Seeking a better country...

After spending the morning grouting tile, I left for a run.  It had been cloudy, and even raining a bit, so I figured it would be a reasonable temp.  Well, shortly after leaving, the sun came out in full force, so it was  hot one.  I took BST to Freedom Hills where I reloaded the water bottle.  I went by Ricks Creek, removed my shoes and pack, and lounged in the cool water, head to toe.  There were three girls doing a wedding dress photo shoot across the street; they probably thought I was pretty weird.  After the plunge, I felt much cooler for the remainder of the run.  My shorts were completely dry by the time I got home 2 miles later.  

It was getting late and I didn't want to put the girls to bed so...I ran to my sister's and back.  The pull up Mill Street was pretty good, and the tailwind and downhill on the way back were even better.  One nice thing about getting up the hill a little bit is there are fewer insects.  I didn't get started till 9:45 thinking it would be cooler.  I was mistaken.  

J, G, and A came on bikes to meet Grandma on Legacy.  We left around 8 p.m., and met her group (2 of my sisters) at Parrish Lane.  They wanted to ride the 1/2 marathon route.  It ended up quite an entourage; 6 people on bikes and me running.  It was hot and muggy and buggy.  The bugs would fly in my face and get stuck in the sweat.  Gross. We ran to Farmington Station.  I didn't know they had opened any stores, but now there's a Harmons at the end of the line.  I'll have to bring a few bucks next time for chocolate milk.  

While loping alongside my sister, we came up with the idea for a team race.  Pick your distance, but you, your partner and one bicycle have to cover it, switching whenever you want.  Obviously the runner would be the slow step, but it would be interesting to see how to optimize the fast running and switching to rest, etc.

I awoke around 5, and slept again till 6.  Got up for some oatmeal and left on the coolest temp run in weeks.  I ran to JP and did laps barefoot in the grass.  After a few, I ran down to the public park for a drink and lap, then back to JP to finish, then home.  It felt strange to have shoes on after 6 miles of barefoot.  I don't have any insightful analysis.

On a separate note, I got one guy to flip me off while driving to work.  It made my day. 

Fixing sprinklers all day, including running back and forth from valves to heads to valves to heads etc....I'm sure I had more than one measly mile, but it seems like cheating to count up.    So I missed out on a good run this morning, but will make up for it with a vengeance in the morning.  6 miles of barefoot was too many; my left foot was sore early today.  Oddly, it feels fine now, so hopefully it'll hold together for the morning.