The Triple Threat

I faced the triple threat today: heat, humidity, and hills.

Our running group met at 7:00 a.m. (perhaps later than we should have) for a 10-miler on the course of the October half-marathon. We are having typical August-in-Tennessee weather again. It's hot. It's humid.

I had never run this course, but I remember driving it once last spring and thinking, "There is NO WAY." There is hill after hill. Now, here I am committed to running the race in a little more than a month. I learned an important lesson today---run on hills more! My last two long runs (9 miles each) were on a flat, paved bike trail and the treadmill. They in no way prepared me for ten miles of rolling hills. What a difference!

It felt like we were running about 5 hours, but it was only two. We were deep in the country, surronded by farmland. I ran alongside corn fields and even saw 3 mules grazing in a pasture. (I actually thought, "I wonder if I could ride one of those to my car?") It was a loop, and I'm more of an out-and-back girl. The loop seemed ENDLESS, especially since I didn't know where I was going.

As usual, I ran out of fluids. I carried a small bottle of water (12 oz.) and had one Nathan fuel belt 10 oz. flask filled with G2 and one with water. You'd think that would be enough. But with 2.5 miles to go, I was empty. I guess I drank more due to the heat.

I did give away one ounce of water today. My dog-loving friend Rebecca would have been proud. At mile 3 on the run, a frisky little puppy started following us. Well, actually she was running in between our legs, tripping us up, and jumping up on us. But she was cute and sweet. (I'm guessing Golden Retriever or Lab or something.) She would not heed the commands of "Go home!" She decided we were HER PEOPLE and she was determined to run with HER PEOPLE. She ran with us for SEVEN MILES. She was panting and kind of frothy around her mouth, so other runners and I sacrificed precious ounces of our water for her. I squirted about an ounce of my water (when I was already running low) into her mouth. Seven miles in a fur coat is a long way. At the end of the run, one guy loaded her up in his car and drove her home. She hopped out at her house and lay down on the porch, exhausted but happy.

I fueled with raisins and pretzels again today. I have to say around mile 7 or 8, my body felt pretty done. I don't think real food quite gives me the boost that gels or Sports Beans or bloks do. Usually I can tell when a gel or whatever "kicks in" and my legs feel new(ish) again. The food-food didn't have that same effect. However, I didn't have stomach issues, either. I've still got to figure this all out.

All in all, it was not my best run, but I survived. (And not hanging-on-a-thread survived, but ran some, walked some survived.) At the end, Kelle and I were running the distance between two light poles, then walking to the next one, then repeating. It was more walking than I would have liked, but with the triple threat of heat, humidity, and hills, it was what we had to do.