Rachel told me there was a heat advisory this afternoon, so I put on my running shoes and hit the trails. I got a late start, so was unable to take full advantage of overhead sun, but the temp. at 5:00pm was 91, with high humidity. After yesterday's exercise binge I was unsure how I would feel, but my legs felt normal, and my energy level was above average. I decided to run to the arboretum and slog up and down the hill. The first 30 minutes were the toughest because my body was trying to find a way to keep its temperature in an acceptable range. Eventually I got into a running groove and was able to pace myself with a somewhat normal stride. I was unsure how long I was going to last, but as the minutes slipped by I was getting stronger, so I kept it going. After finishing a cliff bar I threw the wrapper next to my water bottle at the base of a jack pine. As I passed the tree a while later I saw a squirrel with the wrapper in its mouth - that made me laugh out loud :)
A few brave souls were doing hard sprints up the hill, but they lasted 5 or less reps before being crushed by the heat - pick your poison, hard/short, or moderate/long, both have their benefits. I watched the sun start to set in the west, and felt the temp drop a few degrees. I checked the stopwatch and saw that I had been going for 2 hours. I decided to keep running, the elusive grail of 3 hour hill repeats within reach. I kept on striding up and down the hill, feeling great. At the 2:45 mark I decided to put an end to the session. I was close to 3 hours, there to be taken, but it would have been forced, beyond what my body wanted to do. 2:45 seemed right for the day, so I stopped, feeling a perfect mixture of exhaustion and blissful strength pulsing through my veins. 20 years ago I did workouts like this, and the same feelings surfaced today. 43 years old, and I'm still kickin' it, it seems unbelievable that I can still put in workouts like this. ROCK ON!
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