Lindsey and I are getting better at waking up early on Saturdays for our long runs. I’m sure knowing the heat is coming really helps, because by about 10:30, it really gets hot! The high temps this past week have been in the 100s! After getting up, having some breakfast and driving about 30 minutes to the course, we arrived around 7:30.

Lindsey picked out the place to run, since I drove to Southern Illinois this weekend. We were going to run around Murphysboro Lake, which is about 4 miles around, and since this is a 7-miler, we will run around the park almost twice, saving the last mile for a good walk/warm down. Little did I know that the location was FULL of hills!

The trail was beautiful and peaceful. The road was wide and covered with tall trees most of the way. There were a few people fishing with their boats, and a couple walkers. We weren’t sure how the trail would go, other than it was the road around the park, so we just kept on the main road, and did fine. My GPS unit worked until about a mile, then all the trees around caused me to lose connection with the satellite.

When Lindsey and I ran together, we had a few “interruptions” with bugs, specifically small horseflies. They really buzzed around us when there was shade, and I killed one on Lindsey’s butt while running. The hills came upon us so quickly, and they were pretty steep in a couple places. We tackled them pretty hard and were successful. It felt like the hills never ended. Right before the end of the first 4 miles, we ran across a small dam/bridge, and looking over at the lake was gorgeous. In my mind, I felt like I was in one of those professional posters where the guy is running across the lake and there’s some big saying about motivation or serenity…but really I knew all it looked like was a big fat guy sweating his ass off trying to just be done with it.

Lindsey arrived at the end of the first lap, and as I was coming down the hill, she handed me my water bottle that was placed under the” Smokey The Bear” sign. Here we go again, but this time, we ran the course in reverse. I carried my water bottle with me the whole second lap. The horseflies were really expecting us now, and miles 5 & 6 were bad…I was bit by one enough to really feel the pain, and it stung for a good mile before I was able to ignore it.

On the second lap, I just couldn’t handle the hills. I would start, but then end up taking my walk about halfway. These were the steepest hills I’ve ever trained on. And on the flipside, on the downhill slopes, I had to gradually pick up speed to take them on, otherwise I would have fell forward. I could feel my hamstrings kicking in on the downhills. I think my legs really got a workout today.

I had made a mental mark on where Mile 7 was, but it wasn’t a clear mark, and so when I passed it, I wasn’t sure it was really the right place. And Lindsey was about 4 minutes ahead of me, so I lost track of her mostly through the second lap. I just kept running as best as I could, and then suddenly the “Smokey The Bear” sign showed up, and BAM! I ran 8 miles, not 7!

I was so proud of Lindsey, she did very well, beating my time by 4 minutes. She was so energized from the run, she was saying she could run another lap. I was whipped, but felt great. And knowing the next couple big weekend runs will be smaller feels good. I can’t wait to run 7 again, and next time I’m hoping it will be easy.  I did bruise underneath my big toe on my left foot. Going down the hills made my toenail squish against the front of the shoe, and it bruised it pretty bad. I think I’ll lose that nail in a couple months.  It’s a throbbing pain right now, and it’s starting to turn blue (fun, huh?)

Happy Birthday, baby! Can’t wait to eat Fujiyama Steakhouse tonight!

Conditions: 78 degrees, cooler, shady, clear skies.
Results: today: 8 miles; total: 32 miles; time: 1:38:14; pace: 12:16
Thoughts: I need to stick to a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday schedule during the week. It really helps. I can’t wait for the weather to be cooler, so I can do all my runs outside.
What I’ll remember the most: Those damn hills.