I met my running group, Sole2Soul Sisters, again for this run. We also ran the same route down by the bay that we ran last weekend! I love that route!
Several of the ladies are training for the full marathon for St. Jude Memphis and needed to run 16 miles. My schedule called for 12 miles but I'm a week behind due to my hip. So my plan was to run the first 6 miles with everyone then turn around, run 5, and then walk the last mile. That meant 11 miles of running but 12 total miles.
Even before we started running we were already sweating! It was hot and it was humid. And it was about 15 degrees hotter than last week's run. The first 3 miles went by pretty fast. We stopped for water around mile 3 and then headed on. Miles 3-6 were tough. My knees were aching for some reason. I'm blaming it on the concrete sidewalk we were running on. I ran on the asphalt as much as I could but kept having to go back and forth to the sidewalk to dodge traffic. I started getting worried about my knees...they were achy and seemed to hurt mostly right above my knees on my quads. Finally mile 6 appeared and we stopped again for water.
Then I turned around and headed back. One of the ladies turned around with me and I was so thankful to not be running alone. Long runs with friends helps tremendously! My knees didn't hurt the rest of the run. I'm not sure what that was between mile 3-6!
I love this route and the scenery. You run by the bay, by a golf course, and by some really gorgeous houses. There is also this beautiful church. I've always wanted to stop and get a picture of it. This run...I did! The sun had just started to rise so the picture is darker than I would have liked but you can still see how pretty the church is.
We stopped for more water at mile 9. It was so hot and humid that I was finishing my water bottle every 3 miles. So I needed those water stops to refill. You can see how sweaty I was in this picture. I could literally wring the sweat out of my skirt. The humidity just wasn't letting the sweat evaporate. Gross!
The last mile of the run was pretty tough. I was hot. I was wet with sweat. I was ready to be done. Finally I hit mile 11 and began my one mile walk back to the car. My friend walked with me a bit and then she started running again....she had a race to be at.
I enjoyed the walk. I stopped and took a few pictures of the bay. Tropical Storm Karen was supposed to hit the next day but the water was so calm!
I even walked out onto the pier and took a photo! I just love living here on the Gulf Coast and getting to enjoy these views whenever I want!
There were benches all along the water for people to sit and enjoy the view. All of them had something written on them in honor or in remembrance of someone. I loved what this one said!
Finally I made it back to my car. And two of my friends were there. They had run 9 miles so finished before me. I did some stretching with them before I headed home.
It was a decent run...but not my best. I felt so much better during the run last week but I know that is mainly due to the cooler and less humid weather last week. I'm hoping race day will be cool and not humid!
For those wondering about my hip...it was pretty tight after the run and for the rest of that day. I did several stretching and rolling sessions that day. When I woke up on Sunday the hip felt great! But my left foot was hurting on the top! :-( I'm not sure if it was all the walking I did at the end or if it was just sore for some reason. Luckily when I woke up Monday it felt much better. No more pains, aches, or injuries PLEASE!!!!
QOTD: Does the temperature and humidity affect your runs? Do you get random pains like I did this run?
