In the Heat of it. When running feels like Hell.

  Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second. - William James

A canopy of shade!

6 days to go till Baysore. Today I was suposed to run 12. I did 11.
It was 88 degrees- without a cloud in the sky. I ran at high sun, 1pm.

Track shorts Lululemon

"Run in the sun shorts"

It was terrible. This did not turn out to be a great run. What made it great was getting it done and being done!

What made it a little more tolerable was getting to wear my new purchase from Lululemon.
I wish I could afford to shop there more. They have some incredible goodies. But the reality is I had a gift card from them for a pair of pants I returned. Because the pants are no longer being made they gave me almost double my purchase price! So I actually bout 2 pairs of shorts!

What NO NO do You see Andy did? Notice the sweatband-that was smart for saving the eys.

Andy and I took off together. I felt pretty good other than a mild headache and a runny nose I was ready to go.
Andy on the other hand..Not so good. I passed my cold off his way. He was not feeling so hot...YET!!. I decided to do 12 and he was wanting to run between 8 and 10.

Andy was too hot to focus on zooming in-to show you my skirt. Overall it did really good.

We took off together running towards as much shade as we could find. Dirt Road we welcome you, we implore you and we seek you!
The dirt roads were a a bit of a let down with the last few days of heat they were dirty, dry and dusty. Because of where the sun was positioned we were hardly sheltered from the stifling heat.

You could feel your heart beating in your chest and your legs had that tingling feeling through out them. We found our self looking forward to our waking breaks every 10 minutes.
At almost 4 miles Andy and I separated on Lahring rd. It was time to kick it into gear. I put some music in my ears, tried to embrace the heat and suck it up. I was able to convince myself that "I Got This" for about 3 miles..till I saw Andy coming toward me on Belford rd...
"Why the heck is he coming towards me?" "Did something happen??"
As I approached him I asked him with the small amount of energy left in me, "Why are you here? You should be heading home?" Andy replied breathless, "I was worried for you." But the crazy part was he looked way worse that I did. He had to come up a significant mound to reach me and he was feeling it. Truth is, I was more worried for him.
I checked our water and we were both almost out. CRAP! This was not good, we had more than 4 miles to go without water and running without any covering from the smoldering sun was looking like a death sentence.
I had to make a decision.  With Andy not feeling good, I decided to run ahead of him and seek water at the nursery about a half of a mile down hill. I let my legs guide me down leaving Andy cautiously behind. I was genuinely concerned for him. There are not many times when running fast really become an asset other than racing like they did now.
The nursery ladies were very kind to the sweaty chick in a pink miniskirt and sports bra coming off the street. I can only imagine what was going through their mind! They filled my 20 oz bottle from their hose and I was off again.
I could see Andy up ahead. From the distance he looked tall and strong. I had about 700 feet to catch up to him. I was refreshed from a cold drink but knew I had to put it into high gear to catch up and get him some water.

Have No idea what this little fella was, other than really slow and dumb. Someone lost their mama:(

By the time I reached him I was toast. I handed him the water bottle and he wanted to ask me a couple questions. All I could muster was "SHHH."
I couldnt talk for about 2 minutes and all that came out was "When can we walk?"
Disappointed with his answer I just trailed behind him. He started begging me to go ahead and leave him. To go at my own pace. He said he didnt think he could make it the remaining 3 miles home. There was no way I was going to leave him, we stopped completely on the side of the road. Andy needed to relax, calm down and refocus. McDonalds was less than a half a mile up the road. As we pushed off we drank more water and even took in a chew I made another descision. I decide I would leave Andy yet again and run to McDonalds for ice and water for our bottles. I didnt get an arguement from Andy and I even took his 2 8oz bottles along with my 20 oz bottle.
This time I was feeling like I was not getting very far fast. I occasionally looked behind me to make sure Andy was ok. But I focus on the Golden Arches.
As I approached the building I noticed the sign..No shirts..."Hmm, I thought, I technically have a shirt..it just looks like a bra."
Without much more thought I went in and marced to the fountain machines and started filling. By the time I got out Andy was waiting. He drank the icy water like it was liquid gold.
The last half a mile I made one last decision. I decide I was not running 12! Nope, Not gonna happen today.

 
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."Galatians 6:9

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Well that's what they say. I believe in running in the elements. It shows you what your pain factor is, you endurance is revealed and you challenge yourself mentally on difficult runs, strengthening your mind. But you have to use your head. You have to be open to changing or bending your run to stay safe.

TIPS ON RUNNING IN HEAT:

• Look for shaded trails or back road
• Stash Ice water ahead of your run in places you will be passing
• Girls wet your hair down, wear a Ice bandana, even a bandana just to keep sweat out of your eyes is helpful.
• Light weight clothing, light color, sunscreen, and sunglasses.
• Pain attention to your stress signals. dizziness, light headed, confusion...
• Remeber to pack some gels, chews or electrolyte pills.
• Be prepared to adjust your goal. Allow yourself some grace in the heat.
• Think about maybe hitting the Dreadmill instead!

 Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.
- Newt Gingrich
Anita