"...simply ridiculous."

Three hills this week.

That, in and of itself, is simply ridiculous.

This morning I met up with one of my all-time favorite running partners, @sarahlouwou. Neither of us have run much since the last time we met (I'd link it but it's been so long I can't find the post), and both of us were itching to work fairly hard. The topic of walking up insane hills was raised, and that's what we decided to do.

We picked one midway between us and proximally located to where we each needed to be after the climb...

Marin Avenue in Berkeley...

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Though this photo is a tad grainy, you can make out the hill behind the fountain...and the car stopped at the intersection. The perspective gives you a decent idea of the steepness in the first block we walked.

And here is the view looking down from the top of the steepest part...and almost the top of the hill.

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The following is excerpted from a cycling blog or site or I'm not sure how to categorize it:

"Marin is simply ridiculous; one advantage of doing it first is that all the rest of the hills will look easy by comparison. The main disadvantage is that it could kill you before you get a chance at any of the other hills...

The first block is rather steep, perhaps a 14% grade. After that it eases up for 3 blocks, hanging at around 10% until the block before Spruce. That block is again above 15%, and it looks a little like it might be the road's peak--it's so steep you can't see the road above it.

Of course, it's not the peak. Crossing Spruce gives you a little break (remember to take advantage of CVC 57492.1: "the right-of-way must be yielded to people in extreme pain"), and then the next couple blocks again aren't quite so bad. Then the block before Euclid is pretty nasty, pushing 20% grade, but really it's just letting you know that you're about to begin the hard part.
Past Euclid is where the road gets really absurd. The average grade from Euclid to Grizzly Peak is 22%, but that includes the flat intersections. Actual riding is closer to 25%, and that first block is probably near 30%. I don't care how low your gears are, or how light your bike is; either you have the leg strength and aerobic capacity to ride up this hill, or you don't. Good friggin' luck."

The author calls it The Deathride. I'm feeling pretty Thursday Thankful that we were just walking it. Gotta get ready for this race thing anyway I can!