Mountain Climbing Party

Mountain Climbing Party

Last Tuesday saw 25 PAX (perhaps there were more, sure seemed like it) hit the Country Club of Ballantyne to climb some hills for Swift 2nd Tuesday of the month – now known as Hills Week.

The THANG:

• 0500 – must be relay season, for there were a lot of PAX out to get in an extra 1.3mi of easy running.
• 0515 – parking lot bursting with PAX, we had to get out of there before getting security called for an un-sanctioned protest in the Ballantyne Corporate Park. Mosey across to the Ballantyne Hotel and cut through the Parking Lot to the Ballantyne Country Club east entrance.
• 0525 – normal warm-up routing with a couple more bounding and lower leg springy exercises to wake up the lower legs to ready for the hill repeats.
• 0535 – mosey to the bottom of Ballantyne Corp Dr for instructions.  Intervals will be :30, :30, 1:00.  Recover back down to starting point after each.  Most will be straightforward up the hill to either side of the bottom.  Some quick form reminders communicated, and these articles do a good job of covering them in more detail – https://runnersconnect.net/hill-running-form/, https://www.runnersworld.com/hill-training/how-to-run-hills (includes good advice about racing over hills)
  • 1st set – uphill “east” hill
  • 2nd set – uphill “south” hill
  • 3rd set – bounding for both :30 intervals up “east” hill, backwards run up east hill for 1:00
  • 4th set – uphill “east” hill for two :30, uphill “south” for 1:00
  • 5th set – uphill “south” hill for two :30, uphill “east” for 1:00 and head towards COT
• 0615-0620 – getting back to the Vine parking lot late was the fault of the Q.  5th hill set should have probably been on the way back to COT.
• Wild Turkey took us out.
• Das Boot on the question of the week, “Foundations,” at 3rdF-Timekeeper

The Moleskin:

• So, that’s another variation on hills.  1st variation was the 2/1/:30 over a hilly course.  There are others variations of course, and we’re looking at you to come up with another one next month!
• Why do we choose to do Hills on the 2nd Tuesday of the month?  So, Devils Turn Qs can know what to avoid hammer everyone into running the same thing on Thursday the same week!?  Oh…Meatloaf didn’t show up at Swift this week…and YHC didn’t post the Backblast.  You can blame me.
• New PAX that are still wet behind their Swift ears were out there this week – like Guapo and Madison
• Veteran PAX that are new again after they have been out because of extended absences – like Nard-Dog, Teddy, and Long Haul
• Veteran PAX that are there week to week without much fanfare but putting in the hard work – like Goonie, Tootie, Voodoo, Wild Turkey, MT, Picasso, Atlas, Erector, and Mario
• PAX that rarely miss an opportunity to run (i.e. wouldn’t know a merkin if they were in a Plank position and were told to put their chest on the ground) were out there – Das Boot, Gumbo, and Woodson
• 5 of 6 representatives from P200 Team Clandestine SoBs Ultra (who are gunning for another Top 3 overall finish) were out there – Thin Mint, Haggis, Frasier, Fletch, and Bunker
• Someone you wish you had to run the Mountain Goat legs for your BRR team (don’t worry buddy, not foreshadowing here…at least it’s not my call) – Citgo
• And the Ballantyne Hill assassin was out there again sneaking up on WT – Cheddar (who holds a dubious trumped up charge of causing someone injury during a run…believe me Cheddar, I know how it feels).

Announcements:

• P200 vacancies have been filled by now, so if you were sweating it out that you would be forced into it, you’re safe!
• See Ickey Shuffle about a Smokey Mountain Relay team vacancy (9man team) for the end of April.

SYITG,

Bratwurst