Yes, it's hot

The last two days of training have been intense. I shunned the comfort of the YMCA treadmill and did both sessions outside in the heat of the day. I did so to get myself better acclimated for more hot August training and the Virginia Beach Half Marathon, which is a notoriously warm race, even at 7 a.m.

Yesterday at 4:30 p.m., I did some speedwork at St. Bartholomew's Church, while Will practiced soccer on the church soccer field. Last year, members of that congregation built a 0.3 mile trail track, which has some deceptive elevation changes. It was probably 88 degrees and humid, but not sunny. I ran the following as hard as I could: five 0.3 miles, three 0.15 miles, and 10 75-yard dashes on the soccer field. Between the running and cooldowns, I ran about four miles. I saw our good friend Meredith Libbey on the track. She says Dori's courage and my training have inspired her to push harder this summer. Meredith, you look terrific.

Today at 11 a.m. before going to VUMC to see Dori, I ran 4.65 miles in sunny, very hot conditions. The terrain was moderate with several good hills. I ran a 43:10, or a 9:18 pace. The temperature was 91 degrees at the end of the run, probably another five-six degrees hotter on the pavement. My feet were burning a bit during the run. I actually shut down the run, which was a planned 5.3 miler, a little early because I didn't want to be a hero. I had never run this far in extreme heat and have other obligations these days, as most folks know. If it were a race, I would have cranked out the last bit. Today's run was much harder than the recent 11-milers, especially after yesterday's speedwork.

I tried out some running sunglasses today that I bought at Athlete's House on Belmont Blvd. I will likely wear these on race day because the salesperson, who has run the Virginia Beach Half three times, said she paid for not wearing protection in her first race there. Apparently, the sun and seaspray can cause havoc with your eyes.

I'm at 16 miles for the week. I plan on getting in some junk miles tomorrow and a lift session done Saturday. I might reverse those depending on how I feel tomorrow morning. Sunday's predicted low is 77, so my Sunday morning run looks like it will be a doozy. Carbs and fluids, look out below ... belly beware.

Thanks to a wonderful contribution from a family member maybe to be named later and a match from that person's company, we're at $13,000 raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I will soon remind everyone who has contributed to check with their employer to see if they will do a match gift. This should boost our effort a good bit and get us closer to wiping our leukemia once and for all.

By the way, Dori did 50 minutes on the bike today ... two 25-minute sessions. She's one tough chick.

Jim