Some Like It Hot

RIP Tony Curtis, we will miss your
dashing looks and comedic timing!

I might have just sunburned for the first time ever in October in Calgary.  After sleeping in until noon (yes, I do that pretty much every Saturday, but this week I have an excuse...I was volunteering until 1230 last night at a literacy fundraiser!  Lookit me, all philothropantic!) and eating a nutritious breakfast of Spolumbo's breakfast sausages and Eggs a la Joey, I headed over to the reservoir for an 8k run.  It was already 24C, and a glorious day, so I was looking forward to enjoying one of those few lovely fall days Calgary gets per year.  I headed out, enjoying the cloudless azure blue skies against the canary yellow leaves still on the trees while the latest international dance songs scrolled by on my Ipod.  I have to say, I really enjoyed the first 5K, I felt fast and the scenery was amazing. I felt like a RUNNER and it felt good!

Around 6.5K, I started crapping out. It was hot, my lips were all dried out and gross and my legs were getting heavy. Also, the sun was just blazing and my skin felt like it was burning under the crust of salt accumulating on my arms, but I kept pushing on.  I know from last week I can run 7.5K without too much trouble now, and I wanted to go at least that far again.  I started skipping songs on the Ipod looking for the ones I knew could carry me through another 4 minutes.

I thought I had timed it so the big hill I ran down at the beginning of my run would be the end of the 8K and I could walk up the hill as my cool down. I hit this hill just as the Nike Plus cheerfully announced "400 meters!" and I almost quit.  I was so hot, so tired, and I just didn't think I could make it up this hill after running 7.5K, but I thought I would give it a try since a sinewy woman in front of me was still chugging along.  I started up, and just at the point where I was going to quit, a sweet elderly gentleman on a bike started pacing me and saying "you can do it, you're almost at the top!"  I kept shuffling along, still running but barely as he cheered me on. At the 200m to go mark, I gasped "I don't think I can do this" to which he replied "yes, you can!  You're young, you can do it!!!.....but I can't, I'm old!" as he hopped off his bike and started walking.  Just as he did that, Sinewy Lady also started walking. 

 I'll be darned if I didn't chug my way to the top of the hill.   I was just channeling the Little Engine That Could because I figured if that old timer thought I could do it, then I probably really could.  Apparently I'm kinda petty because when I passed Sinewy Lady, I chortled to myself "you may be 5% body fat with zero cellulite, lady, but I'm passing you, mwahahahahaha!" It was a pretty weak finish to my run, and I bet that last 400 meters took as long as the previous km had, but I still ran the entire 8K without walking once, so I'd still say it was a win! 

I guess I could! Yay me!

PS...check out the update to our running to Disneyworld as of October 1...we're so close to the border, we can see the bright lights of the Duty Free!