With my summer teaching position comes a new way of life. I now work mornings (yikes!), which means that I can’t run weekday mornings. I am a morning runner, no if-ands-or-buts about it. Now, the earliest that I can possibly hit the trails is 1:30 PM. (And that’s if I get out of work a bit early).
So, I sat in an air-conditioned classroom for 5 hours. Then once all the students left, I quickly put on some running clothes in that air-conditioned classroom. Then I drove my air-conditioned truck to some close-by trails. Then . . .THEN I ran inland. That is, AWAY from the ocean.
I was “out of the loop.” No one told me about the extreme heat advisory today.
O . . . M . . . G. It was a little hot. And then it got hotter. And hotter. And there was no shade for the first 3 miles. No. Shade.
But it was, oh so beautiful:
Still no shade. But I did get chuckle out of this sign. Since when does a wild animal attack WITH warning? 
Did I mention already that it got hotter?
And even hotter?
And there was no shade:
And even more no shade!
Finally!
Somewhere I belonged:
I got a little more shade, but found it difficult not to think about the sun I would need to run back through on my return trip. As I passed beneath a major overpass, I spotted this broken-up chair, next to it a shattered television. Can you believe that someone probably chucked these off the overpass? That’s besides the point. (Still, who would do that?) I took the opportunity of a chair in an odd place for a quick photo-op.
And then it was lovely shade for a little longer. Notice no brace as I practice my awkward female foot pose:
Can you imagine that this beauty was in such wretched, almost miserable heat?
Eventually, I could not hack it any longer, turned around and headed back. I’m not heat trained. But I did manage to run 10.15 miles on trails. Though I carried enough fluids, I felt like vomiting back at the truck. Then I quickly blasted the air-conditioner for the drive home.
The elevation gain did not AT ALL seem like this. But this is what my garmin recorded:
Awesome run Lauren! I don't know what I would do if I can't run in the early morning hours. I'm training for the cold and you for the heat. Wonder what the people between us are training for...:)
ReplyDeleteSo funny and interesting Johann. Both have their tribulations.
DeleteSo I have to ask, what exactly is "hot" in your neck of the woods? And do you get any humidity to go with it?
ReplyDeleteWell, Mr. Lumberjack, since you ask, hot in the mountains or foothills that I run is around 100 plus degrees, with usually very little humidity (last summer I ran in 104f). Hot in the coastal hills can be in the 90's, but usually 80's and is a little humid, but not NEARLY as humid as you experience on the east coast. At my house, which is in a socked-in cove, hot is in the 80's and it rarely hits that, but when it does, it's quite humid. Our humidity usually comes with cooler weather, when it heats up, it's more dry than humid (about 40% humidity). Okay, did I cover the question good enough?:)
DeleteYep, that's hot. I was worried you'd say something like "it's 70 degrees." We get summers like that here but I'm hoping it waits until I'm done with my August race. Oh, and next time, check the weather and stay inside if it's going to be hot like this.
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