Raising the Stakes

When I was writing the 10 Thousand Kilometers blog, I realized I could do better. But the daily 75-minute trail run was already putting pressure on my typically busy workday. I am fortunate though to have plenty of choices in my neighborhood, when it comes to hiking / running trails. This is the undisputed benefit of living in the woods.

There is a rocky hill nearby and I was passing by its bottom every day. So how about including this hill run in the daily routine? It turned out to be a great choice, as it added only 12-13 minutes to the schedule, while essentially doubling the altitude gain. And adding a good effort to be made. Probably the most bang for the buck. 

But there was a risk I would get lazy after a couple of days, returning to the old route. But now after two months I am happy I have been doing this every day. Except when traveling. But also when traveling I am no longer happy with anything than 10km - be it Vancouver, Burlingame or Tokyo. Only when traveling, I bring with me a pair of shoes which looks better. Yeah, the social pressure to look decent. The one on the photo are not seen by anyone, except for occasional dear or a hog. They don't seem to be offended :D