A Break from the Heat
After a pretty pathetic week of running, I literally ran out the door to get started this morning!
I was running a 16 mile out and back and was hoping for a break in the heat. What an amazing morning! Although the humidity was 95%, the temperature was only 79 degrees and it was cloudy all morning - perfect long run weather.
I met my running group at St. Andrews and started running at 5:00am. It was a smaller group this morning, only eight of us showed up. Cathy R is traveling in the Outback (not the restaurant, the real place) and Ninja Stuntman must be at home nursing his beat up body. Marine Nicholson (I will come up with a better nickname later) joined us for the second time. He is crazy fast and is working on a BQ (Boston Qualifier). No doubt he will get it soon.
Coach Greg had us running a route that would take us over the Cooper River Bridge (this is one of my favorite routes for a long run). I ended up running with Annie P and Torre (sp?) for the first 3.5 miles. Everyone (except me) was running seven today so after that point I was on my own...
After the other runners turned around I kept running over the the bridge to Downtown Charleston. I stayed on East Bay Street and headed to the Battery. I ran on the upper wall this morning (have not done that in a long time). The wind felt great coming off the harbor and the waves were splashing against the wall making loud crashing noises. It was an amazing experience as I ran in the dark in such a cool place. There were only a few people out that early and they all seemed in such a good mood (thats what happens when the weather in nice around here).
I followed the road to the Coast Guard Station and waved to the guys as they were heading out on patrol. I went around to Lockwood Blvd and headed to the Marina. My plan was to stop there and get a drink for the return trip. I was a little over my eight mile turn around, but close enough to the store that I kept going. As I arrived I noticed that the lights were off (the store does not open until 7:00am on Saturdays) - ugh... I headed back and tried another store, but it too was closed. I was completely out of water so I headed over to some tennis courts that have a water fountain and restroom. The water fountain was on, but the water was hot! I ended up getting water from the restroom sink (a little cooler).
I ran back around the Battery and up East Bay when I saw Coach Greg's red truck coming down the road. Big shout out to Coach Greg for finishing his run and then heading over to help me out. I refilled my water bottle and was ready to go.
The trip back over the bridge was great! Its amazing how much the bridge changes from 5:00am to 7:00am. It was packed with walkers, runners, and bicyclists. I even ran by a huge group of cross country kids.
I finished back at St. Andrews feeling really good. I had stayed hydrated with water, Gatorade and BaNa (I took salt pills at miles five and ten). I stayed fueled with gels at miles six and twelve. My hydration plan is really working great. I am looking forward to testing it on a twenty plus run soon.
The weather made a huge difference on this run. When ever I start beating myself up over a bad run or doubting that I can ever break four hours on a marathon I have to remind myself that the weather in Indy will be much cooler.
Stay hydrated and keep running everyone, it won't be long before I am back to complaining about the cold...
I was running a 16 mile out and back and was hoping for a break in the heat. What an amazing morning! Although the humidity was 95%, the temperature was only 79 degrees and it was cloudy all morning - perfect long run weather.
I met my running group at St. Andrews and started running at 5:00am. It was a smaller group this morning, only eight of us showed up. Cathy R is traveling in the Outback (not the restaurant, the real place) and Ninja Stuntman must be at home nursing his beat up body. Marine Nicholson (I will come up with a better nickname later) joined us for the second time. He is crazy fast and is working on a BQ (Boston Qualifier). No doubt he will get it soon.
Coach Greg had us running a route that would take us over the Cooper River Bridge (this is one of my favorite routes for a long run). I ended up running with Annie P and Torre (sp?) for the first 3.5 miles. Everyone (except me) was running seven today so after that point I was on my own...
After the other runners turned around I kept running over the the bridge to Downtown Charleston. I stayed on East Bay Street and headed to the Battery. I ran on the upper wall this morning (have not done that in a long time). The wind felt great coming off the harbor and the waves were splashing against the wall making loud crashing noises. It was an amazing experience as I ran in the dark in such a cool place. There were only a few people out that early and they all seemed in such a good mood (thats what happens when the weather in nice around here).

I ran back around the Battery and up East Bay when I saw Coach Greg's red truck coming down the road. Big shout out to Coach Greg for finishing his run and then heading over to help me out. I refilled my water bottle and was ready to go.
The trip back over the bridge was great! Its amazing how much the bridge changes from 5:00am to 7:00am. It was packed with walkers, runners, and bicyclists. I even ran by a huge group of cross country kids.
I finished back at St. Andrews feeling really good. I had stayed hydrated with water, Gatorade and BaNa (I took salt pills at miles five and ten). I stayed fueled with gels at miles six and twelve. My hydration plan is really working great. I am looking forward to testing it on a twenty plus run soon.
The weather made a huge difference on this run. When ever I start beating myself up over a bad run or doubting that I can ever break four hours on a marathon I have to remind myself that the weather in Indy will be much cooler.
Stay hydrated and keep running everyone, it won't be long before I am back to complaining about the cold...
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