8-13-07 Early and short

We ran @ 5:15 this morning. Mornings suck. I was planning on doing 4 miles with Steph, but we cut it short to 3 miles due to time, and being horribly tired.

8-11-07 New RECORD!!

After the run last night, I wasn't sure what to expect today. We got up early and I ate a spoonful of peanut butter so I'd have some food in me. We were running by 6:45am - figuring we could beat the sun up, and avoid a lot of the 100+ temps, and also be done with the run for the rest of the day/weekend. I had planned on going 8 miles (this was going to be the record distance for me), so Steph and I had taken separate vehicles again so she would not have to wait around after her 4 miles for me to run another 4 miles. We separated at the 2 mile turnaround (not NEARLY as many bugs this morning), and I booted up the MP3 player and ran onward. There was nobody on the roads at the early hour - plenty of boats on the water, but nobody on the roads. I had figured on an extra 2 laps around the boat ramp area to add 1.6 miles to the full park route - this would put me at 8 miles. When I got the West Point entrance it was still not hot, the sun was still low in the sky which provided a lot of shadows - so I just made a left and continued up Hwy 29 towards Lagrange, GA. I figured I'd shoot for 10 miles. Ten miles has been kind of an 'out-there' goal. I want to get myself to 30 miles per week, with at least 10 of those on one Saturday run. I thought that if I ran for 3 more songs (averaging about 3-4 minutes each) that I would be at about a mile from the park entrance. I did that, and then found a marked road to use as my turnaround (for mapping purposes upon my return). I turned around at Langford Rd. and ran back. I passed a couple of guys on racing bicycles on Hwy 29, and a little car traffic. I did have to slow down a little on some of the more intense hills on the way back, but it was a great run.

Here's the route:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1218552

When I was coming back to the starting point I passed a family on bicycles just unloading and heading off on a ride, and I thought how glad I was to be finishing up my run around 9am instead of starting - the sun was already up and starting to heat things up considerably.


I was famished after I returned, and the sub I had for lunch was greatly enjoyed. Doing 10 miles on a training run confirmed that with a little more time/work, I could be ready for a half-marathon. I still think I'm going to plan on running the Victory Junction Half Marathon in December of 2008.

8-10-7 Panic Run

I was scheduled to go 6 miles tonight. Steph and I got to the dam late (heat again), and had planned to run 2 miles together, then I would run on a mile further and turn around - it didn't work out that way.

By the time we started running, it had already started to get a little darker. Steph hates running in the dark (especially alone -- understandable). When we parted ways @ 2 miles it looked like she would be getting back to the vehicles after it was full dark. We'd taken separate rides so she wouldn't have to wait around for me to finish more miles. We also hit a huge swarm of bugs just before we separated, we were both trying to run and swat both our hands in front of our faces to keep them off of us - horrible experience. We separated and I knew the park had already closed both gates over the dam. After I'd run about a quarter mile past the her turnaround my imagination started running loose - my wife alone, running in the dark, in a remote area, tired from the run and distracted by swarms of gnats. I could run through all the worst scenarios - I turned back at the 2.5 mile mark (.5 mile early), and sped up to just under a full sprint trying to catch up with her. I probably covered the next 1.5 miles in about 14 minutes. I ran at speed until my body just wouldn't let me anymore. I'd seen the vehicle that inspired all of these thoughts, and realized it was a park maintenance vehicle, and they were supposed to be there after dark, but my adrenaline kept me moving pretty fast even after that. After I had to stop, I walked on, and ran again once I got my breath back. I ran into Steph on the last leg of her cool down walk.

Moral of the story: we won't be running separated after dark anymore.

I didn't get my planned mileage in, but I did get a good sprint workout.

