dminor 

OK, I'm going to re-dredge this thread because . . . well . . . riding season is winding down around here. Fall is feeling too short and winter is just around the corner here in the Inland Pac Northwest. Indoor trainer time is almost upon us (ugh) and thanks to YakTrax, I can keep running all winter pretty much. Well, and I cross-train all year with lunchtime runs.

I've been lazy this year - - a lot of under-4-mile out-and-backs, short loops, etc just to keep the legs moving. So today, I did my first-time-this-fall killer loop: 5.28 mile known locally as the Perry Stairs." I know, it doesm't sound like much but at about the furthest out part of the loop, a turn puts you into a stair-step climb of about 4 blocks, culminating in a block-long literal set of stairs. So 200' elevation gain in the span of 5 blocks. Felt like my heart was going to 'splode when I crested the top. Took about a mile for my system to settle back down again into a more normal, relaxed breathing pattern and to shake the rubber out of my legs.

Still managed a sub-8 pace somehow but I fear for how dismal I'd be in a real 10K race anymore. I think I better commit to more 4+ mile work in the coming year.