Holy Hills!

Today, I finally found a route in my new neighborhood that I enjoyed--well, at least I did, until I hit the ginormous hill on Cross Creek Parkway! Look at the picture--this neighborhood looks completely innocuous. And it is--for about a quarter of a mile. And then an evil, evil hill--half a mile straight up--20% grade in some points (yes, I am a dork--I track the elevation at MapMyRun.com).

And it rivals some of the worst hills on the TNT courses--Londonberry, which is about 1.3 miles, but a much steadier climb, no worse than 10% grade--and the dreaded Johnson Ferry Road, which has a similar 20% grade, but is spread out over nearly a mile.

With the exception of that hill, the course was great--rolling hills, good neighborhoods, lots of sidewalks. I did about five and a half miles at 10:40 pace--my longest run in over four months!
I'm glad I'm getting into longer distances, because I get to explore the environs beyond Chattahoochee Avenue and Defoors Ferry. However, I need to remember to eat more, or at least take refreshments with, because I started to get lightheaded about 20 minutes in and was very, very tempted to stop into the Figo on Collier Road and beg for some bread!