HOT

Phew..

It's hot here...

16 days of measurable rainfall has transitioned into an official heat wave.  Today is day 3, or maybe 4, of days hitting in the 90s.  This does not include the heat index (humidity included with temperature).  Solid 90 degree days.  No A/C in my car is not making things much better.  I love sweating when  I'm working out.  It makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something.  Driving to work is not an accomplishment deserving of perspiration.  The other day my wife needed our car so my good friend Jermaine drove me to work.  He told me he was going to pick me up at 530 in the morning.  I headed out a couple minutes earlier to wait and just standing outside I was sweating.  The sun wasn't up yet!

I had to get that off my chest.  Maybe the weather is making me crabby?

I had a motivating run on Saturday, but not for the reasons you may think...

It was bad.

Marathon training hasn't gotten off to a great start.  I did ten miles a couple weeks back and felt OK.  Got through the run at 30 seconds faster per mile than my Cleveland Half Marathon PR pace.  I wanted to die at the end, but I felt like I was moving in the right direction.  Since then a funk seems to have take over my being.  Skipping workouts, sleeping in, getting caught up in everything else that life throws at me.

There was a race between that ten miler and Saturday's run.  The race was awesome.  It was on the 4th of July.  North Canton isn't a big town and it's not too small of a town.  Every 4th of July the race takes over the town.  It feels like everyone from the city is there.  I took part in the 5 miler.  Team Active:Water Canton also took the opportunity to get some team photos (minus some members who couldn't make it)

A photographer from the YMCA caught a good group pic.  Including the non running loved ones!

Go Team!

 My daughter also got into the running spirit by taking part in the firecracker run:

Hey Daddy.  Lets run!  The pure joy is beautiful

The run was good.  It was a little hot and it was day two of the measurable rain.  Luckily it held off for the races, aside from a drizzle here and there.  Here are a more pics from race day, plus one of me and my little runner later that day:

Action shot!

Running makes ya tired

Sweaty team picture afterwards

Love that girl.. Especially when she's acting like a goof ball. 

The weekend after the 4th I had a 12 mile run planned but my puking oldest daughter and a little less sick youngest daughter had other plans.  I could have fit a run in I'm sure but the funk fell upon me.  Which brings me to Saturday.  It was a week and a half since the July 4th run (wow, I haven't updated this thing in a while).  I hadn't had a good solid run following the race.  Or any run for that matter (I did get some swimming and biking in though).  There were 5 of us running the 12 miles that morning and we started normal enough.  Going about 9:10 a mile for the first couple.  It felt good but I wanted to dial it back a little bit since I hadn't run in a while.  Brought it down to 9:30 and that is when I fell back.  The group drifted ahead and Bryce yelled back asking if I was alright.  Then a little later would ask if I'm OK.  I wasn't.  I told them to go on without me, like some dramatic Steven Spielberg war drama.  Instead of doing all 12 I copped out and did about 9.

Yuck...

During the run I thought about something.  I thought about how people stake the claim that "well no one is perfect".  Usually after a mistake is made.You may hear this when you tell someone about a bad experience, possibly in distance running.  Maybe this thought came into my brain to help myself feel better.  I'm not striving to be perfect.  Only one person achieved that, and it wasn't by Himself.  Just because I can't be perfect doesn't mean I shouldn't strive for excellence.  Not in time, or placing in a race, but pursuing God's will, which is what this whole running thing is all about.

I would explain how I was feeling about running but a couple days later a friend posted a link that I'd like to share with you.  It describes things pretty well.  It's a little bit of a read, but it's got lots and lots of pictures!

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/running

Later on Saturday all I wanted to do was run.  Running as bad as I did made me want to get back out and crush the blerch.  Monday night, in the 80+ degree heat, I was able to pound out 4.5 miles at what felt like a good pace.  Things are definitely looking up. Take THAT blerch!

This weekend I'll be doing the North Canton YMCA Sprint Tri.  It's an outdoor pool swim and my second ever triathlon.  Let's do this!