news-record.com

Hump Day, you say, right? No, this being a running blog, maybe we should refer to Wednesday as Hill Day.

Speaking of hills: A friend points out a short, strong one. It's just west of Latham Park, on Northwood Street, running from Latham Road up to Grayland Street. The Google pedometer (part of my low-tech equipment!) shows that it's two-tenths of a mile and a 50-foot elevation gain. This hill is in a neighborhood, and while you'll want to be careful going through the stop signs, traffic was low at midday and should be easy to handle in an early-morning workout.

I've often run this half-mile, 70-foot gain from the Bog Garden to Watauga Drive, attempting to combine hill benefits with the Yasso 800s. I'll run hard up to Watauga, then coast back down and repeat. The recovery time is a little long, but this has helped me add speed. Since you must cross Cornwallis, this stretch is good in early mornings and probably not so much during the day.

Want to make some other suggestions? Just email me.

Gadgets: Joe Killian, a staff writer trying to regain his running mojo, is sporting a new Nike+ SportBand. Looks like a neat little tool, with a detachable USB drive, for tracking mileage, pace and calories burned. Danielle Belopotosky of the New York Times reviews it.

Following up: Jay Reddick and I groaned about the weather Saturday. I can't handle the heat at midday (not to mention the cars), so hat's off to Jay on that one. Besides, it's not just the air temperature (Weather.com says it's 91 right now). I like to run on the streets, so add several degrees to that to get the real effect. I should stick with 72 and slimy and be happy about it.

Bumper sticker of the day: "Running is cheaper than therapy."