Heat Stroke

I have had an epiphany; It's HOT! And, I might add, it's HUMID! I started running again last November so up until the last few weeks, my runs have been in cooler weather (the colder the better, IMO). My trek is 4.5 miles and the last 1/2 mile is uphill on a steep grade. It's killer and I had forgotten that I wasn't acclimated to running in the heat yet.

A week or so ago the forecast was for the temperature to climb to 92 degrees. I, in my ultimate wisdom, decided to go on a run at noon. Unfortunately, I have never been one to sweat very efficiently. I've always been envious of dh who sweats through 3 or 4 t-shirts a day when it's hot. I love to sweat--ahhh! It feels so good to get rid of toxins--but if I'm not careful, I just turn red and pass out.

So, on this particular day when it was hotter than Hades, I took off running. At the 3 mile mark, down in the valley where there was no air movement, I started feeling a little lightheaded. I kept pushing myself, thinking that it would pass and I'd be in the shaded area within a few minutes. At the 4 mile mark, right before the notorious hill, I was becoming extremely weak so I conceded and stopped at the creek to cool off. I poured water over my head and splashed my face with the cool, running water. I was delirious and it wasn't until later that I thought of the cattle upstream that were also cooling off in the water and relieving themselves without concern about the water quality, yikes!

I walked the rest of the way home that day, cutting through our meadow to get home faster. The kids were waiting for me outside as I trudged up the hill, red-faced and effete, croaking, "Water, quick, I need water!". I have since started getting up earlier and earlier each morning to escape the heat and have found that there is quite a lot of activity in the mornings around here.

We live on a 4 mile loop that consists of 3 or 4 farms. Some of the people are Mennonites and I can't tell you how strangely uncomfortable I feel when I'm running by in my shorts and sports bra. They're always very kind and maybe they aren't as disapproving as I assume but regardless, I decided long ago that my health was more important than their approval so I carry on. Our neighbors are all very friendly and it's not uncommon to encounter some of them on my runs. If only they knew how difficult it was to stop in the middle of a run to have a conversation! Once, one of my neighbors actually got in her car and drove the loop to find me to get my "professional" opinion when her daughter had fallen and hurt her arm!

Yesterday, I was on the final leg of the uphill stretch when I met a man walking along the road picking up cans. I tried to avoid his gaze so I wouldn't have to stop so I just smiled and said "Hi", but alas, he stopped to talk and I couldn't just ignore him! He said, "You sell them thar beagles?" (Our neighbor's 2 beagles have adopted us and will not leave, despite a few BB's to the posterior). I explained that those beagles weren't ours, they belonged to Goat Woman, they just liked our house better because, much to my dismay, sisterwho feeds them every day. He said he was interested in buying some beagles. I explained how much we liked the beagles but they kept us up at night barking and then said "So, on second thought, yes, they are for sale!". He laughed and I took the opportunity to finish my run.