Questionable Choices

I don't think I've told you, but I enjoy an apple after every training run.

Today's apple is quite the delight since I made the questionable decision to run outside at noon while it's a ripe 88 degrees. I'm lucky I didn't burst into flames.

I'm not sure what compelled me to run at noon. Clearly it goes against my best judgment. Every experienced runner knows not to run at noon in temperatures above 70 degrees. Period. There is no arguing with that logic.

And not only did I decide to run at noon, but I also decided it would be a brilliant idea to do speed work. At noon. In the 88 degree heat. Again, not my best choice.

When I got to the trails, I should have known not to go through with it considering it was me and the crickets. Not a car or human in sight. (Seriously, rethinking it now as I write it makes it sound so much worse because it really is a dumb thing to do.)

As I'm stretching, beads of sweat rolled down my neck. Disgusting. Hadn't even moved yet. So I changed my plans of speed work to a 3 mile tempo run, and I took off.

Y'all, it's so hot the animals weren't even out. No deer. No snakes. No nothing. Just me, the crickets and the huge flying grasshoppers.

I spent mile one playing a game of dodge the huge man-eating grasshoppers. Seriously, why do they have scissors for legs? I think one cut me. By the time my walk break came, I was beyond hot, but I was keeping a steady pace.

So I kept going knowing that mile two would be more in the shade. For this mile, I played a game of don't vomit because the smell of pine trees intensifies due to the excessive heat. Pine is not my favorite smell. Definitely not even close.

Mile three was a test of sheer will power. Mentally, I wanted to quit. The heat was extreme. The shade was no more. The smell of pine lingered in my nose. And just as I decided I would walk the last half mile, a girl in a hot pink top and matching shorts with full make-up jaunted right by me as if I was standing still.

Ahhhhhhh, hell no.

Something inside me died. And I think it was a touch of my sanity. Stupid make-up wearing sassy pants gave me the little extra something to push the pine smell and heat wave out of my mind. And somehow, only God knows how, I made it the whole three miles.

Here are my stats:

Time: 35:21
Distance: 3.0 miles
Best Pace: 9:18 (pretty sure it was due to sassy pants wearing the make-up or the pine smell don't vomit game)
Average Pace: 11:48 (much better)
Calories: 352

You can call me crazy, and that might be accurate. But I think my questionable decisions turned out for the best. At least they did today.

Tell me about your questionable decision that turned out alright. I love a good story.