Sunday, August 26, 2007

My 50th Post!!!

What better way to celebrate my 50th post than to show a map of what 17 miles looks like to those that live in New Mexico (Rob and Gaurav). While they may think Arlington is very close to downtown Dallas, I thought I'd show a distance that might speak to them. (You can click the above picture to make it larger)

You see, this morning, Becky and I set out and ran 17 miles around White Rock Lake. My gosh! Anyway, let's say you lived in the cesspool of the Metroplex (Arlington). If you started running at Ballpark Way and I-30 and headed East into downtown Dallas, you'd make it to the Plaza of the Americas in 3 hours and 23 minutes. Whoooo Weeee that's a lot of running (and pounding on the pavement)!

The run started off great. The temperature was probably the coolest we've experienced in weeks. Last week was great because we had a cool breeze and clouds. However, it was still humid. This week we had a temperature of 74 and the humidity was 58%. If you're reading this from somewhere other than Texas (especially Dallas), that's a FANTASTIC running condition for the summer!

Anyway, as you can see in my previous post, I was nervous. However, I felt strong. We had a good pace. When we made the spillway at 6 miles, I wasn't soaked! For those that don't know, I don't have an iPod anymore... both have been drowned in sweat. Nice, eh? So, they're dead. I was seriously thinking of buying one (my third) with a protective case over the weekend... oh well.

So Becky and I run and talk a ton. I mean, you've got over 3 hours of running... you gotta talk! We talk about Chicago, food, trips, work, family, what we'll do when we get home from this running hell... you know, just a bunch of chit chat! Ha!

Well, Becky is pretty dang competitive. Today she was only supposed to run 12. But around 7 she said she was feeling it and was going to shoot for 17 with me, too. That was great because of the no iPod situation. That would be a lot of running with silence.... (besides the squish squish squish of my wet clothes/shoes).

Anyway, the run was great. I felt fantastic afterwards and even told Becky, "I know this sounds strange but I think I could keep going after 17." Normally I'm about to pass out from shear exhaustion/pain. But today I felt great. I think that's due to the midweek runs I had last week... from Sunday to Saturday I ran 33 miles.

The only problem we ran into: Stopping. After all of that running, the body is pretty fluid. It's been working like a machine. However, like any machine, if you stop it and let it cool down, it sometimes has a hard time getting re-started. So our "cooldown" comes when we finish the run and grab some drinks and sit on this porch at The Big Thicket. We sit for 10 minutes or so. Well, when it's time to leave and stand up, it is one of the most painful experiences. However, it's so funny (because we look like freakin' Tin Men) that we're laughing at each other and the grimaces on our faces.

And that's just after 17.... wonder how painful it'll be after 26.2 miles on October 7???

1 comment:

  1. You are insane in the membrane. But, way to go!!

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