What goes up must come down!

No, I did not fall again today! I'm referring to hill repeats! Luckily for me, this week's training was an easier week, which coincided nicely with being busy with workshops. And so instead of having to go to the gym for a speed workout on the treadmill, I had to do 30 minutes with hill repeats. Even luckier, it was not raining out (I did get drenched coming back from dropping the boys at school but then it cleared up) and our neighborhood has plenty of hills! So I first looked at the map of the neighborhood just to get a plan for how I could run so as to incorporate as many hills as possible. When I got that firmly settled in my head I put my shoes on and off I went! In 30 minutes I ran 4.47 km; here's the route I did: http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/belgium/leuven/416789893

I actually like running up hills, it's the running down that makes me nervous. Especially, being prone to falling (I take after Mom!), and running down slick sidewalks covered in wet leaves and treacherous moss...but you can't go up unless you come down afterwards. So I went...but very carefully and at an easy pace.

Unfortunately my Mp3 player seems to be having some problems...the most recent songs I put on it seem to skip and then I get a message on the screen that says formatting error and then it refuses to play the song at all. I have no idea what the problem could be, something I did wrong loading the new songs, is the player simply getting worn out by too many hours of sweaty runs? I have no idea...if anyone has any thoughts on this please let me know. I hate to buy a new one, but I am starting to think that might be my best option.

By the way, here is Linda's Carrot and Ginger Soup recipe:

2 lbs carrots
2 onions
2 T peeled and grated or finely chopped fresh ginger
1 T olive oil
8 c. chicken stock
4 T raisins
1/4 cream (optional)
fresh chopped parsley, as a garnish

Cut two of the carrots in small dice and set aside. Slice the rest of the carrots and the onions and sautee in a large soup pot in the olive oil over a low heat along with the ginger until soft; add 6 cups of the stock and simmer until the vegetables are soft. In a smaller saucepan, bring the remaining carrots, the raisins and 2 cups of stock to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Puree the contents of the large soup pot with an immersion mixer or food processor, and then add the carrots and raisins from the smaller pot. Remove from heat, add cream if desired and garnish with fresh parsley.

Ginger is great in the winter, it really warms you up - and this soup is delicious, full of good stuff that's good for your body - enjoy!

I'll post the other recipes soon!