Had Nietzsche been a distance running coach, he would have endorsed the workout I did today. I did the start out at the course/Pines/Greenway/River Run/Grey Road combo but with a twist. I got to the two major hills on Grey Road at around 13 miles at regular pace. Then I increased pace up and and back down those two hills for the next 45 minutes. It was tough. I passed a biker on one of the uphills, the both of us huffing and puffing. It was prolly a 20 mile run.

I did this to simulate the Boston course, which is steadily downhill from the start to mile 16, but from mile 16 to 21 you regain half the elevation you lost in the four 'infamous' strategically/critically/cruelly/evilly placed Newton Hills, of which Heartbreak, the fourth and final, is over half a mile long. 16 to 21 miles of running is also the range in which the human body switches from using available free glucose, convertible simple sugars, and stored glycogen to fat reserves. Runners call this "hitting the wall" and at that point running becomes significantly more difficult. Cruelly placed indeed. A lot of my training has been on hilly terrain and I should be well prepared.

Anyways, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.