Hot hot hot

I ran my eighth consecutive DC Race For The Cure yesterday, in 27:54 (8:59). That time includes the two minutes it took me to get across the starting line in this gun-timed "race." I couldn't get to doing more than a lot of sideways running before the last mile because of the crush of people on the course. Actually, Race for the Cures are big social events (I've done twenty scattered about the country from NYC to Denver), a chance to get outside and move around some. They're fun.

The day tied a heat record at 98 degrees and the heat was unbearable even at 8 am. An hour earlier I had been at Iwo Jima across the river in Virginia where my club starts its SLRs, to cheer on the participants in my club's Marathon Training Program. There were about ten coaches and about 30 trainees there for their first training run that will, hopefully, lead them all across the finish line of the MCM in the fall. I don't have much to do with this program as it is run on a different model (a "mentoring" approach) than the programs I direct (which have been described by some club members as "chaperoned running groups"). The MTP is ably directed by Ben and Kristin. They put together a great-looking training sheet for it, covering all the weeks. The first run was ten miles. Off they all went in the early morning heat. Welcome to marathon training.

Then I jogged over to the start of the DCRFTC 5K about two miles away. Five minutes into the run I was sopping wet. Five minutes into the actual race I was thinking, Where is the finish line? It's never a good race for me when that thought strikes me so early.

That's what I did yesterday. That jaunt in a sauna just wore me out. It's supposed to approach one hundred degrees today.