On Tuesday, I hit the running wall. Everything was going so well up until Tuesday morning - I stuck to Mollie’s plan like glue. Some days, I even ran more than Mollie had suggested (albeit not by much). So why the wall?
This is how it went down.
Monday was my day off from running. I even missed running a little bit. At one point, I thought how nice it would be to go for a run. I didn’t though because I knew I had to save my strength for Tuesday when Mollie had me schedule to run six miles (making it THE MOST I HAVE EVER RUN EVER). Tuesday night I had plans to get sangria after work (Nando’s at 7th and H has a happy hour special of sangria: one pitcher - enough for three lightweight drinkers - for $5). I love sangria so there was absolutely no way I was canceling my plans for running.
All this meant that I would have to run in the AM before work, so that I could go out and enjoy some happy-hour goodness in the evening. So Monday night, I set my alarm for 6:30 AM- determined to run 6 miles in the morning. When 6:30 came, I got up, got dressed, and jogged out the door (well, that last part may be a bit of an exaggeration). When I made it outside, the heat hit me like a brick wall. It was so sweaty; I hadn’t even jogged around the block when I could feel the sweat dripping down my back. That feeling, sweat dripping down my back, makes me nauseated on a good day. But I kept running. I hit the Foggy Bottom Metro stop and had to run through the swarm of State Department employees in their 6:40 AM rush to get to work. Avoiding eye contact, I nimbly moved through the crowd.
About a mile later, I quit. I knew there was no way I would make it all six miles. My stomach hurt (I have difficulty with lactose but that doesn’t stop me from cheese which is a continual problem), my shirt was soaked in sweat, and I was scared to death of running six miles. I’m not saying I’ll never run six miles. I might run six miles in October or November. No way in hell I’m running six miles in Washington, DC in August. Sorry, Mollie.
I resolved that in the unbearable humidity that is Washington, DC in August, to run at least 2.5 miles until the heat passes. So Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning I have woken up at 6:50 to jog 2.5 miles. I can’t stress enough the respect that I have for people who run in this weather. Maybe next summer is when I’ll be obsessed enough with running to run no matter the humidity level. Maybe it will happen in a month. Who knows?!? I certainly plan on getting back on track next week and updating everyone with my progress.
Yours not so faithfully this week,
6x6
