Bring on the Heat!

Today, my boss came by my desk and told me to "go home!". Who am I to argue with that? After running a few quick errands, I made the decision to squeeze in a short trail run before picking up my son at a day camp. It was very humid outside, thanks to the big thunderstorm that rolled into Austin last night. Initially, I had planned on running for an hour, or so. It was definitely warm, but I decided to have a good attitude about it and will myself into thinking it really wasn't that warm.

Eventually, I made it to a key intersection where I could either turn towards home or go the opposite direction towards what I considered a point of no return and add over an hour to the run. I decided for the later and pressed on. I walked with a purpose up every hill, gave my best effort on the flats, and enjoyed the shady parts and downhills to their fullest. I only had two bottles with me and ran out of water befor the two hour mark. I was getting cooked. I sat down in a nice creek, and while the water wasn't as cold as I would have preferred, it definitely helped. I walked through the creek for several hundred yards afterwards to where the trail crossed the water. I pressed on and finished out the run. Two hours and fifteen minutes later for what was supposed to be an one hour run. Thankfully, I live on the trail, so it wasn't very far to my place after I finished.

I checked the weather on the computer when I got inside and discovered it was 96 degrees with a heat index of 104 degrees. Wow! It's been a long time since I've ran in those conditions. I plan on taking advantage of the heat this Summer and not avoid it. I consider the heat one of my weakness. And, similar to those days back when I was a scratch golfer, you don't spend your time practicing all the shots you're good at to become better. Instead, one focuses on their weak shots. When I was in high school, I used to practice in all weather conditions, sans lightning. During the conference championship, it paid off, because it rained most of the day, and I ended up winning the tournament because I was confident in my ability to make the shots I needed, even with wet grips. And, that's why I'm running in the heat. Trying to get better at something I feel is one of my running weaknesses. Peace!