Grrr.... and ahhh...

The Grr...
Woke up at 4:30am and got some food in me. Headed out the door for my 22 miler around 6am -- when it was already 74* and 93% humidity. Ugh. I ran at the shore and plotted a great route over the bridges and back. I was due to hit the house a few blocks short of the 15 mile mark. I paced well through that, but was starting to feel like my legs and chest were getting heavy. I didn't like it. The legs are one thing, but the chest signals disaster. Pounded out a few more miles, but then I started throwing in some walk breaks. By the time I hit mile 18, I knew I should call it a day. Slogged on to the 20 mile mark, and got a ride home from there. My back was killing me -- it's still bothering me a bit now, almost 7 hours later. Grr. Humidity sucks the life out of me. It happened a few weeks ago at the last 20 miler, it happened last year at the 18 mile run... Good thing is, I was at the beach. So, I got home, grabbed a drink and a towel, and went right in the ocean, running clothes still on (they were soaked anyway!). The start of the ahhh...

More ahh...
After showering, stretching, and getting a little food in me, I headed to the beach with a bunch of friends. What a beautiful day for the beach. Good breeze, great swimming in the ocean, good sun on my (sunscreen-covered!) face while I napped. That's the way to spend an afternoon following a hard run :)