8-9-07 HEAT ADVISORY

We almost didn't run tonight. There have been heat advisories ALL day long in GA and AL, and it's been in the 90's most of the day. We waited until about 8pm to start and it had cooled down a good bit and the sun was low enough that it wasn't murderous. Luckily I'd hydtrated very well throughout the day (10+ glasses from the office water cooler). I still sweated like a dog, but it was too bad. I ran with Steph for a planned 4 miler, and we started very slowly due to the heat. We were both worried about how hot it was and had agreed if we got too hot that we wouldn't be stubborn about finishing the mileage - we would stop and walk, turn around - whatever was warranted. Once we got going, we were both glad we didn't skip because of the heat - we really enjoyed the run, and when we got to the 2 mile turnaround we decided to go a little farther. We finished out with 4.5 miles.

Friday night I'm scheduled for 6 and we'll probably be running late in the evening. I may run with Steph for the 1st half of her run, then continue on, and if I feel alright, I may push a little farther than 6. I want to do some longer runs since the CME is only about 2 weeks away. I'm determined to do 8 or more on Saturday. I'm going to get up before the sun and go down to the Rails to Trails path - I know that one is a 10 mile loop, although I don't plan on going 10 miles. If I can get our early enough, I can beat the sun up and not be so baked when I get back - - will probably need lots of Gatorade for Saturday.

8-7-07 Run w/Steph

Steph and I ran together again last night. I was scheduled for 4 miles, so we did the same distance. She says she wants to maintain a 4 mile distance, so on my 4 mile days its nice to run with her.

We got started about 6:30, so it was still pretty hot, but the sun had gone down a little and we weren't running in direct sunlight. There was no breeze on the water, and the bugs were pretty mild. We didn't do any extra distance because of the heat. I carried a half frozen water bottle on the run, and by the time we got to the 2 mile turnaround, it was melted and already starting to warm up, but it was still cool. We took a brief stop to drink and wet our bandannas and continued onward. We were probably stopped less than a minute.

The heat was pretty high, but still a good run. It was interesting to note the sweat levels. We ran the same distance in the same time, in the same heat, on the same course. When we finished, she had a small sweat ring around her neck and arms, but I was drenched - neck hole, arms of my t-shirt, front of my shirt, and back of my shoulders.

Rest on Wednesday, the we run together again on Thursday, and it looks like me might run in the morning on Friday and Saturday - still working all that out.

8-6-07 New Record!

(Posted on Tuesday morning)

Last night and tonight, I was (and am) scheduled for 4 miles. Since Steph has been trying to make 4 miles without stopping, I asked if she wanted to run together last night - she did and we set off on our run at about 8pm (again - dodging the heat). When we got to the dam, the sheriff had already closed the gates across the dam, but we started off anyway. It wasn't cool, but it wasn't hot either - very comfortable, but with no breeze at all. The water on the high side of the dam was like glass. It was a very enjoyable run, and we talked a lot while we ran. We saw no other runner/walkers/bikers, but several cars, and a few deer in the shadows in the wood line. The humidity was a little high, but not unbearable.

The big event of the run was Steph. We took the run nice and slowly, and had planned on running 4 miles - she made the whole 4 miles without having to stop and walk. In fact, she even wanted to go further. We eventually did a total of 4.5 - she wanted to run farther, but I suggested we stop so she didn't over-run herself in her euphoria. I was extremely proud of her, and she was bubbly (more so than usual) for the rest of the night. By the time we finished it was pretty dark, but it was still a very fun run. She kept commenting on how it was her best run ever.

8-4-07 Hottest day so far

We ran about 5 pm - at it was a burner! Steph wanted to try 4 miles again, and we stopped at her 2 mile turnaround to wet ourselves a little with the water I'd carried with me, and to have a drink. Before I'd gotten to 4 miles, the water in the bottle was warm - I poured it over myself to cool off. I did the scheduled 6, and it wasn't horrible, just hot - luckily it was a little overcast, so there was no direct sunlight beating down on us.

I was glad we got finished a little earlier, but we'll probably run a little later on Monday.