I'm moving to Antartica

Or at least somewhere where the temperatures aren't at a constant 85+ degrees every day.  I remember thinking, "I wish summer would show up!  I'm ready for some sun!"  Hmmm...I TAKE IT ALL BACK.  Since I was not a runner last year during the summertime, I was unaware of how much it truly sucks to run in the heat.  I've mentioned before that I'm a total wuss when it gets warm outside, but seriously.  I can't take it.

I had 6 miles to run this weekend.  I had planned on waking up around 6ish to get the miles in before the sun started to destroy me.  However, because of a SUPER AWESOME lightning storm I ended up staying up until 2:30 am and there was no chance that I was going to be waking up that early.  So I slept in until 9:30, dilly-dallied until 10, and finally made it out the door at 10:30.  Once outside, I promptly melted.  I ran 3 miles at a normal pace, but when it came time to turnaround and head back home my body was so exhausted from the heat that I had to walk.  And walk, and walk, and walk.  I walked an entire mile.  Then I hid underneath an overpass until I was cool enough to attempt to run.  I felt okay that I was doing this because I had the company of another runner who was having the same problem I was.  Too. Much. Heat.

Once I finally decided that I could suffer through 2 miles, I left the safety of my overpass and carried on running in the heat.  I was doing okay, and was just pushing through to finish.  But then the dreaded happened; my ipod died at the beginning of mile 5.  Normally, this isn't a huge deal.  I can run without it.  But with the new cadence thing I have to do, I couldn't risk running on my own beat and pissing my IT band off.  So yeah...more walking.

BUT

It was better than not going at all!  And having all those awesome endorphins really made me happy for the rest of the day.  I seriously was in a good mood for no particular reason.  Also, I got some nice sun on my pasty white skin during the run.  So yeah...that's a positive.  I never regret a run, even if it is more of a "walk" than a "run."  So far I am 6 for 6 on workouts for week 1 in my marathon training schedule.  Booyah!

Tonight I have a 4 miler scheduled.  I will be running it in either heat or thunderstorms.  Both should be interesting for me.  It seems like summer running is always an adventure!

How was your weekend?  Did you get any activity in?

Oh...and because I can't help but share, here are the pictures I took that kept me up until 2:30 on Saturday morning:

I just like seeing the mountain outlines in this photo!

I love good storms!

Can you see the path of the plane?