Run like a Gazelle

After a day of rest on Friday, I thought I was ready to hit the pavement for 8 glorious miles; however, my husband had other ideas. He went for a bike ride Saturday morning which left me at home with Diva Princess and her overnight guest. I finally hit the Morton Bike Trail at 11:30 am Saturday. No problem, I thought. The heat is down 10 degrees. Humidity is much better.

Hmmmpf. What was I thinking?

Lessons to learn when running on a hot Saturday afternoon:
1) Bring a towel - I wasn't 15 minutes into my run and I was drenched. I didn't have a dry corner of my shirt to wipe my face with. Sweat dripping into your eyes and down your face can be rather distracting when you are trying to focus on 8 long, hot miles.
2) Make sure your path is shaded. My poor memory didn't recall the lack of shade on my chosen running path. On top of it, there wasn't much of a breeze, only still air, which made the heat seem that much worse.
3) You may want to invest in a fuel belt so you can have water on hand at all times. No water + No Shade = A way too hot body.
4) Pack a cooler in your car which would provide you with fresh, ice cold water as well as fruit for the quick carbs that you need after a nice run.
5) Don't answer your phone no matter who is calling. It's always work and you don't want to hear from them after you've just completed a less than stellar training run.

Following my catastrophic run, I became the Wicked Witch of the West. I fought with Camo-Man. I was aggravated with one of my employees and I turned into a morose, grumpy crab at a friend's going away party when I should have been enjoying the last moments I was going to have with a dear friend for a while. I hit the sack about 9:30 pm that night and didn't get up until 8:30 the next morning. Do you think I needed some sleep? Yes, sleep is required for my body and I apparently wasn't getting enough of it.

Unfortunately, Sunday was barely any better. I don't know why I was in this funk, but thankfully Camo-Man and I went for a late night swim. There's something about the stillness of the water with the stars blinking above you to relax your mind and body and take all of your cares away. I swam 1200 yards and felt relaxed and ready for sleep as soon as my wet head hit my pillow.

And so it's time once again to say good night. Another day completed. Due to some other commitments, I took today as a rest day. I'm planning on getting up and running 6 miles to start my day tomorrow.