"Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Another Stupid Thing

Well here i go again. Running with no thought regarding conditions. So Sunday, i go for my usual weekend run about 6.7 miles. i'm thinking it'll be a piece of cake right? no way, it had to be the hottest day of the year, but since i'm going to bartend that night, i go in the morning. And once again forgot to eat any breakfast. Sooo about 5 miles into the run, i'm feeling good, great pace, it's about 11:30 and the sun really starts to heat up. Then....

BAM.... i'm outta of gas. It happened so fast, i didn't have time to adjust my pace, i just stopped running. i walked for about 1/2 mile. i never walk that far, but i just couldn't seem to pick the feet up anymore.

Eventually, i found a second wind and finished fairly strong to get home. Mentally, i was mad for not adjusting sooner and allowing the long walk, so i punished myself by pushing harder the last mile.

So thinking running out of gas was due to the lack of breakfast, i ate a small bowl of oatmeal and an apple on Monday morning. Then i made sure i was hydrated for the long Holiday morning run. Then...

BAM AGAIN... My bride wants to hit the grocery store before it gets to busy. So i figure go ahead, i'll wait till you get back and then go fo my run. So about noon, she's back. 12:15 or so, i'm out the door. Oh my Gawd, the heat of the day. 90+ outside, and unbelievably humid, and no shade anywhere. See, i had decided today would be a good day to try a new route. i felt i had fallen into a rut with the old routes and i started heading towards my office.

About two miles in the run i noticed nobody was outside working and the lawns, as the drone of A/C units created an eerie sense of dread with my decision to go for such a long run.

Remember the movie "Maximum Overdrive"? i think that's the Stephen King movie There's a scene with a kid riding his bike through neighborhoods with no living souls near him. Just the sounds of the machines. That's how i felt.

Luckily, a few people had decided to water their lawns. Real dumb idea given how hot it was, the water would most likely burn the lawn. not my problem. i was able to get some relief by adjusting my route from one side of the side to another, to run through the water.

Anyway, i get to the office and thank gawd the lobby doors are open. i run in, hit the drinking fountain for some water, enjoy the A/C for a few moments and head home.

2 miles from home i run low on hydration again. So a quick detour puts me in an ice cream shop. The store clerk looks at me like i'm a moron, i am, for running in the heat of the day, but she gave me some water. i'm then out the door again. 15-20 minutes from home.

Finally, 1:30 ish, i'm home. Of course my bride has gone out looking for me cause, given the heat index and that i don't usually take so long, passing out from exhaustion is a real possibility. Fortunately, she gets home a few minutes after me.

Anyway, i had a hunch i would lose a lot of water, but i was still amused to see i had lost 5 lbs, just water, during the run. Even after stopping twice to rehydrate.

Have i mentioned i really enjoy running it those 20 -30 degree mid-winter days?

Have i mentioned what a fan of "Rescue Me" i am? Great season opener, open her, u brought her, u open her, last nite.

Have i mentioned anything about The Bible today? No. Man, it's got some real difficult sections, but i'm plugging away. i should finish up 1st Chronicles tonite. To be honest, it's been fun to read, and surpising to rediscover all the old testament kings and judges, whom i learned about it Sunday school class as a child.

Man, this post is too long. Sorry 'bout that. i must engage my filter. There is so much crap that i want to put out, but time is running short and the Piston's game starts in 15 minutes.

Larry Bird was wrong. Dwayne Wade, not Michael Jordan, is God in basketball shoes. i love the "stones" but man, Wade is good. Wouldn't it have been nice if the "stones" had a chance to draft this guy? Doooohhh!!!

ACT Question:

Darko Milicic is to the Pistons as Sam Bowie is to ...

Must... Pull.... My... Self... away from .... keyboooaard.
Must... engage... publish key...........

3 comments:

Nitmos said...

I did the same thing on Sunday....went off on a short 6 miler - which is normally no problem - except it was 3 PM and 94 degrees and ended up taking a couple quick walking breaks. The heat was a killer!

Mike said...

glad to know i wasn't alone

i haven't registered for TC's 15K.

i should do that soon.

Nitmos said...

Get that registration in!! You can do it online. It costs more to enter the longer you wait.