And the traveling weekends continued. To recap, it was Maine, then New Jersey, and then Florida, making 3 weekends out of 5 (and a 4th out of 6 coming up).

Heading to Florida was exciting for more reasons than I can list. But I’ll try:

1. See the family.
2. Go wedding venue shopping

Ok, so that’s 2 reasons. You can’t deny that they are very good reasons.

Getting down to it, the run in Florida was terrible awful horrible tragic unfortunate less than ideal. It actually drove home the fact that I would not be moving to Florida at any point while my running career is even mildly active. Why is it so bad to run on pancake-flat roads in close proximity to the beach and barely ever a drop of rain, you ask? Because it is hot. Not just hot though. It is raining-rocks hot. This is what the sun must feel like.

I started out feeling pretty good. I noted that the outdoor thermometer said 78.6* and humidity was 77%… in the shade. I couldn’t tell if the sweat started before or after the front door closed behind me, but it took approximately 3 seconds for the beads to begin forming on my forehead. From the get go I went out too fast, not because I pushed too hard, but because I was going at my normal pace instead of dialing it way back for the heat.

At mile 5 I gave in to logic and reason to take a break rather than push the limits of heat exhaustion. 5 minutes later I was back at it, feeling rejuvenated… for about 30 seconds. Then I remembered that it was 93 degrees in direct sun with no breeze. 2 miles later I took another break under I-95 in the shade. As the creature of habit that I am, I decided to stop 2 miles later at a gas station. I wound up finishing at a little over 10 miles instead of the prescribed 12, which was a bit disheartening. But then I realized I was still outside and couldn’t imagine taking one more

step.

I guess not all was lost. I took advantage of the Summer-like weather and dove into the pool to cool down. Almost made it all worth it… almost. Hopefully it will only make me stronger for this coming weekend! Unlikely I’ll post again before the race, so wish me luck!!

The Details:

Florida’s 10 Mile Long Run:

Route