Hill work is the Devil...

...when it's 80 degrees with high humidity at 5 AM.

Bleh. What can I say that hasn't already been said about running in weather that feels hot and soggy at the same time?

I made the mistake of running at noon on Monday since I was home sick from work. In case you're wondering, I really was sick, so the "running at the hottest point in the day" idea was a bit...crazy. I did it anyway and managed to keep to a sub 10:00 pace, although I nixed the striders at the end in favour of a short sprint up the rise-in-the-road at Irving Park.

Yesterday I was planning on getting in my extra run, but thanks to the news reports about a heat index in excess of 100 degrees, I decided to stay home and cross train after work instead. I draw the line at 100 degrees. At that point, I'm pretty sure the heat can do some serious damage to your body. Especially for those of us who are inexperienced and slightly pudgy. I'm just sayin'

Knowing that I have a birthday party to go to this evening, I knew I had to get in my run in the morning. This is more of a blessing in disguise as the heat index is shooting for close to 105 degrees today as well. Bastard. And, lucky me, we had hill work on the schedule. 10 minutes of warm up and cool down, plus 25 minutes of running up and down "hills." So, it was off to Cricket Hill this morning. Joanie Garmin was being decidedly uncooperative (maybe it was the heat?), so I decided to "feel" my pace this morning. Lame, I know, but you've got to work with what you've got. Joanie Garmin eventually found her satellites about half way through the run, but then told me I was running at 15:00 pace. True, I was going a bit slower, but not 5 minutes per-mile slower. Anyway, I got to the hill and found an old person sitting on a bench, staring at the hill.

I do love an audience.

So, I started running up and down the hill. I was joined by other runners from time to time. I lost track of how many times I ran up and down Cricket Hill after 8. All I know is, by the time my cool down miraculously arrived, my legs felt like lead and I felt like I was drowning. I stopped at a water fountain on the way home, and barely made it to Irving Park drive at the close of 45 minutes. It was nice to be able to walk the half-mile to my apartment and stretch for a bit.

It's supposed to cool down a bit tomorrow, but as of today, the weather report for Saturday's 11 miler looks to be 92 degrees with a chance of storms. Gross...this means, clearly, that it will be yucky humid as well.

Oh, and I'll post pictures eventually of some new purchases (hence the being broke again). I finally broke down and bought a fuel belt. I know it sounds silly, but you don't understand how high my waist is! It's tragic really. And I also got more powdered Gatorade mix. Good times for hydration my friends, good times.