Today was a scorcher! The radio said it was 99 degrees and the bank clock said it was 104 - who knows which one was right? Either way - it was hot! But with a redeeming strong south breeze (breeze doesn't really seem to be the appropriate word here because it is really more like a hot air wind). Painting in such conditions is quite the challenge. Actually, it was a great day!
Tonight at 9 pm, right at dusk, I set out for my "long run" of the week. These are the contents that I packed in running shorts: cell phone, 3 one dollar bills to buy more gatorade, 2 sticks of gum, one and half packages of GU blocs which are energy and fluid replacement squares you eat every couple of miles, a GU gel pack which is basically pure sugar to help give energy towards the end of the run. I also carried in my hand a 24 ounce bottle of gatorade. By mile 9 the gatorade was gone and I bought another bottle at the convenience store and it was totally consumed by the time I made it home - total trip was 14 miles running. About 2 hours and 12 minutes or so! But the unique challenging factor was the stifling heat. It was still about 94 degrees according to the Friends University marquee which is just done the street from my house when I started running at 9. The sidewalks were baking and radiating heat - an hour into the run it literally felt like my feet were burning. Although it was dark, it was really really hot. Another really interesting phenomonon that I've never encountered before is that I found myself trying to find the "shaded" areas to run on even though it was all dark. There was a very distinct temperature change on the sidewalked areas where the trees or structures shaded the sidewalks during the day compared to the ones that were directly exposed to the sun.
I finished in one piece and now am trying to rehydrate - which will take probably around 36 hours to be back where I should be.
All that to say this - it was awesome!
Adam
