An Icy Treadmill at a 12% Grade

An Icy Treadmill at a 12% Grade

Today is Maureen's birthday. She will make her debut in her new age group in about a month in the Little Rock Marathon. Gotta love those round numbers. We ran 12.38 miles in the hills. Gotta love those exact numbers.

One of the last hills we run on today's course is a hill we affectionately call "Ben's Hill". The hill is named after a United States Senator named Ben who owns the only house on Ben's Hill.

Anyway, a little information about Ben's Hill. It is .41 miles long. It climbs 186 feet. It has an 8.6% grade. What would I do in all my spare time without the Garmin 305? Heartbreak Hill in Boston is .45 miles long. It climbs about 80 feet with a grade of 3.4%.

A 0% grade is flat. Like running on a track.

A 2% grade does not seem very steep, but it's enough to reduce forward speed.

A 4% grade is steep and climbing is difficult. Remember, Heartbreak Hill is not this steep.

An 8.6% grade is just crazy especially when the hill is nearly a half mile long.

So here's the deal. Today Ben's Hill, and the rest of the gravel roads were covered in snow. For some reason Maureen was running like a mad woman. Maybe she was trying to feel younger or something. At 9.95 miles we get to the bottom of Ben's Hill and begin to climb. We aren't running fast anymore. Running up Ben's Hill in the snow was kind of like running on an icy treadmill at an 8.6% grade. (Actually, to simulate ground running, you need to add about 3% to 4% to a treadmill. So, let's say it was like running on an icy treadmill at a 12% grade.) We made it to the top and climbed three more tough hills in the last two miles. Great run!

I had an interesting day. I worked from 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and then again from 4:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. I played with the boys. Talked to Amber. Cleaned the house a little. Listened to AJ record two of our songs. Ate five crunchy beef tacos, fresco style from Taco Bell at 10:00 p.m.