Where there's smoke, there are runners

I read a comment in the local media this week complaining about people complaining about the weather. Well, I have some news for you - it's NOT supposed to be this hot this early in June. The normal high for today in Richmond is 82 ... not 101, which is the forecast high. It's not supposed to be 82 degrees with 75 percent humidity at 8:15 a.m. -- which was the temperature and time when I finished my run today.

Fortunately, I've learned my lessons about not getting enough fluids (and learned by watching other people as well), so for my 6-mile run this morning I took an 8-ounce bottle of water with me. It was so miserably humid that I topped off my bottle twice in the nearby park. I probably consumed about 20 ounces of water on a relatively short long run. That's just not normal right now -- perhaps in another month or so, but not June 7. I think this is the shortest long run in which I've actually taken water with me.

Seasons are supposed to gradually change, and usually weather like this wouldn't be so bad ... if it were late July. Like I mentioned the other day, it was cool enough to run in a long-sleeve shirt at the beginning of last week. Mother Nature must be charged with cruel and unusual punishment!

Adding to this crazy weather was some bizarre smoke filling the air yesterday from a North Carolina wildfire. (Click here to read a related story.) Working out outside yesterday was virtually impossible. Today, though, is much better in my part of Chesterfield County, at least as far as the smoke is concerned.

So, on the positive side of things, today's run went pretty well. It was the longest run I've had in two months, capping off the highest mileage for a week that I've had in almost three months. For brief times during the week I've gotten paranoid with the increase in mileage for the first week of training, but all in all this has been a great start. I've met and beaten all my goals, which seemed impossible for me for a long time. I've also dropped 0.8 pounds - not much, but it's a good start. I'll detail all that when I'm ready to talk about it. For next week, I'm headed to the Outer Banks, so my goal is to run a few times while I'm there and get my long run in on Sunday when I'm back home. It's a much-needed trip to get my mind off things, so any kind of running while on vacation will be good. If I have Internet access, maybe I'll have a post or two.


Workouts since last post
June 6: Walk - 1.1; Run - 0.3; Bike - 2; weights (included ab workout)
June 7: Walk - 0.4; Run - 6
Week totals: Walk - 4.7; Bike - 7.2; Run - 16.5