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August 6, 2004

101

Last night wasn’t pretty. For anyone. We had a high yesterday of 101 degrees. The trail at 5:30 was more deserted than it’s been in a long time. Nobody looked very happy and there was a lot less socializing at the stretching rock than there usually is. Andy and I swapped bad run stories – he got chills about halfway through his run; I was stopping for water every half mile or so on my 7-miler. He’d passed our friend Mark who was looking pretty worn; I’d passed our friend Phil who’d been reduced to walking, his face bright red. Making matters worse were a few packs of mountain bike riders kicking up clouds of dust that got in your eyes and nose and stuck to your skin. It reminded me of the way I felt in Boston after pouring nearly 25 cups of water and Gatorade over my head, then having the wind pick up at the end, covering me with grime.

I ran with one of the free groups last night – they call themselves “Al’s Ship of Fools.” They ran hill repeats while I did repeat hilly loops. Like yesterday morning, it was much better just running and offering support to those doing the workout than actually doing the workout. My time will come, though! A lot of those guys are running a marathon in Nebraska next month.

Although we didn’t run together, Andy and I both parked over at Shady Grove and started and finished our runs there. Thursday nights in the summer Shady Grove has “Unplugged at the Grove,” which is a series of concerts held outside on their patio. Last night was The Resentments. There’s a grassy area where we can sit in our folding chairs and enjoy the music without really bothering anyone with our sweaty selves. They have wait staff for the grassy area, even, so I had some dinner out there, too. We’ve gone regularly after Thursday running for the past three summers; it’s one of the few things I miss about summer once the fall rolls around.

I will not miss highs of 101.

Posted by jenandmats at August 6, 2004 8:41 AM