Back to Reality

After a week of vacation with my extended family, we are back home in steamy St. Louis and settling back into our routine.  We enjoyed seven days of sunshine, splashing in the pool, and playing on the beach.  The 12+ hours in the car each way I could live without, but it was all worth it for a break from the daily grind.

I had hoped to run two or three times while on the road, and I'm pleased to report that I worked in three vacation runs.  Before I left, I talked to a number of mother runners who raved about the beauty of a vacation run.  Having never run on vacation before, I nodded along and took their word for it.  Now that I've done it, I agree with those (ever so wise) ladies 100%!  There's something extra blissful about running in a new area, and I felt an added gratitude for being able to travel to a beautiful place and have the freedom to explore it on foot.  And running while watching the sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico?  Truly breathtaking and awe-inspiring.

My running routes were fairly limited, so I mostly ran out-and-back paths along a beachside highway.  At home I usually run loops, so it was fun to mix things up with the out-and-back routes.  I enjoyed looking at the beautiful beach houses, imagining what it would be like to call such a gorgeous place home.  I saw many people running along the packed sand of the beach, but I wasn't quite so adventurous.  I did, however, venture out to the beach at the end of my last run to get my beach running shoe selfie:

A beach shoe selfie!  Mission completion.

In addition to my three solo runs, I also logged some bonus miles with a few members of my family.  My husband, sister, and brother-in-law are hoping to run a 5k race this fall, so they're building up mileage in preparation.  The humid, muggy Gulf air was not easy on the lungs, but they did great, and I loved having some company at the end of my runs.  Post-run, we cooled off with a dip in our pool - a perfect way to bring the blood pressure down after a good workout.

While I loved vacation and the chance to run while traveling, I am very happy to be home.  Emily and I met up for our usual early morning run this morning, and my feet were glad to be back on our home turf.  Home sweet home :)

I found a little remnant of the beach on my running shoes today.

10 Running-Related Personal Questions

I have not yet posted about my profound admiration for the ladies of Another Mother Runner, but I promise, that post is still to come.  Yesterday, however, Sarah invited us to answer 10 questions about ourselves, and as a rule follower, I feel the need to oblige.  You can read Sarah's answers on the AMR blog; Dimity's are to air later this week.  As for me:

1.  Best run ever:  A scenic 6-mile run last April near my parents' wooded cabin.  The weather was gorgeous; the newly green trees beautiful; the views around the lakes breathtaking.  Before this particular day, I had not run much at their cabin, so the sights and sounds were all new to me.  At one point, I came out of a wooded passage, and as I rounded the curve, the view of the sun rising over the lake was nothing short of spectacular.  In fact, I was so inspired by the beauty of the scenery that I hardly noticed the killer hills, though my quads definitely felt their effects the next day.

2.  Three words that describe my running:  Always moving forward.

3.  My go-to running outfit is:  Fairly basic: a pair of Champion running shorts from Target, a wicking shirt, and a headband to keep my hair out of my eyes.  If I'm running in daylight (unusual on these dark fall mornings), I'll wear a hat, too.

4.  Quirky habit while running:  I always end my run at a house near the end of my block with a giant flagpole.  I have no idea why this became a ritual, but now the flagpole always signifies my finish line.

5.  Morning, midday, evening:  Morning is always my first choice.  I love the quiet stillness of the world when most of its occupants are sleeping.  But sometimes life gets in the way, and I sneak in midday treadmill runs while my kids nap or an evening run after my husband gets home from work.  But morning is always best.

6.  I won't run outside when it's: icy.  I'm cool with rain, snow, heat, and humidity, but I refuse to deal with ice, especially since I have a treadmill for those too-icy-to-hit-the-road days.

7.  Worst injury - and how I got over it:  I've only been running for a little over a year, so to date, I've not had to deal much with injury [have I just jinxed myself by saying that aloud?].  When I increased my mileage last spring, however, I found that my calves were extremely tight all the time.  I added in additional post-run stretches - and forced myself to do them after each run - and my muscle pain quickly dissipated.

8.  I felt most like a badass mother runner when:  I completed my first 10-mile run.  I wanted to log a double-digit run before my one year running anniversary, and I did it two weeks ahead of the deadline. One year previously, I could barely run 60 second intervals.  That lovely June day, I rocked 10 miles and felt like a BAMR.

9.  Next race is:  This Saturday (9/15) - a local 5k in the neighborhood in which I grew up.  A hilly course, but I love running those familiar roads.

10.  Potential running goal for 2013:  I hope to toe the line for a half marathon, most likely in the fall.

Slogging through the Humidity

As we're entering our sixth consecutive day of 100+ degree temperatures, an outdoor run at any time of day seems like an arduous task.  I've done a number of treadmill runs during this hot streak, but this morning, I set off early for an outdoor run.  Though the temperature was wonderful (low 70s), the humidity and air quality were abysmal.  My lungs felt like they could never quite fill up, and the air felt thick and heavy.

Today's run felt as humid as this, though of course my landlocked city does not include a gorgeous beach view.  All the humidity; none of the views.

I told myself that my pace didn't matter; I just had to go out and do something for 30 minutes.  It's difficult for my Type A brain to accept such an assignment, but I did make a concerted effort to take it easy.  And if my heart rate monitor's data is trustworthy, I did relax my effort a bit.  Both my maximum and my average heart rates were slightly lower than they were on my recent treadmill runs.

I'm hoping for a break in the heat to clear out the humidity and refresh the air supply.  Though in July in St. Louis, this hope is probably more of a pipe dream...