happy birthday Teresa. Hope all is well in Yellow Springs.