Just Gross Out

Ohhhhh ... heck yeah!!!!

(A huge fan of the DVR to skip through commercials, I always stop and/or rewind this one. Always. More than once! Thanks to Run Hard - Always Finish Facebook page for finding this for the rest of us!!)

That's right, it is HUMP DAYYYYY (yeeaaahhhhh ... wooWOO!!) That also means it's a running day, and the human girls went out to hit it today! It was miserably humid and already almost 80 degrees, so Elly, to her displeasure, had to stay home. Don't be too sad; her story turns out fine.

With a 5-miler ahead of us, Pit Crew #2 and I headed out with a slow and steady pace. Perhaps it is that pace that allowed us to spy moneymoneymoney in our first mile? At the half mile point, we'd already found 3 pennies. Then, just as we were crossing an intersection, something glittered and caught my eye. PC#2 didn't know this, though, and was subsequently confused when we made it across the intersection only for me to announce, "And, now we have to go back!" She's rather easy going, though, and, by now, used to my running shenanigans (aka: frequent lack of forward focus), so she just waited while I went back myself. I had to wait for cars again, though, so when I saw another woman running toward us, I mentally willed her to not see what I saw. I also realized not many runners are on a money-first, running-second quest like it seems I am, so I really should not have been scared (oh, but how surprised I would have been had I seen her pick up what I believed was a coin! Ohhhh how surprised she would have been when I tackled her! Wait ... that was just the play I had in my head, I wouldn't do that.)

I digress ...

Anyway, I caught a break in the traffic, and it was totally worth the return!

That's a quarter, baby!! Booyah !!

Oh, wait ... we're running ... Okay, it's like this. It was gross out. Just. Plain. Gross. We were profusely sweating before checking off a single mile! That's just nasty!

She's so easy going that PC#2 can't even pretend to show it's
gross out even when it is. By the way, she was also the smart
one with her headband. I chose fashion over function leaving
my wicking wonders at home. Not cool.

We had one more money moment ...

I stopped to get the penny, and PC#2 said she thought I was
getting that log. I wondered how badly heat delirium had
already set in ...

... and, the hill climbing began! Now, you should know the following conversation took place last night:

Me: Hey, are you totally excited about running 5 miles with me tomorrow?
PC#2: It'll be hot so that means more walk breaks!

To be honest, I fully expected a plan to come forth to walk after our first big hill, but neither of us said anything. I found a good strategic place to insert one later to give our bodies a chance to catch up and reboot, but we weren't desperate for one. In other words, that slow start pace was exactly the right thing to do to keep ourselves in balance. I have to admit it still feels so weird to start off running a lot slower than I know I can, but I have more than come to learn that it's the smart thing to do. My body will tell me what it can do, and, when it comes to running, my body is often way smarter than my brain! I'll note, though, not bringing Elly was the smartest move of the morning. Have I mentioned it was gross out?

Our run was pretty uneventful after running through the money pit, and that was just fine. By the end, we were both pretty drained because of the humidity, but, between our pace and the water we had with us, recovery was quick. It's also motivating to know that tomorrow's run is much shorter which mentally fuels pushing through to finish as strong as possible!

We came home ready to apologize and love on Elly, but I think she had been doing just fine ...

"Of course I'm fine, mommy. I'm just here watching my stories."

With that, it's time to reset for another outing tomorrow! Take care of yourself in this wacky weather, and we'll see you after the morning run!