When my alarm went off at 6:30am Saturday morning for my long-run, it was thundering out.  I remember that the weather report had said it was going to be a wet weekend so I decided to sleep in and go on my run at whatever time I naturally woke up…. “If its going to be an over-cast day it won’t matter what time I go running anyway.”  I told myself.

I got my lazy butt out of bed around 8:30, leisurely got myself dressed, let the dogs out and made it to the beach for my run by around 9:30.  It was still overcast and gloomy so it was PERFECT!  “I’m going to run 9 instead of 7 today.  The weather couldn’t be better.”  I told myself.  Well… at just about mile 5 the sun decided it would burn all the clouds away and the sky would turn the most gorgeously clear color blue imaginable.

Question: Have you ever felt so hot that even your clothes feel heavy?…  Have you ever felt like the sun is literally chasing you as you’re running?… yeah, that’s how I felt.  So, I brilliantly decided to speed it up because, the faster I ran, the faster I would finish.   And I wanted to get this s*%! over with NOW.

As I got to an intersection (where I very frustratingly had to wait to cross the street) my heart rate slowed and all of a sudden my head felt like staticky television, salty sweat fell into my eyes and I started to feel a little unsteady on my feet.  Thankfully, only a little ways further, I saw a fold-out table with a water cooler on top and a dog dish on the bottom.

A local real estate office had set the water out for walkers and their dogs to entice them to take a business card and check out their listings in the area…. Thank goodness they did!  I took several big gulps and waved thank you through their glass doors without really being able to tell if anyone was there to see me.  Either way, I was very grateful.  I spent the rest of my run miserably wanting to be finished but I got through it safely.

Lessons Learned:

1. Wake up EARLY for your runs especially during the warmer months.
2. Even if you THINK its going to be over-cast, plan out some water stops on the way!
3. I need to start wearing shorts for my runs because the capris I wear are WAY too hot.
4. If I were a man, I’d totally go shirtless every time I ran.
5. Real estate in that area is VERY expensive and I’ll have to change careers if I ever want a house on the beach because this education thing is awesome and everything but not lucrative enough to buy you property near the water.