Chasing Shade

I should probably start consulting my weather app on running mornings. It's always fun to be out the door and see a tweet that says "Another scorcher. Be careful!" Yet somehow other things just seem more important- mainly the fight between my bed and my shoes. When B is there, I feel bad and get ready quickly (I use that term loosely) so at least one of us can get back to bed. I'm the runner. I shouldn't be torturing anyone else with this insanity but me. But when it's just me, the morning process stretches twice as long.

This morning was no exception. It took me close to an hour to put my clothes on. Once that happened, I had to keep convincing myself "might as well". Might as well go; You're out of bed at 6am, so what that you can just crawl back into bed. Might as well go; you made the coffee. Might as well go; you're in that contraption people call a sportsbra. Might as well go; you vaselined your feet and put your shoes on. Might as well go; you can't get back in bed with sunscreen on. Yea. This morning was rough and the run didn't get much better.

I decided since my last route was a disaster, running along the water would be fun. If Anyone knows if and where I can, please let me know. I cannot run over the WillyB on sunny hot days anymore. That's cruel and unusual punishment (even though it is my fav. part. Maybe in Sept.) The closest I could tell I could get was Kent Ave. After I got over the fact that it felt deserted (but wasn't; just quiet) and no one was going to kill me and throw me in the East River (which was oh so conveniently a block away), it was nice.   Breezy, even if it was almost 90 degrees.

So, around Williamsburg I went this morning. Chasing shade the entire time. Had no clue the area by the water was so built up. There was a CVS and another Duane Reade. What?! I went into the CVS to refuel with water and gatorade (Thank you for being open at 8am. I will admit I was concerned you were on Hipster time). Damn you, Brooklyn Hipster CVS and having sparkling water instead of regular and after 3 miles, me not being able to tell the difference. Is it even safe for runners to drink that on a run? Speaking of safe, my handheld nearly blew up. Literally. But that's my fault. I thought if I shook it, it would speed up the carbonation releasing and become flat. Right? No? Fuck it. I'm a designer. I poured it out and just went with Gatorade for the rest of the run. And Damn you, Gatorade for making it as hard as possible to open with sweaty hands. Are you owned by Mattel? Your packaging is worse than trying to get into a Barbie doll box. (You like that? I promise I just came up with it and did not spend the rest of my run trying to be clever. It totally comes natural.)

But after that, I felt better. It was still really hot and I walked a ton, but at least I got it done. I couldn't have put it off until tomorrow if I wanted to. Mentally, I couldn't have handled it.

After lapping a half a mile on the McCarren Park track, I decided I really need to add speed work into my training. How do I expect to get faster if I'm not doing anything about it? I've also decided I'm going to try out some classes. Strength training. I know. Crazy talk. But I have to do more than just run during this training time, or I'm going to burn out. So we shall see.

How was your run this morning?