Alright, after another mysterious disappearance, hopefully I'm back for good. The internet's up and running, the summer stories are being born by the day and the intensity in training for the Chicago Distance Classic half-marathon is picking up.
The last couple days, I've been introduced head on to my biggest obstacle in half-marathon (and ultimately marathon) training: humidity. With my work schedule demanding a Rocky Balboa-esque wakeup time of 4-o-clock in the morning, grabbing a pre-sunrise run is out of the question. Unfortunately, the sun sets right around my bedtime, and mother earth retains every ounce of heat from the day's high well into the early evening.
Sunday, I ran 59 minutes and 15 seconds without stopping, fitting in somewhere between 7.2 and 7.5 miles. The challenge of this run was purely physical, making sure I evenly distributed energy so I could finish, and making sure I was keeping my knees, ankles, feet and toes healthy in the process.
Yesterday, I ran 28 minutes and 36 seconds, covering about 3.5 miles. Tuesday, I got in about 4.5 miles. These runs were brutal, and were completely a 100 percent mental challenge. The humidity in Columbus the last couple of days has been oppressive, and now the temperatures are soaring into the 90s. It's 7:30 pm, I'm waiting for cooler temperatures to take over before I set off on my five miles today, and the mercury is lowering at a trickle: 89 Fahrenheit, 49 percent humidity, "feels like" 93, whatever the hell that's supposed to mean.
Accompanying the mental challenge of finishing these brutal workouts is the legitimate challenge of living a lifestyle conducive to doing this sort of activity daily. My sleep schedule is completely fucked up, I need to make time to eat, but not eat too closely to running time, and need to constantly stay hydrated, which is a legitimate concern.
The positive spin on all of this is: if I can get myself to the point of handling this heat and humidity for 13.1 miles, it makes the prospect of running 26 miles in mid-October's 52 degree temperatures much more appealing and realistic.
I've been asked multiple times through the course of all this what my motivation is for getting out and running all the time. I really don't know. All I can say is it comes from an insane desire to be extraordinary. I'm only getting one crack at this life, and somehow, it's already a third over (if I'm lucky). Why not experience all I can while I'm here? I can't honestly say I absolutely love running, but I do love the feeling of being in shape, working toward something respectable, and in the end, hopefully accomplishing something not many people have the desire or commitment to go through with. I do love that.
As my co-worker Mandy McGuire said, "Well, I love ice cream." Ordinary.
Alright, we're down to 88 degrees now, but the humidity's up to 51 percent. Basically, I better go now, or forever hold my peace.
Coming up soon:
* Living life for the supersonic Tetris
* Is church a good first date?
* The type of dreams that will guaranteed affect your day, normally negatively
* Less than four weeks until URT2!
* And the deepest, darkest dive into the corners of my head and my heart. This column will be about 20 pages and password protected. If you really want to read it, email and proof you're worthy, and maybe I'll give you the password.
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