Test of Heat and Character

We went down to Bama this weekend to see the family for a short visit.  It was great to see everyone, especially my cutie niece and nephew, Audrey and Eli.  Here they are harvesting corn from my parents' back yard.  Eli just lost his first tooth and made $6 from the tooth fairy (maybe I should knock out a few teeth!).  Audrey likes to snort.  I heart them.

Anyhoo, we attempted to keep our training on track even though we were eating meals about every 3 hours, thanks to my parents!  On Saturday we went to Oak Mountain State Park, which is about 20 minutes outside of the city.  It's a beautiful state park that has many miles of trails for hiking and biking.  It looks like it's actually a great place to train for tris.  Nice bike lanes on the long rolling roads, a few big lakes for swimming.  We decided to try a trail run, since Chris is training for an ultra marathon on trails.  (Help him raise a few dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society if you can!)




After about an hour of trying to find the trails, we finally get to the trailhead for Peavine Falls.  I'm getting a bit annoyed at this point, since we still had 2-3 hours of running ahead of us.  It's nearing noon and we'll be running when the day is at its hottest.  Did I mention it was 88 and like 100% humidity at 9am?  So now it's well above 90.  I HATE running in heat, btw.  Chris is gung ho about this run, and no amount of whining on my part seems to deter him.  So he leaves me with the trail map and takes off.   This run will be a good test of my ability to deal with the heat, I think. And a good test of my mental toughness to do something my body does not want to do.

I start off slowly down the trail, planning for a 1.5 hr run.  I'm sweating with in 30 seconds. Seriously dripping.   About half a mile in, there are a series of trails branching off, none of which are on my map.  I try the one that looks the most traveled.  It turns out to be incredibly steep and rocky.  Like rock scrambling rocky.  There is literally a rope tied to the trees to help folks get down.  I decide this is probably not the best trail to run on.   I turn around and try the next trail.  This one runs me into a giant wall of Poison Ivy.  I carefully back out of that trail and go back to the junction thinking I missed the trail signs for the Blue Trail, which is what I am looking for.  I consult the map.  At the bottom, it says, "Brought to you by Such and Such Graphics. Last updated 1994."  Hmmm.    I am getting very sweaty and very annoyed.  I also just spilled purple Gatorade all over my legs and the mosquitoes are swarming.

Plan B:  Find a trail I can run on for 20 min then turn around and come back.  I manage to find one that is less rocky, and I run for about 15 minutes.  I am miserable in the heat.  I am feeling like I'm going to vomit.  I look up and there is the beginning of the Blue Trail!  There is also a small sign that says "Back to Parking Lot."  Another test of character.  I stand there for a few minutes pondering what is the correct direction.  . .    

I head off down the Blue Trail, fighting off the deepest urge to go the other way.  Within a minute, a giant bolt of lightening strikes, and rumbling thunder booms.  I jump from the scare.  We don't get much thunder and lightening in SF, and I've forgotten how awesome it can be.  And then, of course, the sky opens up and down comes the rain.  I take this as a cue from the gods that I should, in fact, go Back to Parking Lot.  This run just isn't going to happen. About 10 minutes later, I am completely drenched from the rain and back at the car.  The thunder and lightening echos on around me.  I grab a towel and crawl into the car, immediately reach for the ignition and turn on the AC.  Its still bloody hot outside and now the humidity really is 100%.

I now have about a 1.5 hour wait for Chris since he was running a loop.  I'm a little worried since the storm is pretty bad, and the trails clearly are not well marked.  The rain is dumping.  There are giant puddles forming the in parking lot. The radio station is broadcasting the Emergency Tone announcement saying the storms are dangerous.  Then they actually say "Lightening is the most common source of death in thunderstorms.  Stay inside." Awesome.  This test of character is a little trying.

About an hour later, my eagle scout shows up with a big smile on his face and covered head to toe in mud.  He had a great time trouncing through the  mud.  Phew.  We dry off and head to get pulled pork.

On Monday, I am determined to run. I go to the Y with my mom and swim for an hour.  Then meet up with Chris to run on a paved trail near by.  It is about 86 at 9am.  This seems like a good heat test, somewhat comparable to race conditions.  I start off down the trail at a decent pace.  There are tons of other folks on the trail.  I find it strange that no one else is running, just walking.  About 10 minutes later, drenched in sweat and feeling a little dizzy, I realize why no one is running.  Because only idiots run in heat like this.  So I start in with Plan B.  Run 10/ Walk 1, which lasts for exactly 11 minutes. Then Plan C.  Run 5/Walk 1.  Then Plan D.  Run 2.5 / walk 2.  Then defeat.  Just walk. Sigh.   I do manage to run the last half mile, but I want to vomit by the time I am done.

So, there were lots of training tests this weekend. And I think I failed them all.   But I still had a great time with my family, which is really what it's all about!

ps.  Here's a test:  Can you help me fight cancer?  I'm trying to raise $750 for local cancer charities.  I could use your help!