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high in the hills over Sarajevo

March 22, 2019 (Night)

Exercise Type: Run

Comments:
Set off from the airport Friday evening after dropping my bags and home and then returning the car. I had meant for this to be a tempo, my second workout of the week, but instead in turned into a hilly MLR (medium-long run). Did finally manage to accomplish my goal of exploring the neighborhoods in the hills on the north side of town out near the city dump. Gorgeous view of Dobrinja and Ilidza lit up at night. At one point I stumbled up the long-rumored mythical Northwest Passage (at least, mythical and long-rumored in my mind). It's a pathway through the high hills north of the city that leads to either the suburb of Vogosca or one of the small villages between Vogosca and Rajlovac. Tempted as I was to explore after having inadvertently wandered down it aways, I convinced myself that it was adventure better left to daylight, and to a run where I had more miles to expend. I then attempted to find a way through the hills eastward to the valley road west of the Hum, but after finding myself on a possibly-still-inhabited farm in the dark with dogs sending up their warning calls in the distance, I decided this was not the most prudent path to follow. My decision to turn back cost me a good deal of backtracking, but in the end, I'm glad to have made it. None of the three maps I've consulted suggest that a road connection actually exists between the two neighborhoods, though the final roads in each do come tantalizingly close.

I tried to pick up the pace for the last few miles but had mixed success. In the end, I'd count this runs as a bit of medley workout. There were some hills that definitely got my heart rate and breathing up, even if I wasn't trying to take them particularly fast (they were just so damn long and steep!). There were four different times I pick up the pace to a tempo for 7-14 minutes. And there was the fact that the run itself was on the long side. So on the whole, not the workout I'd been planning, but a workout nonetheless. Hopefully, it will contribute enough to my level of fitness as I approach the final 3 weeks of tapering before the marathon.