Torture Report: Mercury Rising & Waterfalls

(G): Summer arrives much like an extra 10 pounds. You blink, your pants don’t fit and it’s 85 degrees all at once.

That’s how it goes around Ohio. And this past week, summer made its presence known and left little doubt that it’s here to stay. So did those 10 pounds.
And since I was already out of shape, as I mentioned last week, heat really helps that feeling tremendously.
Friday, I didn’t get out on the trail until well after 4 in the afternoon. On my way to the park, I made the executive decision that I was “just going to walk.” And I did but that was similar to saying I am only going to burn the skin off one side of my legs. It was so unbelievably hot that before my nearly 10-mile walk was done I was out of water and almost out of sweat.

Saturday, I was determined to get out early. Yeah, that was a great plan until it didn’t happen.
First off, you can’t workout until 7:30 p.m. on Friday and really expect you’ll be raring to go a mere 12 hours later. I finally got out around 11 am, you know just in time to really greet the sun in its full expression. I ran most of the first 6 miles and it was excruciating. I had heard all this chatter on the news earlier in the day about pop-up showers and what I wouldn’t have given for one to pour down on me. But no, it was all blue skies and sun.
The last 6 miles was all walking. It felt so warm that even the slight breeze felt like sticking your face in front of the dryer vent. I am sure much of this is I am still adjusting to the warmer weather but it was tough. As luck would have it, the moment I walked in the door from my run the skies darkened and it poured rain for a good 10 minutes. Thanks, Mother Nature!

Sunday, I bailed on the running and threw in some strength training instead. I did manage to procrastinate that all day long. It’s amazing how I can make a 60-minute workout into a 7-hour delay tactic. I exhaust myself sometimes with the mental hoops.

Yesterday, I felt the pressure to get back on track and got my “leftover” 8 miles from Sunday done and again it was around 11:30 am by the time I got started. In my defense, I am not that slow of a learner but I had to work earlier in the day. BUT STILL, OMG it was H-O-T!!!!

On the scoreboard:
Mercury: 1
Scale: 1
Me: 0

(L) While the mercury has risen in Colorado it still fluctuates by the hour. I am still very happy to feel the warmth of the sun. Maybe next week will be a different story.

My big excitement for the week was our hike in North Cheyenne Canyon. We hiked St. Mary’s Falls which was beautiful! Reese and I ran some of the flatter parts and a few of the steeper sections. It was just enough to get our blood pumping and for both of my girls’ blood sugar to drop. Nothing a little rest on a rock, gatorade and a bar couldn’t fix. There was a little relentless uphill battle that occurred during the last mile and there was some whining that accompanied that battle, but we did it.

The downhill was much easier obviously and we made it back to the car about 5 minutes prior to the rainfall. Unlike G, we were not hoping for a quick shower along the trail. A buffet maybe, but not a rain shower. As G has mentioned so many times before, we workout so we can eat! So, after our 6 miles on the trail we headed straight for a late lunch to pig out.