Beating the Heat!

Beep...Beep...Beep!   That was my alarm at 6:30 this morning.  Why so early you ask?  To beat the projected 33 degree heat that we are supposed to encounter today.  It is my long run Sunday and I wanted to get the mileage in before it was too hot.  Heather asked me to text her when my alarm went off...so I did.  Didn't hear back....so text her again.  She responds with "I'm soooo tired."  LOL

Up and out the door by 6:57am.  It was a bit cooler than it was last night, with a feels like temperature of 29.  I also filled my fuel belt with one water, one gaterade, and some gummie bears.  It's time to start playing with my fuel to get ready for the increased mileage.

Because it was so early, I wasn't sure who I might encounter in the trail, and therefore told mom beforehand where I would be headed.  I ran 3k to Cranberry Lake and back, and then 3k to the waterfall and back, making 12k, and then added little mileage back to the house for a total of 13k.

So lucky to have such beautiful scenery to run by!

At about the 4.5k mark, I had the bejesus scared out of me.  I rounded this small corner of the trail, and there standing a little ways away from me was a four legged animal.  At this point, I have my contacts in and they are just a tab bit weaker than my glasses.  Sooooo I could see it was a four legged animal, and in my mind, it looked just like a coyote.  Then I saw another one.  They were stopped looking at me....I stopped dead....my heart stopped...what the heck was I going to do.  I couldn't run the other way, they'd chase me...my heart was beating fast!  And then there it was....the owner was rounding the corner a distance behind.  Yep...it was two dogs and their owner.  As the owner passed I said "I was scared there for a second."  He must have thought 'loser'.  But at 7:30am, in a quiet trail, you never know what you'll see.  I'm pretty sure if I look at my garmin times, it stops dead at this point, and if I'd been wearing a heart rate monitor, it would have showed my heart stopping and then beating way too fast!!!

The rest of the run was pretty uneventful.  I did run into Matt (Heather's husband) doing his long run of the day as well.  They both did 10 miles yesterday, and I actually felt okay saying I was doing 8 today...I'm almost up to their 'easy' mileage.  Mom did call at about 9k asking if I was finished...LOL...turns out that moms don't sleep well when their daughter has decided to run really early in the trail.  Sorry mom! 

I also tried to add come blister protectors to my feet to see if it would help with the pain I was experiencing on my long runs.  It helped during the run for sure....but after....here is what my feet look like!  Heather says it will eventually go away as callus builds up...I hope she's right!

As I was finishing the last kilometer, I knew what I was going to do.  I walked in the door, took off all electronics, socks and sneakers and made a be-line for the pool.  My legs thanked me as I sat in the cool water, clothes and all!

 

And this is where I plan to spend my Sunday, feet in the water and my new Runners World Magazine by my side.  A perfect end to a hot weekend!!!

 

Have a great week everyone and stay cool.