Almost July

Here we are, 25 days into June and the temps are doing nothing but going up. With that comes all the humidity. If you are not familiar with Arkansas, we have a large agricutural area of rice fields here. Rice fields are flooded to help the rice grow. With the floodwater comes the humidity and mosquitoes. But, we chose to come here so, we shall tough it out and overcome.

Went out for our group run today. The Muckas Running Club started off just after 7:00 am with five members. Several of our regular runners are recovering from minor injuries, or were unable to attend due to prior commitments. Deb and I ran together, which was really nice. Normally, she runs with Sherry and they really enjoy their run. Sherry was MIA today due to a muscle strain in her leg. Mark and Jody ran together for the first couple miles, then split up. Rhonda, who was making her first appearance with the Muckas, hit the track for her "Couch to 5K" routine. Really glad she made it out. Hoping she continues to come. Holly was stuck at home since Ethan had to go into work early this morning. She has her treadmill though and ran in spirit with the Muckas.

Well, it was 77 degrees and 79% humidity. The humidity is really taking its toll on our runners. I know Deb and I were sweating like crazy during this run. We finished our 3.5 miles together, then I took off for another 1.7 miles back to the house. Next scheduled run is tomorrow and consists of 18 miles. Gotta get out there early and get hydrated tonight. My plan is to try and stick to the neighborhoods where there are many shade trees. Once I get out on Highway 1, I lose that cover and get that exposure to the sun. That's where I struggle. Gotta run smarter, not harder.

We are now 70 days out from running Tupelo. So looking forward to this race. Gonna enjoy the weekend away. Hope you all are enjoying your weekend. Happy running and stay safe.

HOT!

Alright already!! Only half way through June and I'm ready for Summer to be over. This heat and humidity are putting a huge damper on outside activities. It is definitely true, you can't expect to run the same pace in the heat as you would in cooler weather. Dehydration and exhaustion set in quicker. I've tried running inside to help get the miles but, stay in a more climate controlled area. Well, that hasn't been working out to well. The air conditioning in our gym has not beenworking for several months now. In fact, it is probably hotter in the gym than outside. The only difference is no sun beating down on me.

So, why run inside you may ask. I figure, if I fall out, at least there will be someone there to help me as opposed to falling out on the road. The coyotes might get me then. My plan is to start getting my butt out bed earlier in the morning, and running outside. I need to quit being lazy and get out there and do it. I used to do it in Texas. Need to suck it up, man up, and get out on that road again. Our race in Tupelo is drawing near and I want to do well. This race has a 5am start. This is great since this will be the first weekend in September. Really excited about this race. Several Muckas will be running with me that day. Loving the fact our group travels well together. Not to mention my awesome pit crew will be there.

Well, I hope you all are getting your workouts in with no issues. Stay hydrated my friends.

Mucka Run

Had a great run today with the Muckas. We moved our start time up to 7am, as opposed to the 7:30am start we had been doing. This was an attempt to beat the heat and humidity. But, come on, we live in Arkansas. We should know better than this. Yeah, it was a little less warm and humid but, not much. Oh well, comes with the territory. Just heed the advice of staying hydrated and you should be fine. :)

We had six Muckas show up this morning. Brandon, Deb, Donna, Holly, Sherry and myself. After a quick stretch and several discussions on what route to take today, Deb and Sherry started us off. Impatient I tell ya. LOL! Brandon quickly shot out in front. Holly and I were a few steps behind him. Deb and Sherry stuck together, follwed by Donna. I caught up to Brandon and asked him, "Feeling fast today?". He smiled and nodded. We completed the first mile in 7:58. Then we started getting into the hills and the pace slowed slightly. Not to mention the heat was climbing.

Holly disappeared on her own route, as she was running 6 miles today. Deb, Sherry and Donna ran Mucka Alley. Deb and Sherry are getting faster with each run. They compliment each other very well on their runs. Donna is just getting back with the group and still running strong.

So looking forward to the Tupelo Marathon. Several Muckas are already signed up. This promises to be a good time for the Muckas. Happy running everyone. Stay safe and stay hydrated. The Heat Miser is upon us.

Add a State

Well, we are currently in Greenville, Illinois for some work related training. Fortunately, I am lucky enough to be accompanied by Deb and Amy, which always makes for a great trip. After driving for roughly six hours, we made it to the hotel, checked in, ate dinner and checked out the area. After our dinner settled, we knocked out some swimming at the hotel pool. I swear, I think Amy is more fish than human. :)

Unfortunately, the nights sleep was very restless. I seem to always have this problem in a hotel. Went to training, re-certified as an instructor, then shot a bunch of rounds. Always a good training day when you get to play with the toys. Afterwards, made it back to the hotel, where I found Deb and Amy in the pool. Go figure. Changed and jumped on the treadmill. Hotel treadmills, in my opinion, suck. Only found one that I have enjoyed running on, and this was not the one. It was loud, couldn't get comfortable on it, and just plain hated it. However, I finished a four mile run. I can officially add Illinois to my list of states I have run in. Eventually, I will knock out a marathon in this state.

Liking the weather here as well. Maybe one day we'll get out of the heat and humidity of the South.

Sweaty Hot

We had our group run today. We started at 7:30 am in an attempt to beat the heat. Needless to say, we didn't miss it. We had temps in the 80s, and the humidity was kicking. Seven Muckas showed up. Deb, Brandon, Holly, Sherry, Kristen and Donna. This was Donna's first run with the group since Little Rock. We've missed her. She told us, this morning, she had run a 5 K last weekend and an "old man" beat her. She said it was time to get her running legs back. :)

Well, we started off and Deb and Sherry took the lead. They run well together. They seem to hel push each other, which we all know is a great thing to have help. I think we were all pretty soaked in sweat before we hit the first mile. I was running with Brandon and Holly. We decided to run the four mile loop. As we ran past the high school, we saw Donna plugging away. We weren't sure where Deb and Sherry were. I thought they were running faster. Holly said they probably followed us on the four mile loop. Once we hit Lemons, by the elementary school, things really heated up. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of shade on that street and we all struggled through this section. As the three of us finished our run, we walked back dowager the stop sign and saw Deb and Sherry rounding the corner. Followed by Donna. No Kristen. We continued to backtrack the course to find her. After a mile, and no sightings of her, we started running again.

By the time we got back to the church, we saw Kristen there with the rest of the ladies. Everyone was accounted for. Holly and I finished out at six miles. Once we finished, the sweat puddles grew. The gnats continued to hound us. We all stood around, dehydrating, trying to cool off, and planning out our trip to Tupelo. Looking like we're going to have a great Mucka showing in Tupelo. Let's go Muckas!!!