What goes down...

...must come up. Especially on out-and-backs, like the one I ran yesterday. Mile 2 is pretty much all downhill, which is very nice...except for when it becomes Mile 4. Then things take a turn for the worse.

Still, my pace on the back half matched my pace on the front half, 9:01/mile, so I guess I handled the hill pretty well. Today was a make-up for missing yesterday morning's group run before heading down to Baltimore for the Red Sox game (go Sox!).

Also this past week, I learned that I will never ride my bicycle on the service road, or without my cell phone, or without some sort of tire repair kit.

As I was turning from New Hyde Park Road on to the westbound service road, a one way, 3 lane, 40 mph entry and exit point for the Long Island Expressway, a nail ripped a hole in the side of my tire, and cars were nearly knocking me over at high speeds. But wait - it gets better! There was pretty much no place for me to stand on the side of the road, because of the bushes and trees, so I got to stand in a pack of bushes, holding my bike up and away from the road, waiting for some break in the traffic.

I finally got one and managed to ride my bike, with the flat tire (walking would have been too slow and dangerous), to Community Drive, from which I figured I would walk home (about a 2 mile walk). But wait - it gets better! I couldn't walk along the service road to Lakeville Road - a much better and less hilly choice - so instead I got to walk down Community Drive, with a large downhill and a very large, very steep uphill on Pond Hill Rd.

I made it back home, where I learned that I could have been picked up by car if I had had my cell phone with me.

A good time was had by all. Now I have to go get ready to watch Giants-Cowboys. Go Giants! See you next week.