Days 19 and 20

Oh. My. God. I thought I left behind the death-like weather in Tennessee. Apparently it decided to follow me home. Yesterday I ran with a good friend, a recently graduated member from my high school team and we were going to do six miles but she wanted to do 5, So we compromised: we did five miles but we also had to go up the monster hill in the park. It was awesome having company, though our first mile was at 8min pace and over the run we slowed down, which was probably good because despite the fact that it was evening and the sun was going down, the air remained hot and humid and not conductive for trying to run long distances.

I shouldn't complain about yesterday though, since today was significantly worse. I was exausted by mile one. I stopped three times for water and made a friend named Beverly, who invited me into her house to cool off quickly. I love nice people. You know, I've never understood those runners who carry their water bottles around with them until today. That is no longer a lame or dumb thing to do. But, despite the fact that my body hates me right now for putting it through that long, toasty, humid hell at 9AM this morning, it will thank me later this summer. I'm sure of it. Tomorrow is a day off. Man, I am so excited for that.

Day 1

I thought that taking the day off yesterday would be a positive thing that would allow me to face today feeling fresh. Well, I was sorely mistaken. I planned on doing my long run of the week, five miles (yes I realize that for a long run, that's pretty wimpy), today and while I accomplished that, I certainly didn't do it with ease. I couldn't do a night run because I won't be home this evening, and thus had to deal with a lot of humidity and heat that felt way hotter than 77 degrees. I slogged through the run, somehow managing to keep it under 10 minute mile pace by a good bit, and as soon as I finished, I laid down on the front porch. Not once did I quit, although I did want to, I knew that shortcuts would get me nowhere. One run down. Three months from now, this same run will be the easiest one in the world.