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

National Runners Day...Buckle down....

I was so excited to embrace the day for my Run. Seeing how it was a sorta holiday...I figured I would make the most out of celebrating to the fullest.

Preparing to Run...Rolling the IT BAND with Trigger Point Roller

TODAY'S GOAL:7 MILES..came short Garmin issues.. 6.91 MILES. UNDER 7:44 MINUTE MILES.
TODAY'S WEATHER AT 9AM: 72 degrees Pure SUN. strong CROSS WIND.
TODAY'S CHALLENGES: iPOD Aggravation, Auction on N Holly road obstruction traffic.
TODAY'S RUN DEFINED....RUNNING WITHOUT BRAINS!
I take off with everything in check. Potential for perfection.
The First Mile I always struggle a bit trying to get my pace balanced with my heart rate. I have an incline that first mile for an added factor.
Second Mile was my straight a way but also congested with traffic on both side of a already petite road. My pace was all over the place.
Third Mile was coming to my turn around. I did a "There and Back" route. This mile is bitter sweet. It is always exciting when you get to the "turn around" point, the half way place. But I had already told myself that I wanted to finish faster that I started. So this means I was going to have to put it in HIGH GEAR!
Fourth Mile was where I started struggling with finding some good tunes. My IPOD sticks. The forward button doenst work so I have to constantly hit the rewind button. Then the goofy rewind button when hit multiple times take me to the Menu screen and pauses! AHHHH!!!
Fifth Mile...WOOT Woot!! The breeze is refreshing. A little challenging but that was what this run was all about. I am coming down the shoulder of the road with a very large field to my right and a field to my left with 4 horses outside. I am on a slight decline. One to not get to excited about because it slowly inclines a few hundred feet farther. This last incline is one I am going to have to push through. My glutes are firing and I keep telling myself 16 minutes. I see my landmark. It is a mailbox at the top of the hill. I glue my eyes to that green mailbox and take a deep guttural breath. :come on Nita" I say out loud. "Go, Go Push through the pain, FOCUS." Again out loud I say boldly "BUCKLE DOWN,GOOOO" . I did it with everything I had in me including a SMILE!
Sixth Mile. The home stretch. Remember my first mile is uphill so this last mile is..Thats right..DOWNHILL!!
Finish strong. I thought of the pain and pushing through it to prep me for this weekends Race in Ann Arbor. You have to know what pain feels like to be prepared for it when it shows its face. You have to desensitize your body and prepare you mind.
Now funny thing is I must have looked at my Garmin a couple dozen times...but never noticed until I hit the stop button that Andy did not hit the RESET button after our Memorial Day Run! So it showed 11 miles not the 6.91 and my average pace was all off.
I so badly wanted to get upset. But I remembered that run just a couple days ago.. 92 degrees. I ran with Andy and we must have been  brain dead before we even started! To think running outside in the inferno was a good idea!  And if there was any brain cell that said  it was a good idea it was Fried in the heat to the point Andy forgot to hit reset on the Garmin.
ANOTHER funny thing about that Memorial Days brainless run. Moms partner at work said to her.." I saw these 2 idiots out running in the heat and I thought WHAT IDIOTS would be out here Running?. Then I got a better look and new it was our son and daughter in law!!"

Stretching the calves, Another Preparation t

Last minute thoughts - Where Running and Life Intersect. 

"Why do I run through all this pain yet I struggle with different heartaches, not wanting to run that pain down?"
"Anita why do you invite physical pain with excitement and challenge but struggle with people, places and things?"
" Do I work as hard at doing the right thing as I do my running?" answer "NO...WHY WHY WHY. I NEED to Work Harder, Try Harder,  Train not just MY body, but MY Mind, MY Heart, MY Actions. Train MY Faith, MY Integrity, MY Testimony.  Train it with all MY Might, all MY Heart and all MY Being."


Anita